With attention on Jordan Lawlar’s switch to OF, what’s he working on at the plate?

SCOTTSDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks youngster Jordan Lawlar has understandably fielded many questions this spring about his switch to the outfield. At the same time, the D-backs are relying on him to hit more than at any other point in his short major league career.

Lawlar is off to a solid start, as he smacked a home run in his first plate appearance of 2026 on Saturday against the Colorado Rockies.

He swung through a pair of cutters away against right-hander Valente Bellozo to fall behind 1-2, an echo of his previous struggles with pitches moving off the plate. This time, he checked off a sweeper outside and a changeup down to work the count full. After a pair of foul balls, Lawlar saw a sweeper that hung and walloped it 110 mph to the left-field lawn.

“Committing to an approach and battling and making in-at-bat adjustments, and you saw the result,” Lawlar explained after Arizona’s 11-6 defeat.

Jordan Lawlar worked a 3-2 count, fouled off a couple pitches and then crushed a home run to left field in his first AB of the spring. pic.twitter.com/a9paLb7yd6

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) February 21, 2026

Lawlar finished the game 1-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout looking — courtesy of the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System.

The 23-year-old has embraced moving over to center field, where he is getting most of his reps this spring to fill a position of need on a roster.

Ultimately, though, if Lawlar hits he will play, and the Diamondbacks could really use a solid first full season from their former top prospect.

Lawlar found a bit of a groove in September last season, hitting .308 in 44 plate appearances with an .851 OPS, a small sample size but something to build on as he sees more big league pitching.

“I think the more you play the game and the more you face various pitches and various pitchers and arm slots, everything, you have to be able to challenge yourself,” Lawlar said. “And adjust depending on how you feel and what information you’re gaining within the at-bat. So I think I’ve definitely improved on that.”

It’s well documented that spin from right-handed pitchers gave him a lot of trouble, and there’s several layers of his hitting development that he’s been working on.

Hitting coach Joe Mather told Arizona Sports that Lawlar is seeing a lot of spin off pitching machines, the Trajekt (which displays pitcher deliveries on a screen before firing a pitch) and seeing breaking balls out of the hand. His swing decisions on Saturday, Mather said, were elite.

“Knowing where it needs to start,” Mather said is the key to handling the slider. “The sliders at the big-league lever are really, really good. They look like a fastball for a long time and break off. He’s going to have to find a queue, find that starting point. He’s playing with some of those queues now, and he’ll have a rolodex as he gets older. Right now it’s picking up one queue at a time.”

That goes directly into controlling the strike zone.

Lawlar struck out 34% of the time in 74 MLB plate appearances last year, and he hit .130 or worse against non-fastballs. His K rate in the minor leagues last year was 22%, which would be MLB average and an optimistic target for him.

“There’s no doubt that right-on-right stuff is hard on right-handed hitters,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “It’s (four-seamers) up with rip sliders, that seems to be a popular recipe. We want him to continue to control the zone, have good plate coverage, have awareness on the outer half, check off spin that isn’t there. We’ve seen that in spurts.”

“That’s the type of at-bat we’ve seen at times,” Lovullo added of Lawlar’s home run. “We just want it to be consistent.”

After hitting his first home run of the spring, Jordan Lawlar says he feels that he has improved at making in-at-bat adjustments coming into this season. pic.twitter.com/yNCthKWzM6

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) February 22, 2026

In previous call-ups, Lawlar was an additive piece, coming up without everyday playing time, as he was deemed ready for the next level. He faces a different challenge now.

Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will start the year on the injured list. Right fielder Corbin Carroll is fighting to return by Opening Day from a broken hamate.

Nolan Arenado, Alek Thomas, Carlos Santana and Pavin Smith all come with their own sets of questions offensively.

Mather expects Lawlar to be able to hit for average and power, which he was able to accomplish in the minors (career .298 hitter with .515 slug). Lawlar is searching for his first big league home run.

There is an opportunity for Lawlar to earn an everyday spot in the outfield out of camp. If Lawlar hits enough and proves he can stick defensively, he should remain a starter for a team that has flexibility with the designated hitter. Gurriel will not play the outfield every day when he returns, whether that’s in May or June. Thomas is getting reps in left field this spring, giving a runway for Lawlar in center for the time being.

“Being  athletic, that’s my word this year,” Lawlar said. “Whether it’s outfield, infield, or in the box, I wanna use my athleticism. After that, it comes down to your plan, which is your approach, and your timing. When you iron those out and commit to something, good things happen.”

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