2023 was a huge success for the Diamondbacks, capped off by their unexpected run to the World Series. That run would not have been possible without the contribution of their minor league system. Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll was the clear number one in this system a year ago and looks to be a perennial All-Star caliber player. Brandon Pfaadt, Gabriel Moreno, Drey Jameson, and Ryne Nelson were also all preseason top-10 prospects that graduated in 2023.
While those promotions made a large dent in the upper levels of this system, there is still plenty of talent left. Jordan Lawlar is the clear number one heading into 2024, backed up by a solid draft class and some serious potential in the lower levels of their minors. This pipeline looks to keep the snakes competitive for the foreseeable future.
Seven Prospects1500 writers contributed to this column and rankings including Scott Greene (@Scotty_Ballgame), Tony Bps (@tonybps1), Greg Bracken (@gregbracken07), Adam Greene (@aj_greene1015), Clint Fasse (@ProspectLarceny), John Dodge (@blacksox96), and Jeremy Mahy (@JMahyfam). The writer’s Twitter handle follows each player write-up or paragraph.
Prospects1500 Tiers:
Tier 1: Players with high expectations of both making the majors and playing at an All-Star level for a number of years
Tier 2: Players with an above-average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 3: Players with an average expectation of making the majors and being a solid contributor
Tier 4: Players who have the potential to make the majors; possible sleeper candidates for sustained MLB success
Tier 5: Players of interest, worth keeping an eye on, who may make (or have made) the majors but provide minimal impact
Levels listed for each player are the highest levels player reached in 2023
Tier 1
1. Jordan Lawlar, SS, 21, MLB
The Diamondbacks were aggressive with the 21-year-old in 2023. I am not reading too much into his poor performance during a 31 at-bat September call-up. The kid has proven he can play and the organization saw enough to include him on their postseason roster. He has a mature approach at the plate, great pitch recognition, and above average speed on the bases. He will likely start 2024 back with Triple-A Reno, but a hot start might give the D-backs back-to-back Rookies of the Year. (@JMahyfam)
Tier 2
2. Druw Jones, OF, 20, Single-A
Injuries have limited Jones to just 147 at bats over 41 games since being drafted second overall in 2022. The overall results for last season might not look pretty, but over his final 16 games he slashed .339/.438/.500 with two home runs and six stolen bases. A healthy 2024 should give better insight into what they have in this tooled up young centerfielder. (@JMahyfam)
3. Tommy Troy, SS, 21, High-A
Troy currently sits atop a solid 2023 draft class for Arizona. He can flat out hit the baseball. In his final season at Stanford, he hit .394 with 17 home runs, 17 stolen bases, and 58 RBI in 58 games. He followed that up with a 27-game professional debut in which he added on 4 home runs, 9 stolen bases, and 21 RBI. Thanks to his defensive versatility and ability to make consistent contact he could move quickly through this system. (@JMahyfam)
Tier 3
4. Yu-Min Lin, LHP, 20, Double-A
Lin was a late signing in the 2021 IFA class out of Taiwan. He was aggressively moved up in 2023 ending with 11 AA starts with a second successful season. He has a good feel for the slider and changeup, look for him to make his MLB debut in 2024. (@gregbracken07)
5. Gino Groover, 3B, 21, High-A
Groover is a high contact hitter with good power. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2023 draft after hitting .332 with 13 home runs, 36 walks, 26 strikeouts at NC State. There are questions if he will be able to stick at third base with first base/DH his likely long term home. (@gregbracken07)
6. Ivan Melendez, 1B/3B, 23, Double-A
Some call him the Hispanic Titanic. I got to see some of Melendez’s power in person this past November in the Arizona Fall League where he hit two homers and knocked in 13. By all accounts, Melendez should be on the corner in Arizona in the near future. Whether that’s at first or third is debatable, but the bat plays. The 2022 2nd round pick launched 30 home runs across two levels in 2023 with a combined OPS of .923. (@Scotty_Ballgame)
7. Cristofer Torin, SS/2B, 18, Single-A
The Venezuelan middle infield prospect appears to be one of best International signings out of Arizona’s 2022 class. He plays above-average defense at short and second, where he split time in 2023. His high contact rate and speed are a good combination that produces high on base percentages, and the organization is hopeful that some added power will round out his profile. (@aj_greene1015)
8. A.J. Vukovich, OF, 22, Double-A
Vukovich provided what was possibly the best bat in the Diamondbacks farm system last season, leading in RBIs and second in home runs. Although a little over-aggressive at times and could look to draw more walks, his power outweighs the downside of his approach. As a former basketball standout, his athleticism contributes to his role in the outfield where he can play all three positions. (@aj_greene1015)
9. Jorge Barrosa, OF, 22, Triple-A
I’ve been on the Barrosa train since he was signed at 17 back in 2017, and I believe should have been on deep dynasty league radars for the last couple of years, especially after a very good 2022 across A+ Hillsboro/AA Amarillo, and then a full season at AAA Reno this past season. As a 22-year-old in Triple-A, Barrosa slashed .274/.394/.456, with 13 HR, 65 RBI, 15 SB and .850 OPS. That will play in the majors at some point. (@Scotty_Ballgame)
10. Jack Hurley, OF, 21, High-A
Hurley is a 5-tool outfielder who for some reason slid to the 3rd round, pick 80 overall in the 2023 draft. In his debut season he slashed .293/.341/.415 at High-A Hillsboro but the 35% K rate to start his career needs to improve. (@gregbracken07)
Tier 4
11. Kristian Robinson, OF, 23, Double-A
12. Jansel Luis, 2B/SS, 18, Single-A
13. Dominic Fletcher, OF, 26, MLB
14. Slade Cecconi, RHP, 24, MLB
15. Landon Sims, RHP, 22, Single-A
16. Dylan Ray, RHP, 22, Double-A
17. Blaze Alexander, SS, 24, Triple-A
18. Christian Cerda, C, 21, High-A
19. J.J. D’Orazio, C, 22, Double-A
20. Grayson Hitt, LHP, 22, College
21. Yilber Diaz, RHP, 23, Double-A
22. Ruben Santana, 3B/1B, 18, Rookie (ACL)
23. Caden Grice, 1B/OF/LHP, 21, Rookie (ACL)
24. Blake Walston, LHP, 22, Triple-A
Robinson‘s tale is not yet complete. The former #1 prospect in the system (preseason 2021) made a nice return last year after three years of off-field legal issues. The Bahamian product played in 65 games across four levels from Rookie ball up to Double-A. Both Fletcher and Cecconi saw MLB time in ’23, and could be solid contributors. Cerda and D’Orazio are two solid catching prospects the system sorely needs to backup Moreno. Still only 18 years old, look for a breakout season from 3B Santana in 2023. Grice, a two-way player in college with concentrate on pitching when he makes his organizational debut. Walston, Arizona’s 1st round pick in 2019, spent all of 2023 with Reno and was sent out to Arizona for the Fall League, but only saw one game of action (3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 4 K). Added to the 40-man roster this offseason, look for him to compete for a MLB rotation spot this coming spring. (@gregbracken07 and @Scotty_Ballgame)
Tier 5
25. Ricardo Yan, RHP, 21, High-A
26. Wilderd Patiño, OF, 22, High-A
27. Gian Zapata, OF, 18, Rookie (DSL)
28. Bryce Jarvis, RHP, 26, MLB
29. Justin Martinez, RHP, 22, MLB
30. Zane Russell, RHP, 21, High-A
31. Kevin Sim, 3B, 21, Single-A
32. Tristin English, 1B/OF, 26, Triple-A
33. Joe Elbis, RHP, 21, High-A
34. Manuel Pena, 2B, 20, High-A
35. Adrian Del Castillo, C, 24, Triple-A
36. Spencer Giesting, LHP, 22, High-A
37. Jorge Lara, 2B, 18, Rookie (DSL)
38. Nate Savino, LHP, 21, Injured (College in 2022)
39. Luke Albright, RHP, 24, Double-A
40. Ricky Karcher, RHP, 26, MLB
41. Conor Grammes, RHP, 26, Double-A
42. Liam Norris, LHP, 22, Double-A
43. Jacob Steinmetz, RHP, 20, Single-A
44. Caleb Roberts, OF/C, 23, Double-A
45. David Martin, C/1B, 23, Triple-A
46. Andrew Pintar, 2B/OF, 22, High-A
47. Jamison Hill, RHP, 24, Double-A
48. Tim Tawa, OF/2B, 24, Double-A
49. Eric Dominguez, LHP, 20, Rookie (ACL)
50. Yoscar Pimentel, RHP, 22, Single-A
Yan is an interesting arm to keep an eye on. The 6’4” right-hander throws a nice sinker slider combo from a low three-quarters arm slot that led to a 32% K rate at the A-ball level. Patiño steals bases at a high clip and looks to have some power potential, but the strikeouts are a problem. Martinez and Russell are both bullpen arms with back end potential that can rack up strikeouts in bunches, unfortunately the walks can come in bunches as well. Kevin Sim’s father hit over 300 home runs in the KBO. Kevin has some power potential of his own and if the hit tool continues develop there could be a full time regular here. Roberts put up solid numbers at Double-A Amarillo last year. His positional versatility and left-handed bat could help him snag a utility player spot in the bigs. (@JMahyfam)
Prospects1500 is your comprehensive dynasty league resource, featuring deep MLB/MiLB top prospect lists, news and rankings.
Jeremy covers the St Louis organization and contributes on Prospects of the Week for Prospects1500. Born and raised in the Midwest, he is a lifelong fan of the Birds on the Bat. You can follow him on Twitter @JMahyfam for more baseball content.
"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too." -Yogi Berra
President of Prospects1500. Founder of Diamond Duos dynasty fantasy baseball leagues and the MLB Fantasy Playoffs Parlay. Participant and champion in several dynasty/fantasy baseball and football leagues. Sales Manager for Reminder Publishing in real life. Huge Bruce Springsteen and pro wrestling fan. Along with his wife and two boys, lives in Longmeadow, MA. Follow on Twitter at @Scotty_Ballgame.
Adam Greene is a Sport Management and Marketing double major at UMass Amherst's Isenberg School of Management. His main focus is sport marketing, where he's already had internships with the local Westfield Starfires and Springfield Thunderbirds. He now writes for the Cape Cod Baseball League. From Longmeadow, MA, Adam is a huge Red Sox fan and has been following the team his whole life. When Covid hit, he started paying a lot more attention to the Red Sox minor league teams, and now, follows them almost as much as the big league squad. Follow him on Twitter at @aj_greene1015 and Instagram at the same handle.
Greg covers the Toronto Blue Jays organization for Prospects1500. Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, a long-suffering fan of both the Blue Jays and the Toronto Maple Leafs. For more than 15 years now a participant/commish in many dynasty baseball leagues, all with extremely deep minor league rosters. Follow on X @gregbracken07.
-
Greg Brackenhttps://www.prospects1500.com/author/bluejays001/
Leave a Reply