Here's a breakdown of D-backs' reranked Top 30 Prospects

August 14th, 2024

PHOENIX -- The D-backs have been devastated by injuries this year, with all but one of their projected members of the Opening Day rotation spending time on the injured list, and yet they find themselves holding a postseason spot if the season ended today.

The role their Minor League system has played in their success this year can’t be understated, much like last year, when a homegrown core propelled the D-backs on an unexpected run to the World Series.

“Having a strong pipeline of talent is crucial if we’re going to have success,” general manager Mike Hazen said earlier this year.

Team Top 30 Prospects lists:
ALE: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR
ALC: CLE | CWS | DET | KC | MIN
ALW: HOU | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX
NLE: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH
NLC: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL
NLW: AZ | COL | LAD | SD | SF

From right-hander Yilber Diaz to catcher Adrian Del Castillo, the D-backs have gotten key contributions from their farm system this year, showing that despite all the promotions of the past few seasons, it remains very strong.

MLB Pipeline reranked each team’s Top 30 Prospects list and updated its Top 100 overall rankings. Here’s a look at the highlights from the reranked D-backs prospects.

Here’s a look at the Diamondbacks' top prospects:

  1. Jordan Lawlar, SS (No. 9 MLB)
  2. Druw Jones, OF (No. 92 MLB)
  3. Slade Caldwell, OF
  4. Ryan Waldschmidt, OF
  5. Tommy Troy, SS

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:

Jump: Adrian Del Castillo, C (Preseason: 28 | Midseason: 14)
What a week it has been for Del Castillo, who went from playing well at Triple-A Reno to making his big league debut after Gabriel Moreno went down with an injury. Del Castillo collected his first hit in his first Major League plate appearance, an RBI double against the Guardians. In his next game, Del Castillo collected three hits, including a ninth-inning walk-off homer off Phillies right-hander Jeff Hoffman. The D-backs have long liked Del Castillo’s bat and they feel like he has made a lot of strides behind the plate this year.

Fall: Ivan Melendez, 1B (Preseason: 8 | Midseason: 23)
His power remains special, but his approach still needs work. Per Synergy, Melendez swings at non-fastballs outside the zone 47 percent of the time. Smart pitchers at Triple-A and in the Majors will take advantage of that, hurting his chances of getting to showcase his incredible pop at the upper levels. He’ll be 25 in January and you'd have hoped he would be in Triple-A by now, but it hasn’t happened, leading to the drop.

More from MLB Pipeline:
Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage

New to the list

Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:

No. 3: Slade Caldwell, OF (Pick No. 29 in 2024 Draft)
No. 4: Ryan Waldschmidt, OF (Pick No. 31 in 2024 Draft)
No. 8: JD Dix, SS (Pick No. 35 in 2024 Draft)
No. 18: Daniel Eagen, RHP (Pick No. 102 in 2024 Draft)
No. 19: Connor Foley, RHP (Pick No. 164 in 2024 Draft)
No. 30: Ivan Luciano, C (Pick No. 64 in 2024 Draft)

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 60 -- Gino Groover
Power: 60 -- Ivan Melendez
Run: 70 -- Druw Jones (Jordan Lawlar)
Arm: 65 -- Jones
Defense: 70 -- Jones (Jorge Barrosa)
Fastball: 65 -- Yilber Diaz
Curveball: 60 -- Cristian Mena (Daniel Eagen)
Slider: 60 -- Diaz (Landon Sims, Spencer Giesting)
Changeup: 60 -- Yu-Min Lin
Control: 50 -- Lin (Mena, Dylan Ray, Sims)