Ryan Waldschmidt, Diamondbacks rookies counted on to learn from Year 1

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt can look back on his rookie season and remember a lot of positive moments.

Waldschmidt hit walk-off home runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, showing a knack for the dramatic moment.

How he responds to failures, however, will tell a more complete story about his career moving forward.

Ryan Waldschmidt has three career home runs …

Two of them are walk-offs 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/7UN2ow7uhS

— MLB (@MLB) August 26, 2026

Waldschmidt was one of eight Diamondbacks to make their MLB debut in 2026, and he was the most hyped of the group as the consensus top prospect in the system.

Despite his promising moments (he hit .405 over a 14-game stretch, for example), Waldschmidt had to deal with the disappointment of getting optioned to Triple-A after his first six weeks in the majors and falling out of favor by the end of the season. He took four plate appearances from Sept. 15-on.

“It’s baseball, you’re going to have struggles, so it’s more trying to limit the struggles,” Waldschmidt told Arizona Sports when looking back on his rookie year. “Instead of it being a one- or two-week thing, maybe a one- or two-day thing. I think that’s just going to come with more time and more experience. I’m just looking forward to carrying that into whatever’s next.”

Each of the eight rookies were optioned back to Triple-A at some point. The group combined for 0.8 wins above replacement, led by Waldschmidt’s 0.8.

The class included Jose Fernandez, Tommy Troy, LuJames Groover, Mitch Bratt, Jose Cabrera, Kohl Drake and Gerardo Carrillo, along with Waldschmidt. They made up five of Arizona’s top 20 prospects entering the season on FanGraphs.

The Diamondbacks have a veteran core and several roster needs this offseason, but this organization needs its prospect pipeline to supplement that talent and start bearing some blue-chippers. The pipeline heavily influenced the 2023 Diamondbacks with homegrown talents Corbin Carroll, Brandon Pfaadt and Geraldo Perdomo, but the following waves have not made the same level of impact.

Jordan Lawlar is not a rookie but has a lot to prove given his lack of experience due to injuries, although he showed improvement when healthy this past season (.779 OPS). Brandyn Garcia was Arizona’s most valuable rookie in 2026 (1.93 ERA) after coming over in a 2025 trade deadline deal, while 2025 rookie Tim Tawa provided value as a Swiss-army knife.

Can Waldschmidt lead the next group and be a plus everyday outfielder? Will any of Troy, Fernandez or Groover become a regular? Can Bratt provide much-needed pitching depth?

“I’m expecting each one of them to be that much better next year,” general manager Mike Hazen said last week. “The ones that apply the failure — Waldy’s strikeout rate was too high, he knows that. Him applying that and all the good things he did when he was coming up, if he can learn from that, that’s going to be the difference maker of who he is and what he’s going to be.

“I’m going to bet on that kid, given his makeup. … They don’t all have to be All-Stars but really good major league players. That’s going to be what will separate us as an organization, whether we become a winning franchise, go to the playoffs and back to the World Series, or not.”

Waldschmidt has approach adjustments to make, considering right-handers took advantage of his propensity to whiff through breaking balls.

He struck out 30% of the time while swinging-and-missing at a 46% clip against breaking balls. Eventually, his success against fastballs declined as he started to chase them out of the zone.

Giving himself the opportunity to drive pitches he can handle is going to be key to a second-year jump, as he possess the raw power and speed to be a dynamic force for the lineup.

“I tried to perform every day,” Waldschmidt said. “You come in with the pressures of making sure you’re continuing to provide for the team and continue to earn your spot. Knowing that I’ve had a year under my belt, I have more experience, I’m definitely going to go out there with less pressure on myself to perform. I think that’s tough on anyone. Your first year, you want to prove yourself. You want to prove you belong. Obviously, you’re here for a reason. They believe in you. Coming into year two, I’ve seen it. I’ve done it.”

“It’s a tough game,” Waldschmidt added. “These guys, they’re going to make pitches. They’re going to have good days on the mound. … Just being able to reset and keep your mind even keel, being able to differentiate when you’re struggling versus when someone just did really well against you, I think that’s the biggest thing. Just being able to tip your cap sometimes and be able to move on.”

A Carroll, Lawlar and Waldschmidt outfield would be an ideal set up moving forward if the D-backs youngsters develop.

How did the Diamondbacks’ rookies look?

(Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)

Fernandez showed all the physical tools you could ask for but needs better plate discipline to tap into his power (36% chase, 25% whiffs). He has less of a track record of doing so in the minor leagues than Waldschmidt, but he owns tantalizing talent at 23 years old. He helped carry the offense in April before the league figured out how to attack him. Watching him hit in spring training, that first month and even in batting practice, there is an ease to his power if he gives himself the chance with better swing decisions.

Troy clobbered lefties and was baffled by righties in the major leagues, an OPS difference of .990 to .539 as a rookie. He had trouble against breaking balls as many rookies do. Troy has been an on-base stalwart with great speed throughout his minor league career, and if he can continue to punish lefties, he will have a path to earning a part-time role with potential for more.

Groover only received 54 plate appearances and had solid underlying metrics such as his exit velocity and swing decisions, but an ugly .167 batting average led to his demotion. He is 24 years old and a career .300 hitter in the minors.

“We had some youthful players take meaningful at-bats this year, and I feel like they could be better role players or bench players next year without hurting development,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I think there’s still a lot of growth in that area.”

Bratt limited hard contact more successfully than Drake or Cabrera and had the best minor league numbers of the trio, although walks were an issue in his 10 major league starts (4.70 ERA). Cabrera showed the best stuff of the three, and ideally the Game 161 troubles on the biggest stage of his career will be a learning moment.

Carrillo was nasty out of the bullpen (29% whiffs) but has to improve at throwing strikes (20% walk rate).

Gran labor de Gerardo Carrillo ⚾🔥 El tapatío lanzó 2.0 entradas en blanco y recetó 3 chocolates 🍫🍫🍫 pic.twitter.com/Bojz0JVNjU

— MLB México (@MLB_Mexico) August 2, 2026

Arizona also has many Rule 5 Draft protection decisions to make this offseason, a peer into the next group.

Top prospect Demetrio Crisantes is eligible if not added to the 40-man roster this offseason, as is outfielder Druw Jones, infielder Jansel Luis, infielder Cristofer Torin, infielder Manuel Pena, pitcher Ashton Izzi and catcher Christian Cerda.

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