Diamondbacks select Stanford INF Tommy Troy with No. 12 overall pick

PHOENIX — With the No. 12 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks selected infielder Tommy Troy out of Stanford.

Troy played three seasons for Stanford, producing a 1.014 OPS in 162 games and making the Golden Spikes Award Watch List this past season.

The 5-foot-10 right-handed hitter made the All-Pac-12 team in 2023 with a 1.177 OPS and 17 home runs for the 44-20 Cardinal.

“I knew there was definitely a possibility there and I really wanted it to happen, so I couldn’t be happier right now,” Troy told reporters on Sunday. “I grew up playing a bunch of tournaments in Arizona, and I would always love going to Diamondbacks games.”

GRAND SALAMI!!!#RoadToOmaha x 🎥 ESPN2 / @StanfordBSB pic.twitter.com/UbCQh8qDK0

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 5, 2023

Troy described his hit tool as his strength with the ability to produce against different types of pitchers.

On the base paths, his steals jumped from eight in 2022 to 17 in 2023. He attributed the sharp increase to receiving more of a green light and working on stealing bases during his time in the Cape Cod Baseball League with Cotuit.

An improvement he mentioned wanting to accomplish was to further develop on defense.

Troy has played infield and outfield in college, spending the 2023 season at third base. He said his favorite position is shortstop but is open to playing different spots.

“I’m confident in my abilities enough to move anywhere on the diamond if need be to move up in the system as fast as I can and impact the big leagues as fast as possible,” Troy said.

The D-backs have scouted Troy since his high school days, director of amateur scouting Ian Rebhan told reporters on Sunday.

Rebhan said Troy’s track record offensively was exciting, and the organization sees him as a shortstop on defense.

“We think he profiles really well as a hit and power, defending up the middle player,” Rebhan said. “He’s super athletic. We think he’s a plus runner and there’s just a lot of conviction from both our scouting group and our analyst group about that bat.”

Troy has also played in big games, taking the stage at the College World Series in each of his three years with the Cardinal.

“I love those playoff moments and I love playoff baseball,” Troy said. “I feel like my one of my strengths is that sort of pressure doesn’t get to me.”

Tommy Troy, you are a D-back! pic.twitter.com/Z257EEh54y

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 10, 2023

Troy said he wants to get on the field quickly, noting he does not feel it will take long to sign a deal.

“I’m hungry, I’m ready to go start playing baseball as soon as possible,” Troy said. “As soon as I can get the deal done and start getting ready for the short season, I’m going to do it.”

Troy is 21 years old and played high school ball at Los Gatos HS in California.

The Athletic’s Keith Law had him ranked No. 13 on his big board.

Troy is a very high-contact hitter despite a swing that sometimes looks like it’s going to take him right out of his shoes, occasionally generating very hard contact but with only middling power. He almost never misses a fastball, whiffing on only eight percent of them this spring … He’s a 55 runner who’s played all over the field, mostly playing third this year for the Cardinal, but with some shortstop experience, enough that he should go out either at that spot or maybe even try center.

Arizona has not taken a college bat with its first pick in a draft since 2017 (Pavin Smith).

The D-backs earned the No. 12 pick with a 74-88 record in 2022 after picking in the top 10 for consecutive years.

Arizona took shortstop Jordan Lawlar No. 6 overall in 2021 and OF Druw Jones No. 2 last year.

Arizona draft picks who have played in the majors for the D-backs this season include Kevin Ginkel (2016), Smith (2017), Alek Thomas (2018), Jake McCarthy (2018), Corbin Carroll (2019), Tommy Henry (2019), Ryne Nelson (2019), Dominic Fletcher (2019), Dominic Canzone (2019), Drey Jameson (2019) and Brandon Pfaadt (2020).

The D-backs also took INF Gino Groover and LHP Caden Grice with the No. 48 and No. 64 picks, respectively, on Sunday.

Rounds 3-10 will resume Monday with the final 10 rounds of the draft on Tuesday, both starting at 11 a.m.

The MLB All-Star Game is also on Tuesday at 5 p.m., and Carroll will start in the outfield for the National League.

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