Matt McLain, Edwin Arroyo, Caleb Durbin, Kala’i Rosario
Oct 30, 2024
Author: 3-1Count.com
Yesterday was my first Salt River Fields at Talking Stick game this season. It’s the Spring Training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Love the park, it’s location near Scottsdale, and the ease of getting in and out of the stadium complex.
We caught not only a beautiful day but one in the 70’s versus the high 80’s to low 90’s last week. So perfect baseball weather in a great ballpark!
Checking the lineups when I arrived I was happy to see Matt McLain CIN penciled in batting 3rd and playing CF (!?!) for the Desert Dogs. McLain was just reinstated from the 60 man Injured List for the purpose of allowing him to extend his rehab work in the AFL.
So, how did McLain look? Mid-season form is the answer. He looks healthy and was on everything he swung at. Including this home run in the 3rd inning.
The Cincinnati Reds lineup should be much longer next year with McLain and hopefully Christian Encarnacion-Strand both returning healthy. I expected the Reds to be a plus .500 team this past year. But it didn’t happen, they finished poorly at 77-85 yet they outscored their opponents by 5 runs. It’s funny how that can work as their division rival St. Louis Cardinals were 83-79 despite being outscored by 47 runs. So the Reds lost 6 more games than the Cardinals despite having a better run differential by 52. All things considered my expectation for the Reds in 2025 will be once again take a step forward and finish above .500.
Staying on the Reds I haven’t yet mentioned Edwin Arroyo CIN. He’s a 21yo switch-hitting infielder who was drafted #48 overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2021. Arroyo came to the Reds in the Luis Castillo trade that also brought Noelvi Marte and two other players. The trade has the potential to be a win-win if Arroyo and Marte become lineup regulars for the Reds. Castillo certainly has done his part for the Mariners.
Arroyo had a solid 2023 at High A but missed all of 2024 due to a shoulder injury. So the AFL is an important step for Arroyo to reestablish himself in the organization. So far in the AFL he is hitting .279 with 11 runs and 5 steals. What I have seen is a player that moves really well and plays with passion. I haven’t gotten a strong feel for the bat yet but did like the way he turned on this ball for a triple.
Caleb Durbin NYY is a getting some AFL buzz. He’s playing pretty much everyday, hitting at the top of the lineup, and has put up a lot of crooked numbers with a slash of .276/13/3/13/15. Durbin is easily leading the league in steals and is also tied for 4th in RS and 6th in HR and RBI.
So, what’s Durbin’s story? He’s a 2021 14th rd draft pick (Atlanta Braves) out of Washington University in St. Louis where he hit .386 over 3 seasons. Durbin then made his way to the Yankees in the Lucas Luetge trade in late 2022. He also played in the AFL last season and did well. Durbin then spent most of 2024 at AAA where he walked more than he struck out (rare at the upper levels), hit .287 with a .396 OBP while popping 10 home runs and stealing 29 bags. This was good for a 129 wRC+.
Durbin’s a versatile player having played 2B, 3B, SS and even a little LF this past season. Still, there’s not a clear path for Durbin with the Yankees and he’ll be 25yo when spring training starts. He’s also Rule 5 eligible so it’s possible his opportunity could come with a different club.
Durbin hit a 7th inning grand slam yesterday to seal the win for the Rafters. I had rolled video on Durbin all day and was caught in a conversation when he came up in the 7th. So, of course, he pulled the 1st pitch for a grand salami while I was still trying to hit record. That’s an error in the books for me! Fortunately, Eric Cross was quick on the draw and did get the video. So here it is:
Another returning AFL player I have been keeping an eye on is Kala’i Rosario MIN. He showed off his power in last years AFL but struggled mightily with strikeouts (38%). Rosario has that power / strikeout profile, so this has been a developmental area for him. This AFL season Rosario has his K rate down to a more manageable 26%. It’s likely Rosario starts 2025 back at AA and reducing a career K rate over 30% will be high on the agenda.
Rosario was 1 for 4 yesterday, driving in a run and scoring one. The video I grabbed of Rosario has him just absolutely shattering his bat.
Towards the end of the game I caught up with Eric Longenhagen. He’s the lead scout / analyst at Fangraphs. If you are even a borderline baseball geek and don’t yet have a membership to Fangraphs (https://www.fangraphs.com/) you need to change that! I keep Fangraphs open on my desktop most of the time and refer to it constantly. The Fangraphs team is excellent and I have always felt Eric does a great job with his prospect evaluations. You’ve seen me reference Fangraphs many times here and I’m sure I will continue to do so.
If you enjoyed this article please consider signing up for FREE email updates from 3-1Count.com. The link is at the bottom of this page. We will send you an email when new articles are published. For your protection, the system will require you to accept the subscription through a confirmation email once you have signed up. No spam, no cost - just baseball!
