Why did Diamondbacks send down Ryan Waldschmidt, what will the top prospect work on?

PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told young outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt in his office in Cincinnati on Sunday to go back down to Triple-A with an “All-Star” mentality.

“He has that capability, but he’s got to figure out parts of his game,” Lovullo said.

Lovullo added that he firmly believes Waldschmidt will be back in the big league lineup this season with different sightlines.

The Diamondbacks opted to send down their top prospect to the minors for a couple primary reasons:

1. Take what he learned in his first major league experience and make adjustments
2. Playing time crunch

Pitchers started to pepper Waldschmidt with breaking stuff in the strike zone after he had started hot, and he struggled to handle the league’s adjustment.

That’s not an abnormal progression for a young hitter.

“The league made a little adjustment, started spinning a lot of pitches, making it tougher for him at a level of which he’s never seen,” hitting coach Joe Mather told Arizona Sports. “Not many guys come up and never go back down. And he’s someone who will absolutely be back up. … The slider started coming out more, we noticed that.”

How can he work on hitting big league sliders without seeing them?

“It’s really tough. You have to, as best you can, make your work as challenging as possible,” Mather said. “You have to add a little bit more mix in your work, even though it’s not going to be big league stuff. But there really is no reproducing it.”

Lovullo pointed to the at-bat quality, saying Waldschmidt has to improve at controlling counts and not trying to do damage on pitcher’s pitches.

His 32.4% strikeout rate is 10 points higher than the major league average. His chase rate was not worse than average, but he saw 38% breaking balls, which drew a 56% whiff rate. On the flip side, he needs to attack the pitches in the zone that he can handle, or least fight them off with two strikes.

Waldschmidt has the tools to be a mainstay for the Diamondbacks, with power and speed to add a dynamism to the lineup. He made some stellar defensive plays as he showed the competitiveness to help the team by flying around out there. Confidence remains high that he will be a very good hitter when he comes back up.

“He came here, he had some impactful moments,” Lovullo said. “He held his own, but I think there’s more to him than just holding his own.”

As for the playing time, the Diamondbacks are in a period of the season in which they are getting players back from the injured list. Jordan Lawlar returned on Friday and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on Monday. Those are two outfielders who will take up near-everyday reps.

The D-backs elected to keep Jorge Barrosa on the big league club, who does not provide the offense that even a struggling Waldschmidt does, but he does not have to play regularly. Tommy Troy handling himself well lately with lots of walks and not many strikeouts put himself in position to keep getting opportunities.

Lawlar started Monday’s game in center with Troy in left and Gurriel as the designated hitter — all of whom are right-handed — against a right-handed pitcher. The D-backs will see lefties on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I was going to have to be a little bit creative with three or four guys for two spots, maybe five guys for two spots,” Lovullo said.

“Lourdes is going to play a little bit of left field. He’s going to DH. Pavin (Smith) is going to do the same, so I feel like I can fill in their at-bats, Pavin and Lourdes, in that way. But with Lawlar emerging and Tommy Troy doing a really nice job, I just felt like the at-bats were going to dry up for Ryan.”

Diamondbacks mix up batting order

Gurriel’s return was not the only shakeup in the starting nine.

Lovullo moved shortstop Geraldo Perdomo back up to second, in between second baseman Ketel Marte and right fielder Corbin Carroll. That pushed catcher Gabriel Moreno from third to fourth, while scuffling third baseman Nolan Arenado dropped back to sixth from the clean-up spot.

Smith, who received the start at first base, slid from fifth to eight as he continues to struggling after coming back from the injured list.

“I just want to be creative in any way possible to help us get this team moving offensively. Marte and Carroll are go-swingers. They’re walking up there from pitch one to do damage. I think Perdomo can separate two go-swingers,” Lovullo said.

“I dropped Nolan down in the lineup. I feel like he’s been grinding a little bit and getting a hit here or there, and I just want to take a little bit of pressure off of him.”

Still no word on A.J. Puk’s second opinion

Among several injury updates, Lovullo said the club has not yet received any news on reliever A.J. Puk’s subsequent opinions. Puk was pulled back from his injury rehab due to left elbow discomfort.

Catcher James McCann continues to make progress in his running progression and will play in rehab games next week in the Arizona Complex League.

First baseman Carlos Santana will play another game in Reno on Tuesday.

Reliever Justin Martinez will throw his eighth bullpen on Tuesday.

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