Diamondbacks Promote MiLB Home Run Leader in Latest Roster Move

The D-backs have made a much anticipated move, bringing a slugger one step closer to the major leagues.

Diamondbacks minor league infielder Manuel Pena throws during a select training camp at Salt River Fields on Feb. 21, 2022. Baseball Diamondbacks Select Minor League Camp | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tuesday was moving day for a slew of Arizona Diamondbacks minor league prospects and players. The organization's transaction logs page shows no fewer than 37 separate moves, as players transition between levels.

None are potentially more impactful than that of the MiLB home run leader's promotion from Double-A to Triple-A, however.

Just yesterday, the pages of this website called for 22-year-old Manuel Pena's promotion to Triple-A as he had nothing left to prove in the Texas League. In a mere 61 games, the left-handed slugger has smashed 26 homers while batting .311/.354/.673, 1.027 OPS.

Even in the high-octane environment of Hodgetown in the Texas League, that works out to a 136 wRC+ (roughly 36% better than league average). Now he's on the doorstop of the major leagues, and manager Torey Lovullo is well aware of his progress.

"I'm very well aware of his success, and we've been monitoring his progress and he's on everything. He's killing the baseball, he's driving it to all fields and there hasn't been one bad at-bat is what everybody's been telling me," Lovullo said.

That might be a bit of hyperbole perhaps, as Pena has just a 6.5% walk rate compared to 23.3% strikeout rate. But he's been hitting bombs consistently since the beginning of season, and kept his batting average at or around .300 year too.

Shockingly, Pena is not ranked within the top 30 prospects at MLB Pipeline or Baseball America. That is sure to change when those websites update their rankings.

Lovullo got to see him in Spring Training when minor leaguers were asked to come over and cover some innings and at-bats.

"He was a very comfortable, confident athlete. I like the quality of the at-bat and how he surveyed the strike zone," Lovullo said.

Pena has moved around the diamond quite a bit this year, playing first, second, and third base along with left field and DH.

"Finding the right position for him and putting him out there on defense is also very important, so we want that to progress," Lovullo said.

The manager also threw out an interesting comparison.

"[Pena] reminds me a lot of Del Castillo a couple years ago. Del Castillo got on this heater and found himself in the big leagues, so anything's possible."

Dix, Barriga, and Virahonda Promoted

Visalia Rawhide's Alberto Barriga bats against Inland Empire for their 2025 season opener Friday, April 4, 2025. | Ron Holman / Visalia Times-Delta / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There were several ranked prospects that also got moved up on Tuesday.

J.D. Dix (age 20) is a second baseman who is ranked No. 6 by MLB Pipeline and No. 11 by Baseball America in the D-backs system. He was promoted from Class-A Visalia to High-A Hillsboro.

Dix is hitting .253/.378/.468, .846 OPS, with nine homers and 52 runs scored in 48 games. He has 19 steals and just one caught stealing.

Catcher Alberto Barriga (age 21) was moved from Hillsboro to Double-A Amarillo. He's ranked 23rd by Baseball America and 27th by MLB. He's batting .259/.345/.490 with eight homers and 27 RBI in 40 games. Barriga has thrown out 19 of 51 base stealers for an impressive caught stealing rate of 37.25%.

Catcher Carlos Virahonda (age 20) made the jump from Visalia to Hillsboro. He's batting .273/.359/.508, .867 OPS with 10 homers and a whopping 57 RBI in 48 games. Virahonda is ranked 15th by Baseball America and 17th by MLB.

Recently, Jesse Borek of MLB Pipeline visited the Snakes Territory Podcast and spoke about Pena, Barriga, and Virahonda:

Tuesday was a busy day for Diamondbacks prospects.