With the first two months of the 2025 season in the books, we are updating the Top 40 prospects list here at Arizona Diamondbacks on SI. In the midseason update, we took into account how the Diamondbacks' top minor league prospects have performed early in the season.
To qualify for our prospect list, the player must be 25 years old or younger on Opening Day and haven't passed the service time or play threshold for their rookie seasons in the major leagues. Each prospect is ranked based on how strong a career we project them to have in Arizona.
Slade Caldwell has leapfrogged Jordan Lawlar as the top prospect on the list. Lawlar was the top prospect on the preseason list, but that was before the team committed to Geraldo Perdomo as their starting shortstop and another rough stint in the major leagues.
With fellow prospect LuJames Groover being developed as a full-time third baseman, Lawlar's best options to get into the lineup on an everyday basis are second base and center field. That increases the bar for him offensively to stick. The final hurdle is improving his approach against breaking balls, especially against right-handed pitchers.
Caldwell, on the other hand, has looked excellent for an 18-year-old prospect in his first season of pro ball. He's near the top of the California League leaderboard in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS.
He shows the ability to draw walks, although his approach can get passive at times, as he takes a lot of called strikes. With a line drive approach and plus-plus speed, he projects as the D-backs' future center fielder.
Right-handed reliever Hayden Durke tops the list of new additions to the prospect lists. Durke has shown the most improvement of any pitcher in the Diamondbacks' system, flashing the ability to command two "plus" breaking pitches and a 98 MPH four-seamer.
He's already been promoted to Double-A Amarillo after dominating the Northwest League. Durke projects as a back-of-the-bullpen arm, hence the high ranking at No. 17 despite not ranking on the preseason list.
Elian De La Cruz, the organization's highest-ranked international signing in 2025, debuts at the No. 28 spot. De La Cruz has the ideal build for a power-hitting outfielder from the right side of the plate, drawing Marcell Ozuna comps. He's been assigned to the DSL Black squad.
Infielder Enyervert Perez is a prospect that farm director Chris Slivka tipped us off to as a potential sleeper. A corner infielder by trade, Slivka noted that Perez is near the top of the Arizona Complex League in hard-hit rates (exit velocities greater than 95.0 MPH) and raw exit velocity relative to his age group.
At the time of this writing, he's hitting .274 with a .827 OPS, 15.6% walk rate, and a 19.5% strikeout rate. Perez starts at the No. 27 spot on the list.
Nate Savino has battled injuries the last three years, but a permanent move to the bullpen has revived his career. He's posting a solid 27% strikeout rate and an 11% walk rate between Visalia and Hillsboro over 30.2 innings.
With a dearth of left-handed relief options, he could quickly ascend up the system and finish the season in Double-A. Savino sits at the No. 37 spot but could rise even higher once we have a clearer picture of his fastball velocity.
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