The 2026 Diamondbacks Are Starting to Feel Weirdly Familiar

It was around the 2022 season that the Diamondbacks, at least in the Mike Hazen and Torey Lovullo era, began to witness a core group of young players rising to the top of the system, graduating, and becoming regular major league contributors.

Young players like Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy — and even pitchers like Ryne Nelson and Tommy Henry — began to make their mark on the big league club. So much so that the Diamondbacks made a surprise march to their second National League pennant and a World Series appearance.

It's beginning to feel like that again, though perhaps not in identical fashion. The Diamondbacks have stripped away some of their veteran players like Christian Walker, Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez and begun to rely on their youth, once again.

Carroll, of course, is an ever-elevating star. But he's still just 25 years old. No. 1 D-backs prospect Ryan Waldschmidt was called up (alongside the DFA of Alek Thomas), and is hitting well north of .300 in his early action. Rookie infielder Jose Fernandez, though cool of late, provides a dynamic threat after making a splash in his MLB debut.

Most recently, after Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was placed on the IL with a hamstring injury, the D-backs called upon another young player: outfield-infield hybrid Tommy Troy. And all these young hitters are coming together around a veteran third baseman in Nolan Arenado — who's been an over-performing parallel to 2023's Evan Longoria.

The point is, the Diamondbacks are a young man's organization again, wrapped around a handful of key veterans. They're not exactly in a position to make major waves yet, at 27-24, but it's worth noting the 2023 squad sat two games below .500 as late as August 11.

"The first wave of guys since I was a manager that got here was the Ryne Nelsons, the Corbin Carrolls, and they're major players for us inside of what we're doing every single day," manager Torey Lovullo said, speaking to Diamondbacks pre-game radio host Steve Zinsmeister ahead of their Saturday night loss to the Rockies.

"And then the next layer, you're seeing right now, learning and growing, such as Ryan Waldschmidt. That's being an Arizona Diamondback.

"I think there's a great opportunity when you get drafted by the Diamondbacks you're gonna get a chance playing the big leagues some organizations you can't say that," Lovullo said.

The Diamondbacks may not look like a team destined for another electric playoff run, but they are starting to put together some similar pieces. At the very least, 2026 won't be void of intriguing young names.