Torey Lovullo Had This to Say After Jordan Lawlar's Impressive Homer

On Saturday, former top Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Jordan Lawlar went deep in his first at-bat of Cactus League play. It was an impressive, eight-pitch at-bat that resulted in a 109.7 MPH batted ball over the left field fence.

It was an encouraging sign from Lawlar, who is looking to break out offensively in 2026. He's also dealing with a position change, moving from the infield to primarily playing center field this spring.

"It was a really good at-bat," Lovullo said to reporters at Salt River Fields following Arizona's 11-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

"The quality of the at-bat resulted in something very, very positive. We want more of that, and we know what he's capable of doing."

Arizona Diamondbacks Torey Lovullo on Jordan Lawlar

Lawlar's homer came on a 79 MPH slider from a right-handed pitcher — a type of off-speed pitch he's frequently struggled to key in on. Lovullo said he's looking for Lawlar to continue to control the strike zone and be more consistent with his approach.

"There's no doubt that right-on-right stuff is tough on right-handed hitters, right?" Lovullo said.

"We want him to continue to control the zone, have good plate coverage, have awareness on the outer half, check off of spin that isn't there. We've seen that in spurts at different times, and we know what he's capable of doing.

"I know what always happens to him. It's a catch-22. He wants to come to the big leagues and do his job so badly that he tries a little bit too hard. So we want him to slow the game down and take the at-bats that he had when he hit the home run. That was exactly the type of at-bat that we've seen at times. We just want that to be very consistent," Lovullo continued.

It was certainly the exact type of at-bat that could help Lawlar turn into a consistent offensive weapon. The second part of the young infielder-outfielder earning everyday playing time is his outfield defense. Though there has not been much of a sample size, his defense has been passable to Lovullo thus far.

"It looks like he's getting nice breaks and reads in the outfield, and I've been watching his defensive work very carefully and some of the shagging that he's doing out there, and he looks very good," Lovullo said.

The mantra for Lawlar this spring has been "athletic" — and he undoubtedly is. He's looking to lean on that raw athleticism to improve in all facets of his game.

"That's kind of my word this year is 'athletic,'" Lawlar said after exiting Saturday's game. "Whether it's outfield, infield or in the box. I want to use my athleticism."