What D-backs No. 2 Prospect Kayson Cunningham is Doing is Unreal

With the meteoric rise of Arizona Diamondbacks No. 1 prospect Ryan Waldschmidt, and his early success in the majors, there's a new prospect lighting up the D-backs' farm system climbing to the top of the rankings.

Shortstop Kayson Cunningham, Arizona's No. 2 overall prospect (for the time being, at least) and MLB's No. 83 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline, is having a truly unbelievable beginning to his 2026 season.

Cunningham is still far from a major-league call-up, and is still currently a member of the Class-A Visalia Rawhide. But what he's doing there is simply eye-popping.

The shortstop did spent a quick trip on the 7-day minor league injured list this week, in concussion protocol, but was activated Friday after serving only the minimum stint.

Diamondbacks' Kayson Cunningham lighting up California League

Visalia Rawhide's Kayson Cunningham watches his hit sail into the outfield against Fresno Grizzlies on Friday, April 3, 2026. | Ron Holman / Visalia Times-Delta / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Al the 19-year-old has done in his first 25 games this season (118 plate appearances) is hit the baseball and get on base. Cunningham is hitting an unbelievable .394 thus far. That number leads the California league by a very wide margin, surpassing Padres infield prospect Luke Cantwell by 41 points (.351) in second place.

For as impressive as hitting nearly .400 is, his on-base percentage is even more difficult to comprehend. Cunningham is talking walks and getting on however possible, with a .487 on-base percentage. He's walked 18 times and only struck out 15 over the course of 25 games.

That OBP ranks second in the California League, this time 13 points below Cantwell's even .500. It's also just 32 points higher than Cunningham's Rawhide teammate and fellow D-backs infield prospect Jose Mejia, who holds a .455 OBP and .308 batting average.

This all adds up to a .972 OPS for Cunningham, which leads Visalia and ranks third in the league. Arizona's No. 2 prospect has taken a large leap forward this year after posting just a .585 OPS in his first 11-game sample of professional ball in 2025.

At just 19 years old, Cunningham may be a candidate to take the jump to High-A much sooner than later. He's also in prime position to take over the No. 1 prospect spot in Arizona's rankings, with Waldschmidt looking more and more like he'll stick at the MLB level.

Cunningham was selected by Arizona in the first round of the 2025 MLB Draft, at the time profiling as a small-in-stature contact-hitter. He profiles not dissimilar to a smaller version of Geraldo Perdomo, though he bats solely left-handed.

As such, he has not quite displayed much power output, with just a .485 slug despite the near-.400 average. He has yet to homer in a professional game, with five doubles and two triples as his lone extra-base knocks.

Obviously, it is much too soon to project just how Cunningham will develop, and he's likely several years from any sort of appearance in the majors.

But what Arizona's No. 2 prospect is doing at the Low-A level certainly suggests he may be figuring things out quicker than anticipated at the plate. Morphing into a future franchise shortstop is not off the table if Cunningham's success continues.

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