Touted prospect dealing with legal issue
As D-backs Minor Leaguers break camp this weekend to begin their regular seasons, Arizona's No. 2 prospect, outfielder Kristian Robinson, will not be among them.
Robinson is currently back in his native Bahamas working on renewing his visa, which has been complicated by a pending legal issue he faces in Arizona from an incident that occurred on the afternoon of April 5, 2020.
According to a police report, Robinson was found walking along Interstate 10 just west of Phoenix near the Salome Road exit. When police arrived, Robinson was involved in an altercation with one of the officers and was arrested.
“We have been intimately involved in helping Kristian deal with these personal issues since they first took place last year, working closely with him and his representatives to address these challenges," the D-backs said in a statement. "We do not condone in any way his behavior and recognize the serious nature of these accusations, including the consequences of those actions. We have personally known Kristian for more than four years and believe in him as a person and have witnessed first-hand the steps he has taken to address these issues, get the help he needs and commit himself to being better in the future. We will continue to stay closely involved in his development as a young man, and provide him with the resources he needs to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”
Robinson, who is ranked 47th among MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects, spent last year at the club's alternate training site. The 20-year-old was signed by the D-backs in 2017 for $2.5 million. In 2019, he split time between Class A short season Hillsboro and Class A Kane County. At Hillsboro, he had a slash line of .319/.407/.558 in 189 plate appearances.
In his statement, Robinson mentioned some mental health struggles prior to the incident.
“Like so many last year, I was struggling to manage the stress of my personal life, the shutdown of the game I love and the overall global pandemic," Robinson's statement said. "While struggling with my mental health, I acted out of character and I was involved in an incident that I take full responsibility for. I would like to apologize to Trooper Lough and to my family, teammates, coaches and the D-backs organization, who I am extremely grateful to for supporting me through this very difficult situation. I have taken serious measures to prioritize my mental health and get back on the field. I am fully committed to not only improving as a person, but using my platform to help others who are experiencing the same struggles. I look forward to getting back to Arizona and working hard to prove myself both on and off the field.”