ESPN places Diamondbacks No. 23 in farm system rankings
Aug 12, 2024, 7:15 AM | Updated: 8:34 am
ESPN’s MLB Draft and prospects analyst Kiley McDaniel knocked the Arizona Diamondbacks back to No. 23 on his updated farm system rankings after the trade deadline.
He pegged Arizona No. 21 to start the year, and since then the D-backs traded top-30 prospects Deyvison De Los Santos and Andrew Pintar for relief pitcher A.J. Puk. Injuries have also plagued the system this season at essentially every level.
Top prospect Jordan Lawlar has been held to four games at Triple-A Reno due to thumb and hamstring injuries, limiting his ability to provide assistance to the major league club.
Tommy Troy, Arizona’s 2023 first-round pick, spent more than two months on the injured list (hamstring) at High-A Hillsboro. Top pitching prospect Yu-Min Lin was shelved for a month after getting hit in the face by a foul ball in the dugout with Double-A Amarillo.
Lawlar has had bad injury luck in pro ball and has missed much of this season with a hamstring issue. It seems like 2025 will be his chance to potentially break through at the big league level. I really liked Arizona’s top two picks in the draft, Slade Caldwell and Ryan Waldschmidt. The third pick, JD Dix, can hit and play the infield, but his draft position was a bit of a surprise. Last year’s top pick, Tommy Troy, has had a rough season so far while righty Yilber Diaz has taken a step forward. Arizona lost two prospects of note at the deadline, dealing Deyvison De Los Santos and Andrew Pintar for A.J. Puk.
Opinions varied on Arizona’s farm system entering the season, as MLB Pipeline ranked it No. 16 and The Athletic’s Keith Law had it No. 4.
McDaniel’s preseason explanation had to do with the number of graduations the previous year, such as Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno and Brandon Pfaadt.
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This year, Blaze Alexander, Justin Martinez and Slade Cecconi have all graduated from prospects to rookies.
Diaz showed some impressive traits in his four-start introduction to MLB, and catcher Adrian Del Castillo received his first big league call-up on Tuesday.
McDaniel’s top farm system in baseball belongs to the Baltimore Orioles, followed by the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
