Who is Jordan Lawlar?

Jordan Lawlar is one of many exciting, young and talented players for a burgeoning D-backs organization. Now he'll get a chance to prove himself at the Major League level, as team announced that Lawler will make his long-awaited Major League call-up ahead of the D-backs' four-game series against the Cubs that starts on Thursday.

Lawlar, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, is ranked as MLB’s 10th-best overall prospect and the best prospect in the Arizona system. Here’s what you need to know about Lawlar, who is one of the league’s most intriguing all-around prospects.

FAST FACTS

MLB Organization: D-backs
Birthdate: July 17, 2002 (Age 20 in 2023)
Primary position: SS
Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 190 lbs.
Bats/throws: Right/right
Hometown: Carrollton, Texas
School(s): Jesuit Prep (Texas.) HS
Drafted: First round, 6th overall, 2021 (by AZ)
ETA: 2024

He bookended his HS career with home runs

Lawlar has seemingly always been destined for stardom. Lawlar homered on the first day of his varsity baseball career … and his last.

The first homer came on Jesuit's opening day in 2019. Lawlar's varsity career with Jesuit Prep had been delayed until he was a sophomore because he lived outside the school's attendance zone, so he was stuck playing JV at first. But once it finally began (Lawlar had already committed to Vanderbilt by that time), it began with a bang.

That day, Lawlar went deep off Logan Kohler, a game-tying home run in the seventh inning with Kohler two outs away from a shutout. And in his last game for Jesuit, a playoff loss this May, Lawlar brought it full circle, homering one last time.

Shortly after Lawlar graduated high school, he was named the Gatorade Texas Player of the Year. Mere weeks after that, Lawlar was selected sixth overall by the D-backs in the 2021 MLB Draft.

Lawlar's MLB ties

Lawlar wouldn't be the first star hitter from Jesuit Prep to make the Major Leagues. Guardians slugger Josh Bell is a Jesuit alum, too -- that's where the Pirates drafted him from in the second round in 2011. Lawlar has met with Bell more than once, and the two have talked about hitting, the mental side of baseball and life in general.

Bell isn't the only Major League influence on Lawlar. Three-time All-Star Vernon Wells, who played 15 seasons in the big leagues, has been one of Lawlar's advisers since his high school days. And Wells couldn't sing Lawlar's praises more highly.

Lawlar also played for the Dallas Tigers, a youth player development team that plays in tournaments and showcases around the country, starting from when he was nine years old. A lot of star baseball players are Tigers alumni. The biggest of all is Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was in the program's graduating class of 2006.

Other notable Dallas Tigers? Red Sox pitcher and two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (class of 2004) and White Sox flamethrower Michael Kopech (class of 2014).

An explosive 2022 season

Lawlar’s professional career didn’t start off the way he or the D-backs intended in his 2021 debut season. In just his second game in Rookie ball, Lawlar suffered a posterior labrum tear that required season-ending surgery. Any concerns about the shoulder injury or any lingering effects, however, were quickly erased in the 2022 season.

Lawlar jumped all the way to Double-A by the end of the year, hitting a combined .303/.401/.509 with 16 home runs and 39 stolen bases in 100 games across four levels as a 19-year-old. Lawlar dominated both Rookie ball with a 1.026 OPS and Single-A ball with a 1.051 OPS across a combined 50 games.

Once promoted to the High-A level, Lawlar posted an .862 OPS in 30 games. Lawlar finished the season in Double-A, where he held his own with a .652 OPS in 20 games, doing so in a league where the average player was 24 years old.

Just for good measure, Lawlar also dominated the Arizona Fall League with a .278/.469/.528 line across 49 plate appearances. Lawlar even got the chance to play shortstop at Chase Field in the AFL, possibly foreshadowing his eventual destiny as the D-backs star shortstop of the future. That stint unfortunately ended with a fractured left scapula but he arrived fully healthy to 2023 Spring Training.

A diverse and strong skill-set

Lawlar has long been lauded for his above-average to great skill-set. His 2022 performance only furthered the optimism about his eventual diverse skills as a Major Leaguer. According to MLB Pipeline's 2023 scouting report, each of Lawlar’s five tools (hit, power, run, arm, field) is listed as above-average or very good.

Using the 20-80 scouting scale (45 is deemed average), Lawlar has a 60 hit tool, 55 power tool, 60 run tool, 55 throwing arm, and 55 fielding tool. In layman's terms, this means Lawlar possesses the skills to be a well-balanced player who can impact the game in different ways. It also means Lawlar has a relatively high floor as a player, as he looks like a lock to stick at the shortstop position while also being a potential impact hitter and baserunner.

Think about Lawlar’s skills in this way. In 2022, he flashed the all-around skills mentioned and translated those tools into production. While playing above-average defense at a premium position, Lawlar also posted an OPS over .900 while posting double-digit home run (16) and stolen base (39) totals.

The list of MLB players who met that criteria in 2022? Aaron Judge, Freddie Freeman, and Jose Altuve.

A potential star and leader in Arizona

What Lawlar’s skills and production might undersell is Lawlar’s “intangible” impact that may benefit both him and the D-backs’ culture. Lawlar has been described both as a “total baseball rat” and having a “presence” akin to Jeter.

That could make him not only a star on the field but a leader in the clubhouse for the D-backs.