The Arizona Diamondbacks are calling up top prospect Jordan Lawlar ahead of their series against the Chicago Cubs, manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Arizona selected the 6-foot-1, 190-pound shortstop Lawlar, 21, with the No. 6 pick in the 2021 MLB Draft.
- The Athletic’s Keith Law listed Lawlar as the No. 7 prospect in baseball in his midseason rankings. Lawlar entered the season as the No. 9 prospect in the sport.
- Lawlar is slashing .278/.378/.496 with 20 home runs and 36 steals in the minors this season, including batting .358 with five homers over 16 Triple-A games. A move to third base could be in store as he slots into the Diamondbacks’ infield.
He’s coming up. 👀
Jordan Lawlar is set to join the team tomorrow in Chicago, per Torey Lovullo. pic.twitter.com/OjV3Gcsj46
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 6, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What to expect in the majors
Lawlar has been hitting out of his mind since a promotion three weeks ago to Triple-A Reno, but that’s one of the best hitting environments in professional baseball (elevation 4,505 feet), so it’s probably best not to read too much into what he did in 16 games for the Aces. Lawlar reached Double A to finish last year, his first professional season, advancing through both Low and High A before a 20-game stint for Amarillo — also a good hitter’s park — where he had his first real struggle in pro ball. He returned to Double A to start 2023 and continued to have trouble with contact, but after the first two months, he cut his whiff rate — particularly on pitches in the zone — going from a 20 percent miss rate in-zone before June 1 to 12 percent from that (arbitrary) date until his promotion.
Advertisement
He has shown strong ball-strike recognition since his debut, and his power has ticked up this year. I do think he’ll have some trouble adjusting to big-league breaking stuff from right-handers (where the pitcher would have the platoon advantage), because Reno is not a great place to make the ball spin and if he had any weakness in Double A, it was sliders and curveballs from righties. — Law
Where he fits into Arizona’s lineup
The D-Backs have had a nice rookie season from longtime prospect Geraldo Perdomo, who has been worth 2.5 rWAR in 121 games while playing above-average defense at shortstop, so Lawlar fits best somewhere else, like third base, where Arizona has gotten its worst offensive production — .239/.306/.354 from six different players, with only Evan Longoria hitting at even a league-average level.
Lawlar is a true shortstop and I think he could end up staying there with work and patience, although I’m in the minority on that; if there’s a consensus among evaluators, it’s that he’d be very good at third base, which dovetails nicely with Arizona’s current needs. He has the arm for third base and is agile enough to adjust to the position, which may take some time as he has played exactly one (1) professional game there. He’s a better third-base option right now than anyone on Arizona’s active roster, but even as someone who thinks he’s going to end up a star, I expect some struggles and inconsistency in his first few weeks. — Law
Backstory
Lawlar’s 2021 season lasted only two games because of a shoulder injury and ensuing season-ending surgery. In 2022, however, he hit .351/.447/.603 in Low A, then .288/.385/.478 in High A before reaching Double A.
The Diamondbacks are 72-68 on the year, half a game out of a National League wild-card spot.
Required reading
- Jordan Lawlar, Arizona’s ‘Jeter-like’ shortstop prospect, and the single mom who raised him
- Diamondbacks top 20 prospects 2023: Keith Law ranks Arizona’s minor league farm system
- Top 50 MLB prospects: Jackson Holliday, Paul Skenes top Jim Bowden’s rankings
- Top 100 MLB prospects 2023: Keith Law’s rankings, with Corbin Carroll at No. 1
(Photo: John E. Moore III / Getty Images)