What does the D-Backs’ outfield depth look like at the beginning of Spring Training?
Introduction
We may still be 20 days away from Opening Day in Tokyo, but today marked our first competitive baseball action since the World Series concluded last October. I will happily admit that I’m starved enough for baseball that I tuned into today’s game between the Cubs and Dodgers – at least long enough to see the small villages that crowded both dugouts. Sure, the game results don’t matter for standings, but the in-game results absolutely matter for individual players. As we discussed last week, while there are obviously plenty of players whose roster spots are virtually guaranteed, there are plenty of players who are quite literally playing for their jobs. Some of those players will end up playing some kind of role on the team either due to injury or regression for someone else. Every year, we see how a team’s depth – both for veterans and for their prospects – can make or break the team’s season. So, with that in mind, I thought it might be worthwhile to review the team’s current depth here at the beginning of Spring Training broken down by positional group: outfield, infield, starting rotation, and bullpen that goes beyond FanGraphs’ depth charts. As a former outfielder and someone whose formative years included some of the below defensive highlights from Andruw Jones, I’ve always had a soft spot for the outfield, so we’ll start there.
Bench
At the moment, I am assuming that the starting outfield will remain the same as it was much of last year with Lourdes Gurriel Jr, Corbin Carroll, and Jake McCarthy receiving the bulk of the workload. Even with Carroll’s struggles at the plate last year, that combination put the D-Backs into the top parts of the National League by Wins Above Average. Outside of those three, both recent re-signee Randal Grichuk and Alek Thomas will likely occupy two of the bench spots on the Opening Day roster. For Grichuk, after a string of disappointing seasons with the Blue Jays, Angels, and Rockies, 2024 was his best overall performance since his 2018 season with Toronto. Thankfully, while Grichuk may have benefitted from some good luck last year (.313 BABIP), he was substantially more patient at the plate – cutting his strikeout rate and boosting his walk rate while also posting his best hard hit rate since that 2018 campaign. If he’s able to maintain that approach this season, he could be an extremely valuable part-time veteran leader for a team that is still unexpectedly young. Contrastingly, Thomas is looking for a bounceback season after an early-season hamstring strain limited him to just 39 games and never really looked comfortable at the plate. At just 24, Thomas still has substantial runway to improve, but he will need to demonstrate that the strain is behind him and that he can take another step in his development to maintain his hold on a roster spot.
Minor League/Prospect Depth
Given the crowded pitching staff situation the front office has assembled, I imagine the team will look to maximize the number of roster spots allotted to pitchers. That strategy will limit the number of position player prospects that will break camp with the big league team, but there are still several outfield prospects to keep in mind for the season. Most notably, I suspect Jorge Barrosa will have an outsized impact on the team’s success in 2025 after an uninspiring cup of coffee with the big league club in 2024 including a .176/.176/.294 slash line in eight games. Despite those disappointing numbers, the newly-minted 24 year old has impressed in nearly 200 games with Reno by accumulating a solid .273/.380/.442 slash line while providing excellent defense at all three outfield positions. Finally, I am also keeping an eye on AJ Vukovich – one of the non-roster invitees we’ve mentioned previously who made it to Reno at the tailend of last year’s season. He will open up his season there after Spring Training, but a solid performance with Reno will undoubtedly keep him on Hazen’s radar to incorporate some additional power and positional flexibility with the big league team.