Moving fully onto the position players
Gino Groover (91)
Our second-round pick in the 2023 draft is immediately a personal favorite, because he and I share a birthday. There has never been a D-back player born that day, so I am 100% pulling for Gino. He missed almost three months last season after a freak injury, breaking his wrist in a collision with the runner while playing first base for the High-A Hillsboro Hops, just four games into the season. He returned in July, and hit well enough there to merit promotion to Double-A for September, where he hit .340 over 13 games. To make up for lost time, Groover was then sent to the Arizona Fall League, where he continued his hot streak, batting .339 in 18 games with the Salt River Rafters, and made the AFL All-Star Game.
Even including that, it’s still only 106 professional games for the 22-year-old, so getting an invitation to spring training shows how high he’s valued by the team. He may be in line to become the team’s solution at third-base after the departure of Eugenio Suarez, though between him, Jordan Lawlar and Tommy Troy – not to mention the long-term extension just given to Geraldo Perdomo – the team has a number of infield options not too far away, and some juggling may have to be done. I’d expect him to start the year in Double-A, where a good performance could see him move up to Reno, with the possibility of a cup of coffee in the majors, late in the season.
Tristin English (94)
English saw starts at both infield corners, and both outfield corners for Reno, but his most notable achievement came… on the mound? For September 21 saw him pitch two hitless innings for the Aces against the Isotopes, allowing only the Manfred Man to score each time. He touched 93 mph, and Reno walked Tristin off with the W, in the bottom of the 11th. But he is better known at the plate, the 27-year-old batting .263 with 16 HR for the Aces last year. The resulting .750 OPS was a downtick from the previous season, where English had an .894 OPS over 84 games with Reno. Given his age, he’ll need to do better in 2025 if he’s going to crack the majors. Or maybe just pitch more.
Garrett Hampson (8)
With seven years and 630 games of major-league experience under his belt, it feels like Hampson may be the most well-positioned of the non-roster invitees to crack the club on Opening Day. His role would be a similar one to that very successfully occupied by Kevin Newman last season: a utility man, with Hampson also offering outfield experience. Last year with Kansas City, Garrett appeared at every position bar catcher, even tossing a hitless inning against the Phillies, and started games at six spots. That kind of flexibility helps to off-set a bat which hasn’t historically been up to much. His career OPS+ is only 72, and was nine points below that with the Royals. A .665 OPS in five years with Colorado is not great.
However, if used in platoon situations, the bat might be okay, if you squint a bit in subdued lighting, and look from the correct angle. But Hampson’s value is considerably more from his glove. We know how much Torey Lovullo loves him some defense, and just last week, the manager said “defense is a priority for his utilityman”. That could give Hampson the edge over the likes of Blaze Alexander, although Lovullo also added, “We’ve got to have a shortstop that’s comfortable.” Hampson played there for only eleven innings last year, though logged 26 starts at short with the Marlins in 2023.
Connor Kaiser (65)
Signing Kaiser to a minor-league deal seems very much a depth move. Originally drafted by the Pirates, the D-backs are his fourth team in three years, Connor also having spent time with the Padres and Rockies. He did make his MLB debut with Colorado in June 2023, appearing in three games, though still seeks his first major-league hit. He spent last year with AAA Albuquerque, but the 28-year-old infielder managed an OPS of only .682, which is poor for a hitters’ park and league (the team’s OPS was .815). Like Hampson though, Kaiser is regarded as a glove-first player, and he did get most of his time as an Isotope playing shortstop. Given those ahead of him, he should look into a long-term lease in Reno.
And a quick update with a pitcher who signed a minor-league contract yesterday
Brandon Bielak
Bielak comes with 204 innings of major-league experience, having pitched as both a starter and reliever. He was an 11th-round pick by Houston, for whom he played through the middle of last season. After struggling to a 5.71 ERA across 17.1 innings, he was dealt to Oakland for cash, and had a 4.38 ERA across a further 12.1 innings, before be waived at the end of the year, and electing to enter free agency. All told, he has a 92 ERA+ in the majors, though his FIP there is notably higher than his ERA (5.30 vs. 4.63). He would be a potential long-relief man for the D-backs bullpen, if the team doesn’t want to move any of their starting depth to that position. But it would be a push to call him the first option for that role.