MLB Pipeline: D-backs have the 9th-best farm system in baseball
Mar 19, 2021, 2:02 PM
General manager Mike Hazen of the Arizona Diamondbacks watches batting practice during a postseason workout at Chase Field (Photo by Sarah Sachs/Arizona Diamondbacks/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sarah Sachs/Arizona Diamondbacks/Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks failed to produce on the diamond in 2020 but took steps in the right direction off the field, as they continued their build of one of the top farm systems in baseball.
According to MLB Pipeline, the D-backs have the ninth-best farm system in baseball. General Manager Mike Hazen has compiled a group of versatile prospects who have the ability to play in multiple areas of the field.
Hazen has brought in outfielders and top prospects Corbin Carroll, Kristian Robinson and Alek Thomas as well as shortstop Geraldo Perdomo. Those players are the D-backs’ top four prospects, with Carroll and Robinson taking up spots one and two and Perdomo and Thomas filling three and four.
Hazen’s strategy has given the D-backs flexibility and has made them more versatile according to Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo.
They reflect a strategy the D-backs have used since Hazen took over prior to the 2017 season — select as many middle-of-the-diamond players as possible, because if they can play center field then they can easily play a corner if needed, and if they can play shortstop, they can play other places in the infield.
The D-backs have also brought in a group of pitchers who have shown plenty of promise.
Left-hander Blake Walston, Slade Cecconi, Bryce Jarvis and right-handers Luis Frias, Corbin Martin and Levi Kelly all rank in the top 10 of the D-backs prospects list.
