D-backs Top 40 Prospects in 2024: No. 5 Demetrio Crisantes

The breakout star of the system has set himself lofty aspirations and the chance to be a future impact player in MLB

James Templeton prepares the infield | Ron Holman / Visalia Times-Delta / USA TODAY NETWORK

This article is part of a series reviewing the seasons of the top 40 prospects still in the Arizona Diamondbacks system as of the end of 2024.

Demetrio Crisantes, RHB - Infielder, DOB: 09/05/2004, 6'0, 178

Acquired: 7th Round Pick, 198th Overall, of 2022 MLB Draft

With the second pick of the seventh round in the 2022 MLB Draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks decided to mix in a local talent from Nogales High School. That's where they selected Demetrio Crisantes.

They had to pay way above slot in order to keep Crisantes from college by giving him a signing bonus of 425,000 dollars. He played all of 2023 in the Arizona Complex League where he excelled but due to it being his age-18 season, the D-backs kept him there all year.

He started the year at Single-A but was placed on the 60-Day IL due to an injury. He returned on June 5 and was assigned back to the Arizona Complex League. All he did there was play terrific baseball.

Over 29 games, he slashed .355/.431/.521 with a .951 OPS. He had a 141 wRC+ and had absolutely nothing left to prove at that level.

The Diamondbacks rewarded him with a trip up to Single-A on June 17, where he would finish the season on the Visalia Rawhide. Crisantes would lead the Rawhide on an improved offense and take them to the playoffs.

Over his 20 games in Visalia, Crisantes had 35 hits, 12 games with two or more hits, and six games with three or more hits. That set the stage for a monster ending to the season.

Over the final 57 games of the season, including the two playoff games, Crisantes reached base in every single one of them. That's a major accomplishment, and if he can keep the streak going for a few weeks next year, he could set modern history.

He's just nine games short of Mookie Betts' streak of 66 games and 14 games shy of Kevin Millar and Kevin Youkilis’ 71-game streak. He could join the modern history books if he can get on base in 15 straight games to start 2025. It's a big ask but it's certainly within his ability to do it.

Over 63 regular season games at Visalia, Crisantes slashed .333/.429/.478 with an OPS of .907 despite being in a tough league for hitting. His wRC+ was a standout 145 indicating he was 45% better than league average.

He walked 55 times and struck out just 69 times, a great combination that highlights how strong a knowledge Crisantes has for the strikezone and his ability to consistently put the ball in play.

When one puts the ball in play more, good things tend to happen compared to striking out often.

The power didn't show up much this year for Crisantes, as he had just seven total home runs, 23 doubles, and six triples, but the power is in there as he grows and develops. He has 50-grade power so the power for 20+ home runs is in there.

Plus, despite being an average baserunner in terms of speed, Crisantes was able to steal 30 bases, a good sign for his future if he can increase his speed a bit more. He could be looking at 15-20 steals in MLB a few years from now.

His walk rate of 12.9% was well above average as was his strikeout rate of 15.9%. Both numbers were terrific and set a high bar for Crisantes to replicate as he moves up the levels of the D-backs' system. Clearly, Crisantes knows how to hit the ball.

Another good indicator of his success this year was that he wasn't overly reliant on hitting the ball on the ground or into the air. He had a ground ball rate of 42.9% and a line drive rate of 25.5%.

Sure, the ground ball rate could be lower, as could the line drive rate be higher, but those are healthy numbers that can create a lot of success for a ballplayer.

One more factor to look at is his spray chart, as, unlike many hitters, Crisantes hit the ball where it came from and didn't try to pull or push it constantly.

He had a pull rate of just 40.2% while he went the other way 31.4% of the time. Those would be strong numbers in today's MLB. A known contact hitter in Lourdes Gurriel Jr. pulled the ball 41.7% of the time and went the other way 27.6% of the time in 2024.

2025 Outlook

Despite entering just his age-20 season in 2025, the Arizona Diamondbacks are likely going to send Demetrio Crisantes to High-A to start the season with the Hillsboro Hops. He's done far too good in Visalia for him to learn much more there.

It's clear that he needs a harder level and more challenge so he will get that in High-A where he would still be more than years younger than the average age of players there. Plus, Crisantes is turning into an impact prospect with the caliber to one day perhaps be an All-Star worthy bat.

The D-backs can't afford to be lax in their promoting him just because of his age when they could get his bat in MLB sooner than later. That's why he's likely to start 2025 in High-A where he's just under two years away from potentially making an MLB debut late in 2026 or to start 2027.

Another factor and perhaps the biggest aspect that Crisantes needs to work on is his glove. He projects to be a second baseman, but his glove must be improved if he is to stick on the field. If he can improve it, he could be the D-backs' future second baseman for the long-term.

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