2025 Rule 5 draft, AAA Phase
All the way back in December during the AAA phase of the Rule 5 draft, the Diamondbacks made three picks, RHP Antonio Menendez from Tampa Bay, RHP Sean Harney from St. Louis, and finally, infielder Danny Serretti from the Detroit Tigers.
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To briefly discuss what the two pitchers have done: Sean Harney actually hasn’t pitched an inning with his new organization yet, as he’s had some kind of undisclosed injury that has him missing the entire 2026 season. Antonio Menendez was excellent in Amarillo (2.60 ERA, 4.19 xFIP), but has been hit extremely hard (12.74 ERA, 8.22 xFIP) after being promoted to Reno. That leaves us with the subject of this article, Danny Serretti, who has been outstanding in 2026, and deserve a closer look.
Struggles in Detroit’s Farm System
The Detroit Tigers selected Danny Serretti in the 6th round of the 2022 draft with the 177th overall pick. A switch hitting shortstop out of the University of North Carolina, Serretti would jump from A ball to AA in the span of just 27 games the same year in 2022. Across the three levels, he hit .315/.474/.472, a .442 wOBA and a 177 wRC+.
In 2023, the Tigers decided to put him in High A to begin the season. In 53 games he’d hit .284/.367/.441 with a .370 wOBA and 134 wRC+. This earned him a promotion to AA, and in 49 games he’d hit 205/.314/.269 .281 wOBA and a 70 wRC+. The next season, the Tigers had Serretti return to high A, where the struggles continued. In 87 games, he hit just .190/.287/.293, a .279 wOBA, and a 78 wRC+. Serretti would spend the last 12 games in AA, where he’d hit .206/.372/.206 with a 91 wRC+. 2025 wouldn’t go much better for Serretti, as he hit just .209/.313/.311 in 62 games.
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Considering the struggles in AA, it’s no surprise that the Tigers would leave Serretti unprotected before the 2025 Rule 5 draft. It is somewhat surprising that Arizona took Serretti considering those same struggles, but it appears that move has paid off.
New Organization, New Hitter?
In 53 games in AA Amarillo, .283/.447/.553 with a .443wOBA and a 144 wrc+. In 21 games in AAA Reno he’s hitting .352/.465/.563 with a .461 wOBA, an expected wOBA(xwOBA) of .413, and a 153 wRC+. Looking at his minor league splits across both levels, Serretti is absolutely destroying left handed pitching as a right handed batter. In 102 plate appearances as a right handed batter, he’s hitting .345/.461/.679, compared to the .285/.453/.493 in 191 plate appearances against right handed pitching as a left handed batter.
One could write off Serretti’s success in Arizona’s farm system as a result of the extremely hitter friendly environments in the Texas League and Pacific Coast league, but I think there’s a few statistics that show that’s not the only reason for the turn around in 2026.
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Firstly, as indicated by the wRC+ stats, he was 43% better than the average hitter in the Texas League, and 53% better than average PCL batter. Secondly, he’s dramatically increased his BB% from his previous high of 14% in AA up to 20.2% in AA and 17.2% in AAA with Arizona, while drastically cutting down on his strikeouts to a more reasonable rate of 21.6%(AA) and 20.7% in 2026. (Although this after getting his SO% down to 19.6% in 2025 from 25.6% in 2024)
Serretti has drastically count down on the frequency of pop ups, going from as high as 41.7% in AA back in 2024, down to 13.3% (AA) and 7.7% (AAA) this season. Finally, looking at the breakdown of his hit distribution, Serretti pulled the ball 46.1% in Amarillo compared to just 37.9% of the time in Erie the year before. While we don’t have any statcast data for Amarillo, we do for Reno, but it’s such a small sample that’s not worth going into too much depth.
Defensive Versatility
While in Detroit’s farm system, Serretti played all four infield positions, as well as designated hitter. Since coming over to Arizona he has played only one game at first base and none at shortstop at all. He’s recieved the majority of his playing time at second and third, with some occasional starts at designated hitter.
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Serretti is a solid, reliable fielder, who’s only defensive limitation is an underwhelming throwing arm. There were questions on draft day if that would keep him from sticking at shortstop, which appears to have been quite prescient.
Future Outlook
I would not expect Serretti to put up anywhere close to the SLG% he’s put up in Arizona’s farm system, and his is expected slugging percentage of .477 vs his actual slugging of .563 in Reno backs that up. I do think he’s capable of being a lefty mashing utility infielder, as his swing in general looks better to me from the right side. His left handed swing isn’t bad enough to ditch entirely, but might be something to be considered in the future.
Serretti will have to be protected and placed on the 40 man roster at the end of the season if the Diamondbacks don’t want to leave him exposed in this year’s Rule 5 draft. If he is added at the end of the season, I think that will tell us a lot about how the front office views Serretti’s future outlook.
