Spring Breakout gives Robinson long-awaited opportunity

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- In limited action this spring, outfielder Kristian Robinson gave Arizona Diamondbacks fans a peek at his potential.

The 23-year-old showed why the D-backs were so high on him after signing him out of the Bahamas in 2017, flashing power to all fields at the plate and displaying his speed and athleticism on the bases.

Robinson, who is the D-backs No. 16 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, will be participating in Saturday’s Spring Breakout game, which will pit Arizona’s top prospects against the Rockies top prospects at 4:10 p.m. MST at Salt River Fields.

“I think it's an interesting concept,” D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said. “I think any way we can highlight the game and the young players in it, and what the next generation is, is important. I think we've seen with our young team how they resonate with the city, with the fans, with kids in the city. I think that's an important aspect of us growing the game.”

• Full D-backs Spring Breakout roster

Robinson’s journey to Spring Breakout has been a long one -- with a big detour along the way.

Touted as one of the organization’s best prospects, Robinson’s career was put on hold after he was involved in an altercation with a police officer in March 2020, which involved him being arrested.

A long legal journey to regain a visa ensued, costing Robinson the entire '21 and '22 seasons and half of '23. Add in the fact that COVID-19 shut down the Minor Leagues in '20, and he went three and a half years without playing professional baseball.

• Royals 6, Diamondbacks 0

Last year he spent time at four different levels of the Arizona system, reaching as high as Double-A Amarillo, and he compiled a combined slash line of .283/.382/.532.

Designated for assignment last year, Robinson cleared waivers and was in camp this spring as a non-roster invitee.

It didn’t take long for him to show the tools that made him a highly touted prospect.

“He’s done a great job this spring,” Hazen said. “He had an incredible spring. I think his at-bat quality has been fantastic. I would expect that to continue to improve as we start to make up for the amount of time he has lost developmentally. There’s no need to really talk about the impact in the bat. We know what that is, you can see it on a daily basis. I think as the approach improves, with reps, I think you’re going to see a pretty dynamic player.”

Refining his approach at the plate is something that Robinson says is a “top priority” for him, which comes down to knowing which pitches he can do damage on and attacking those while letting the others go.

Robinson is just glad to be back on the field once again playing the game that he loves.

“It was a process,” Robinson said. “Last year going back to affiliate baseball and playing games and it was definitely a day-by-day process and a lot of ups and downs. I think more than than anything, and this is what I talked about with [D-backs manager Torey Lovullo] in our meeting, I think the confidence level built up quite a bit at the end of last year and just got to a level where I know I can compete every day against guys on the diamond.”

Robinson will likely open the season at Amarillo and what happens after that will be up to him, but once again, his future on the diamond seems bright.

“The way he’s performed up here, I want him to continue to see the light at the end of the tunnel at the Major League level,” Hazen said. “Because it’s coming.”