After a strong start to his Triple-A season, it looks like Jordan Lawlar is getting rewarded.
The Arizona Diamondbacks plan to call up Lawlar, whom The Athletic ranked as the No. 10 prospect in MLB (and the top prospect in the D-Backs’ system), ahead of a game in San Francisco on Monday night, according to general manager Mike Hazen.
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In 37 games with the Triple-A Reno Aces, the 22-year-old slashed .336/.413/.579 with 15 doubles, 31 RBI and 13 stolen bases.
Hazen said in an email that Lawlar was “likely rusty” when playing for Licey in the Dominican Winter League last winter — he hit .237/.315/.355 in 93 at-bats — but after a good showing in spring training and at Triple A, it “felt like he was ready to join the club.”
He won’t be getting every day at-bats, Hazen said, “but we wanted to add him to the team given how he’s been performing and figure he’ll impact the team in a few ways.”
Lawlar was called up in September 2023 and played in 14 games, slashing .129/.206/.129. Injuries limited Lawlar to 23 games last season.
Lawlar has a strong floor as an everyday guy in the middle infield or in center field, but if he can stay healthy and reach 20 homers or 60-plus extra-base hits, he could one day be an All-Star.
The Diamondbacks signed shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to a four-year, $45 million extension in the offseason. Lawlar was playing second and third as well as his natural position in Triple A, and that will continue at the major-league level, Hazen said.
Extending Perdomo with Lawlar waiting in the wings may seem potentially problematic, roster construction-wise, but as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported last week, the team doesn’t see it that way.
“I told Jordan that we signed Perdomo because of him,” Hazen said. “It wasn’t to block him off. I want them to be together. This will be a very good team with both of those guys on the same team. I’m not necessarily worried about who the shortstop is.”
The D-Backs sit in fourth place (21-20) in the juggernaut NL West after splitting a four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They start a three-game series with the Giants on Monday before returning home to face the division’s lone doormat, the Colorado Rockies, over the weekend.
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
