Jordan Lawlar Has Solid First Week in Reno

Jordan Lawlar wasted no time taking advantage of the offense-inflating environment of the Pacific Coast League. Playing his first series in Reno, Lawlar went 5-for-18 (.278) at the plate with a pair of home runs, four walks, and two stolen bases. He's coming off a solid performance in Double-A Amarillo in which he hit .263 with 15 home runs, 33 stolen bases, and an .840 OPS. Fangraphs rated his offensive performance at Double-A to be 21% better than the average hitter with a 121 wRC+.

It'll be interesting to see if the organization has any plans to promote him to the big leagues by the end of the season. Lawlar's performance in Double-A was not as strong as Carroll's, who had a 166 wRC+ in 58 games. Carroll played 33 games in Reno before his MLB debut last August. If Lawlar were to play a similar number of games, his own debut would come the last week of September. So unless he completely tears the cover off the ball the next 2-3 weeks, it's unlikely we see him in 2023.

Further complicating the issue will be configuring their infield and getting their top prospect everyday at-bats. The D-backs are utilizing a platoon of Geraldo Perdomo and Nick Ahmed at the position. Moving Perdomo around won't be as much of an issue as he's already appearing in games at second and third base. Unless the team decides to part ways with Ahmed this late into the season, a Lawlar call-up is very unlikely.

Looking at some of the other prospect performances, one player who deserves a lot of attention right now is Gino Groover. The D-backs second round pick of this year's draft has looked excellent in his first eight games with Hillsboro, batting .323 (10-for-31) with a double and a home run. Groover profiles as a middle of the order bat due to the combination of above-average hit and power tools. After bouncing around defensively at NC State, the organization is developing him as a third baseman. He's a lock for a Top 10 spot in the next farm system update.

Kristian Robinson cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He'll still be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, but may pass through since he's at least two years away from any potential big league stint. The former top prospect has posted above-average offensive numbers between Visalia and Hillsboro, with a wRC+ of 129 and 118 at each level, although it is driven by a high balls in play average. The strikeout rate is still very high, punching out in about a third of his trips to the plate. It's impressive that he hasn't lost any ground after a three-year layoff, but the same issues persist for him as a prospect. It'll be imperative that he cuts down on the strikeout rate to make use of his loud tools at the plate.

Blaze Alexander continues to push for a potential cameo role in September, hitting .287 with eight home runs and a 115 wRC+ in Reno. As mentioned with Lawlar, the infield situation is a bit crowded. Evan Longoria is coming off the injured list soon, Ahmed is entrenched as the right-handed hitting option at short, and Ketel Marte is a better hitter from the right side of the plate for his career. However I think Alexander is one injury away from making his MLB debut. Long term he's suited to play a utility role on the infield, maybe even corner outfield, and getting starts against lefties.

Ruben Santana is quietly having a good run at the complex, hitting .306 with 12 doubles, four triples, 4 home runs, and an .875 OPS in 50 games. Santana is a tooled up prospect, with above-average power and run tools, and projected to stick at third base long term. While not moving as fast as other 2022 international signees such as Jansel Luis and Cristofer Torin, keep an eye on this guy.