D-backs OF Corbin Carroll ranked MLB’s No. 1 prospect by The Athletic’s Keith Law

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Days after MLB Pipeline released its top 100 prospects for the 2023 season, The Athletic’s Keith Law went one step further with Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll.

The 22-year-old lefty landed in the No. 1 spot on Law’s board after he came in second on Pipeline behind Baltimore Orioles prospect Gunnar Henderson.

Law’s explanation involved Carroll’s ability to bounce back from a pair of lost seasons after no MiLB campaign took place in 2020 and he suffered a shoulder injury seven games into 2021.

For a player to miss this much time and perform at the level Carroll did, jumping right to Double A and hitting .303/.422/.495 between that level and Triple A (in two hitter-friendly ballparks), speaks to both his pure athleticism and his incredible feel for the game. The Diamondbacks are building a tremendous core of young players, and Carroll will be one of their centerpieces for a long time.

Law ranked Carroll the No. 16 prospect in baseball entering the 2022 season.

Carroll started off with Double-A Amarillo and moved up to Triple-A Reno on July 9. He did not skip much of a beat in 33 games before the D-backs called him up on Aug. 29.

“I think it speaks to my ability to take the results out of it,” Carroll said in an interview with MLB.com’s Sam Dykstra last week. “I try to be super process oriented and I feel like if I do everything that I want to do there, the results will take care of themselves.”

Law graded Carroll an 80 out of 80 runner, which was displayed last year by his 100th percentile spring speed in the majors, per Baseball Savant.

What struck the baseball writer was Carroll’s power ability despite a modest 5-foot-10 frame.

Despite his stature, he makes solid contact and has shown plus power everywhere he’s played, including his stint in the majors, along with very advanced plate discipline for someone with his limited playing experience. He did struggle with high-end velocity in his month in the majors, so he has at least one clear area for improvement heading into his first full major-league season, but didn’t have the same trouble with velocity in the minors.

Carroll slugged .500 with four homes runs in 32 MLB games last season.

Law was bullish on several of the D-backs’ top prospects, as he placed shortstop Jordan Lawlar at No. 9 and outfielder Druw Jones No. 15.

Pitchers Brandon Pfaadt (No. 38) and Ryne Nelson (No. 82) also made the cut.

Law wrote that he would not be surprised to see Lawlar, 20, make his MLB debut in 2023. He called Nelson a potential No. 2-3 starter and Pfaadt a mid-rotation or better arm.

Pitchers and catchers will report to spring training on Feb. 15 with full squads on Feb. 20.

Many D-backs players, including Carroll, are already working at the team facility at Salt River Fields.

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