Four D-backs crack The Athletic’s top 100 MLB prospects for 2021
Jan 28, 2021, 7:10 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2021, 7:10 am
Geraldo Perdomo #7 of the Salt River Rafters fields a ball against the Naranjeros de Hermosillo at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Tuesday, September 24, 2019 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Numerous Arizona Diamondbacks prospects continue to see their names pop up in offseason rankings.
Thursday was no different.
Outfielders Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas along with shortstops Kristian Robinson and Geraldo Perdomo were included in The Athletic’s top 100 MLB prospects compiled by Keith Law.
Of the four, Carroll ranks the highest at No. 23.
The Diamondbacks were ecstatic to get Carroll, the No. 4 prospect on my draft board in 2019, with the 16th overall pick, and he has impressed across the board since signing, even showing more power than anticipated once he got into pro ball. Corbin can flash all five tools, as he’s already a 70 runner, projects to stay in center with above-average defense, and has shown a real feel to hit, with an advanced idea of the strike zone already despite playing amateur baseball at a private high school in Seattle.
In 11 games (43 at-bats) with the Short-A Hillsboro Hops in 2019, Carroll posted 14 hits, six RBIs and 13 runs scored. He finished the season with a .326 batting average and .408 OBP.
Law adds that while Carroll may not have most pure upside in the team’s farm system, he does possess a solid “combination of ceiling and probability.”
Robinson comes in at 37th on the list and while he’s still a relatively raw prospect, the athleticism and tools have his potential still to-be-reached.
Robinson is a big, athletic kid, with plus raw power and plus speed, quick enough to play center but with the arm to handle right if he outgrows the middle of the diamond.
In instructs this past fall, he showed enormous power to the opposite field, but also showed he still has a ways to go picking up anything other than fastballs. He just turned 20 in December, and between the lost pandemic year and his relative inexperience growing up in the Bahamas, he’s probably more like 18 in baseball years, but the upside here is undeniable even if it’s far away.
Next up is Thomas, who lands at No. 61.
Thomas, the team’s second-round pick in 2018, started to show more power in 2019 in full-season A ball without a big jump in his strikeouts, giving more reason to think he’ll end up showing all five tools when he gets to his prime.
Playing 23 games with the Single-A Visalia Rawhide in 2019, Thomas averaged .255 to go along with 24 hits, seven RBIs and two home runs. He also scored 13 runs and posted an .829 OPS.
Rounding out the trio is Perdomo at No. 91.
The shortstop has 66 career stolen bases since joining the D-backs’ farm system in 2017. He has played at six different minor league levels with the team.
Perdomo is a no-doubt shortstop with outstanding instincts for his age, showing it on both sides of the ball with great strike zone knowledge and excellent reads and actions on defense. He’s a very disciplined hitter who has gotten a little bit stronger but needs to keep adding muscle so he can convert all that contact into more impact.
Perdomo, who Law says the D-backs have raved about, has a career on-base percentage of .411 to go along with a .278 batting average.
Carroll (42), Perdomo (75), Robinson (93) and Thomas (94) were also included in Baseball America’s top-100 MLB prospects on Jan. 18.
