D-backs Top 40 Prospects in 2024: No. 1 Jordan Lawlar

The No.1 prospect had an injury-plagued season but performed when healthy and played in the Dominican Winter League

Oct 6, 2023; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Jordan Lawlar (10) fields a ball during the NLDS workouts at Dodgers Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

This article is part of a series reviewing the seasons of the top 40 prospects still in the Arizona Diamondbacks system as of the end of 2024.

Jordan Lawlar, RHB - Shortstop, DOB: 07/17/2002, 6'1, 190

Acquired: Round 1, Pick 6 Overall in 2021 MLB Draft

Jordan Lawlar was drafted out of high school in Dallas, Texas in 2021. The pick was widely praised with many outlets claiming the D-backs got the best talent and perhaps a draft day steal. While Lawlar certainly still has the potential to be an All-Star infielder, the injuries are stacking up.

After a successful 2023 in which he made his MLB debut and was on the playoff roster that made the World Series, Lawlar was optioned early in Spring Training to get more reps on offense to be better ready for MLB pitching.

However, a few days prior to Opening Day, Lawlar tore the UCL in his thumb and was forced to undergo surgery. That knocked him out of game play until May 29 when he started a rehab stint with the Complex League.

After a week of successful games there, he made his 2024 debut for the Reno Aces on June 11. Over the next four games, Lawlar put on a show at the plate with eight hits in 20 at-bats and had four extra base hits albeit with one walk to seven strikeouts.

While running out a triple, he strained his hamstring and was immediately placed on the Injured List. It was a tough setback to a star player that has the potential to be a regular All-Star every year.

He returned from this ailment on July 6 with a rehab assignment to the Complex League. Once again, in the second game of his rehab stint, while running 1st to 3rd, he pulled the same hamstring again and pulled it even worse to where it would knock him out 6-8 weeks.

It was shaping up to be nearly a full lost year for Lawlar as he just was unable to stay on the field in order to develop his offense and reach the majors.

Finally, on September 8, he had a two-game rehab stint with the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. Although he had just one hit in seven at-bats, he was healthy and sent to Triple-A to finish the season there.

Over the final 10 games of the season, Lawlar got in 45 plate appearances and made the most of it with a .306 batting average and .826 OPS with a double and homer. He walked seven times and stuck out only 12 times.

In total with the Aces, Lawlar hit .367 with an OPS of 1.030 across 12 games. He had a 156 wRC+ as he wrecked Triple-A pitching in the short time frame that he was healthy.

Due to only getting in total, across three levels, work in 23 games, he and the D-backs agreed that he would go play in the Dominican Winter League with the Tigres del Licey.

He started the season aflame showcasing his power and ended up getting into 27 games and seeing 108 plate appearances. That hot start became cold and he wound up hitting just .237/.315/.355 with an OPS of only .670.

Lawlar had 22 hits, but just two doubles and three triples with 14 RBI. He walked nine times but had 32 strikeouts. That's an unsustainable strikeout rate of 32% which will crush any hope for a high batting average.

The bright side is that Lawlar finished the season healthy and now has a normal off-season and Spring Training to prepare for without doing rehab work.

2025 Outlook

The Arizona Diamondbacks will certainly have Jordan Lawlar start 2025 back at Triple-A with the Reno Aces. He simply has not played enough games there to be able to have developed his bat into an MLB-caliber hitter.

His defense and speed are MLB-ready and if he can stay healthy, a full first half of the season where Lawlar becomes an impact hitter and plays every day could get him promoted him to Chase Field once again.

Lawlar must stay healthy in order to get back with the Diamondbacks. They can't promote him without him spending more time developing. That can't happen without at-bats which means the onus is for Lawlar to stay healthy.

The team will find a spot for him in the lineup if he can reach the potential that he has. However, in order to do that, Lawlar will need to spend all of 2025 healthy and perform like the top-10 MLB prospect that he is.

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