2025 MLB Farm Review: Arizona Diamondbacks

The Visalia Rawhide were home to three of the Diamondbacks’ past first-round picks over the last two seasons: Slade Caldwell, JD Dix, and 2025 first-rounder Kayson Cunningham.

We’ll start with Caldwell, a plus runner in high school who was considered one of the best high school prospects in 2024. The 19-year-old slashed .294/.460/.454 with three home runs and 18 extra-base hits, plus 13 stolen bases over 48 games. He did strike out a lot (62), although it’s not what you might think.

To give you an idea of how disciplined Caldwell was in Low-A, consider this: he had the highest take percentage (69.3%) in the California League. Sure, that resulted in some called strikes, as over 35% of his takes did, which explains the strikeouts. But on the other hand, Caldwell made consistent contact (23.9% Whiff%) and took 44 walks — nearly one per game.

Dix, who the Diamondbacks signed away from Wake Forest, was somewhat similar to Caldwell in terms of offensive production. After Dix ripped through the ACL (17 XBH over 39 GP), the 20-year-old slashed .261/.391/.335 with one home run, 10 extra-base hits, and 19 stolen bases over 50 games.

Like Caldwell, Dix is a high-take hitter who earned 38 free passes over 50 contests.

The other one was Kayson Cunningham, the former USA U18 infielder who got his feet wet in California late last season. Cunningham struck out 15 times over 11 games in Low-A.

As for the pitching staff, the Rawhide had a lot of pitchers with high walk totals this past season. Two who didn’t were Junior Sanchez and Chung-Hsiang Huang.

Sanchez (26.2% Whiff%) struck out 64 over 73.2 IP and limited opposing hitters to a .226 batting average.

Huang, a 20-year-old pitcher who moved to Visalia late in the year after a good run in the ACL, struck out 38 over 35.2 IP. The right-hander posted an impressive 33.9% Whiff% in his short run last summer with the Rawhide.

Hillsboro Hops

We’ll start with the offense, which included Ryan Waldschmidt, Caldwell, and Druw Jones, all former first-round picks for the Diamondbacks.

For as good a defender as Jones is, his bat has yet to develop. He slashed .255/.355/.360 (.105 ISO) with five home runs and 35 total extra-base hits, plus 28 stolen bases, over 123 games.

At some points, the power will show up for Jones. On the other hand, he hits a lot of groundballs, north of 50%.

For Caldwell, it was roughly the same story as it was in Low-A: groundballs, lots of takes, lots of walks — and a lot of strikeouts. He posted a .681 OPS in 66 games, largely buoyed by a high .370 on-base percentage.

Ryan Waldschmidt, meanwhile, finished in the top five in FB% this past season in the Northwest, alongside another Hop, Demitrio Crisantes. We’ll get to Crisantes in a second.

Waldschmidt, who had a great junior season, did very well in High-A. The former Kentucky standout posted a strong 22.2% Whiff%, walked 51 times, juxtaposed to 53 strikeouts, and had 23 extra-base hits in 68 games.

As for Cristanes, he followed up a great season in Visalia back in 2024 with a strong, yet shortened 2025 campaign. He picked up 12 extra-base hits and a .358 on-base percentage over 34 contests.

Cristanes sustained a shoulder injury in May and didn’t play a game after May 14.

As for the pitching staff, 2024 third-rounder Daniel Eagen has a chance to become the first player from Presbyterian College to make it to the Majors since the creation of the MLB Draft. The right-hander had a strong first full pro season, as Eagan struck out 132 over 97.2 IP, en route to winning the Northwest League Pitcher of the Year award.

Eagan (37.5% Whiff%) toyed with hitters, thanks to a carrying fastball and a big breaking curveball.

He was the headliner of a staff that also included groundball machine John West, Carlos Rey (31.6% Whiff%), and in-season acquisitions Ashton Izzi and David Hagaman.

Amarillo Sod Poodles

We might as well start with Ryan Waldschmidt, who had no problems hitting in Double-A.

While his Whiff% ticked up to 27.5%, Walschmidt had a fantastic run with Amarillo. The outfielder had 26 extra-base hits (nine of which were home runs), stole 19 bases, and worked a ton of counts. He finished 2025 with a .423 on-base percentage and one of the highest take percentages in the Texas League.

Walschmidt came just shy of hitting double-digits in home runs, something nine other players on Amarillo did last year. Among those who did were LuJames Groover, Tommy Troy, Kristian Robinson, Ivan Melendez, and team leader Christian Cerda.

The 2025 campaign was a strong one for both Groover and Troy, both impressive hitters in their own right. Groover had 35 extra-base hits, a sub-20% Whiff%, and posted a .399 on-base percentage. Not surprising that Groover accomplished the latter feat, as he had one of the best take percentages in the league, as well.

Troy posted a .843 OPS with the Sod Poodles before he moved up to Reno.

Jack Hurley, a third-round pick from 2023, had the fourth-worst Whiff% (40.2%) in the Texas League (min. 200 swings).

As for the pitching staff, former Rangers pitcher Mitch Bratt was excellent once he moved from Frisco to Amarillo. Bratt struck out 42 over 31.2 IP with the Sod Poodles.

Bratt, as noted in our Rangers farm recap, had one of the best overall Whiff% rates in the Texas League last year.

Reno Aces

As expected, several former MLBers were on the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A roster, including Trey Mancini, Aramis Garcia, Rene Pinto, Seth Brown, and Trevor Richards. Blaze Alexander, who’s been a good platoon option at times for Arizona in 2024-25, also saw significant time with Reno.

However, there were also some notable prospects.

Jordan Lawlar (9.9% Barrel%, 26.1% Whiff%) had a strong run in Reno this past season, even though he missed time due to injury. Lawlar, who saw time at second, short, and third, hit .313/.403/.564 with 11 home runs and 38 extra-base hits over 63 games. He wound up getting time with the big club in September.

Yilber Diaz, who made his MLB debut in 2024, came into the year as one of the best pitching prospects in the system. He didn’t exit the year as one, though. Diaz walked 64 batters over 41 innings with Reno. Mostly a starter in the Minors, the right-hander was shifted into a reliever role midseason.

Kohl Drake was hit around in a short sample size with the Aces. The left-hander surrendered eight walks and three home runs over 16 innings. However, he did strike out 19 batters.

A.J. Vukovich (32.4% Whiff%) hit a team-high 22 home runs.

Twenty-five-year-old outfielder Kristian Robinson (6.8% Barrel%) had a fantastic run with the Aces. Robinson, once a top prospect in the D-Backs’ system, walked 31 times and had 16 extra-base hits over 41 games.

Early Projected Top 5 for 2026

1. Ryan Waldschmidt
2. Slade Caldwell
3. Kayson Cunningham
4. Kohl Drake
5. Patrick Forbes

Thanks to service time, Jordan Lawlar has graduated from the prospect list. Meaning, there is a new #1 atop the Diamondbacks’ farm system.

It’s close between Waldschmidt and Caldwell, two different outfielders. Both are fantastic at getting on base and swiping bases, Caldwell more than the former. However, Waldschmidt is a formidable power hitter, moreso than Caldwell.

After that, we’ll go with Cunningham at #3. Kohl Drake, acquired last summer as part of the Merrill Kelly, was a strong swing-and-miss pitcher in the Rangers’ organization. has a diverse & modern pitch arsenal, regularly using both a four-seamer and two-seamer.

Patrick Forbes, also picked in the first round last July, boasted one of the best fastballs in college last year with Louisville.