D-backs Farm Director on ACL Standouts and Pitching Development

Our own Jack Sommers had the opportunity to chat with Diamondbacks' farm director Chris Slivka during this homestand. Slivka took over the role when the previous farm director, Shaun Larkin, was moved to an on-field role as a third base coach.

A whole host of topics were discussed, including key pitching development strategies for the many arms in the Diamondbacks' system, adjusting to a new environment in professional ball, prospects who have improved the most in 2025, and one sleeper prospect that fans should pay more attention to.

Returning Yilber Díaz to the Complex to Work on Command

“Trying to get him more consistency in the strike zone. The strikes have been hit or miss. Continuing to work on the consistency. We need him to get the feel for his breaking stuff back a little bit, he's much more comfortable with the heater than the breaking stuff. Back to basics, take him out of some minors competition for a little bit, let him continue to find some consistency here in Arizona. We don’t expect this to be a long hiatus.”

Cristian Mena's Improved Results in 2025

“He has two different fastballs, he’s got a 4 (seam) and a 2 (sinker). Having contrast between those two helps a lot in terms of keeping hitters off of one or the other, it’s a nightmare for hitters. With that, his velocity has upticked a little bit this year, which has been really good to see. He obviously was down last year with the injury, but the silver lining in that is that he was working through a lot of different arm care things and he got into a good routine with all of that.

"He was working on this body, and coming into this season he added some significant weight. The fastball velocity was up a little bit, the curveball was harder too. With that, his entire arsenal has taken a step forward. I think a lot of times, we forget how young this kid really is."

"This kid is just as old as Daniel Eagen is, and he’s one of the youngest pitchers in the PCL doing what he’s doing in the hitter-friendly environment. I think he just showcased against the Dodgers what he can do and it’s a pretty exciting young arm.”

“If you look at him, he has all the ingredients to [be a starting pitcher]. He has the aptitude, he has the makeup, he has the strike-throwing ability, he has the arsenal and repertoire. Everyone knows the value to a young controllable starter."

LuJames Groover's Improved Third Base Defense

“It’s coming along really well at third base. He picks up the ball as good as anybody in our minor league system, it’s more so continuing to get the throw more consistent with him across the diamond. It has gotten a lot better this year. He needs to continue to work on that and we’re excited about where he’s going.

This year he came into camp, and you can tell, he was moving a little bit differently. He transformed his body a little bit in the offseason, put himself in a really good position to be able to play third base now, just comes down to the reps, the work, and the consistency at the position.”

“I think at third base, we want to focus on that position. I think he has all the ability to do so, let’s put all our eggs in that basket. We want him to be really good at one thing, not necessarily okay at two things.”

Dylan Ray's Impressive May

“At the end of April, he made some delivery adjustments, getting back to the delivery he had a couple years back. It looked more fluid, he was moving better on the mound, and obviously the stuff ticked up too. He’s now sitting in the 93-96 MPH range, the slider has a little bit more bite to it, his curveball has more consistency. He’s utilizing the full repertoire, he’s attacking the zone, and the stuff’s up. He’s really turned the corner and he’s one to look out for in the coming months.”

Strong Start to Daniel Eagen's Career

“His breaking stuff is great and the fastball is really playing at this level too, which has been good to see. It’s got really good life at the top of the zone, the north-south looks pretty deceptive for hitters too. He’s continuing to work on developing a split, so he has a fourth pitch in the works that he’s throwing a little bit.

As far as the walks go, that’s pretty much all driven by just one outing (walked seven batters in 4.2 innings on May 15), he had one tough outing. If you removed that one, he’s looking like he’s a strike thrower (3.6 BB/9). He got the strike-throwing ability of a starter.”

Converting Reliever Prospect Yordin Chalas to a Starter

"Getting him in a starter’s role is going to do a few things for him. First of all, it’s going to emphasize the importance of pitching to him, so he’s not able to just blow upper 90s heaters by guys. He’s going to have to focus on developing his secondary stuff, moving the baseball around.

On top of that, it also moves him to a position where he’s going to be throwing more innings. We talk about accelerated development, and how that looks. If you’re pitching, and you’re pitching every sixth day, but you’re pitching 3-4 innings vs. you’re pitching 2-3 innings a week, I think there’s a case to be made that as a starter, he’s going to be able to develop at an accelerated pace no matter what his future role is.

He also has the extra side day, when you’re a starter, that you get to work on things. I think the big thing that we want to work on with him is his secondary development."

"I was really happy with how he pitched the other day in Hillsboro, I just went over there this past week. He was utilizing the slider and the split a lot, and keeping guys off the scent of the heater. The slider is continuing to gain some consistency, he’s refining that offering, firming up a little bit, but it looked really good and it’s taking steps in the right direction.

Regardless of the ERA, I think there are positives to be taken away from how he’s developing, and our viewpoint is one of the long term, not just the short term and how it looks in the box score.”

Hayden Durke's 2025 Breakout

“He’s done a great job attacking the zone this year. Still not quite where we want it to be, but it’s improved significantly and he’s also utilizing his offspeed pitches a lot more. I was there and he was pitching off of his breaking stuff to hide a 97 MPH heater that had some life at the top of the zone. You can imagine how hard it is for opposing hitters. He’s got wipeout breaking stuff and then couple that with the velocity and power that he has in his back pocket, he’s a really formidable young arm.”

Young Hitters in the Arizona Complex League

"Obviously in the ACL, it’s hard to hit in that league. Not only because of the weather, and how exhausted you are playing every day, but also because you’re facing some pitchers where their control/command is a little hit or miss. So you’re not getting a lot of pitches in the zone. A lot of that with these young kids is just getting their feet underneath them in pro ball, getting used to a good routine, understanding what the day looks like."

2024 Draftees JD Dix, Tytus Cissell, and Ivan Luciano Playing in the ACL

"We’re very happy with how they’ve come along, and they’re competing in the box against those guys. No concerns right now. Cissell has been playing a great shortstop, defensively it’s been really special. Luciano has come along well too. With [Adrian] Del Castillo getting DH at-bats there, it’s tough because we have another catcher, Carlos Virahonda, that is pretty interesting and we’re trying to split the time between DH and catcher between those two.”

Under the Radar Prospect: Infielder Enyervert Perez

“He’s got an .850 OPS at the complex right now, strikeout to walk rate is fairly even. He hits the ball extremely hard compared to his peer group at the level age. He shows outstanding hard contact rates and top-end exit velocities.

First base/third base, he can play some second right now, but he’s moving around a little bit. Mostly first base given we have Dix and another young infielder there. He’s an exciting, he’s showcasing what he’s got in the ACL, it’s been very cool to watch.”