@025 Draft Coverage Day 2: Bonus Pool Rounds Wrap-Up

For the fourth through tenth rounds, Arizona largely went with safety over upside, though they did revisit a spell from their past.

For Day Two of the draft, Arizona chose to revert more to typical draft night form, picking up a varied assortment of mostly “safe” picks. Given their relatively small draft bonus pool, this was not remotely surprising. Likely the biggest point of not for those seven selections is that they took only one high school talent. That was Dean Livingston, a high school pitcher from Hebron Christian Academy in Georgia.

Less readily obvious, but still of significant note, is that the organization selected college seniors with four of the picks. With few exceptions, college seniors are bargain basement picks, as they have zero leverage in negotiations. It is not at all uncommon to see draft bonuses in the range of $5000-10,000 in total for seniors. Given the assigned slot bonuses for the selections Arizona made, it is conceivable that Arizona arranged to accent their draft pool by as much as $1 million. That cool cash total is free to be spread across multiple players i later rounds, or even just all funneled into a single target, assuming the target has sufficient upside.

Fourth Round

Dean Livingston, P, Nebron Christian (GA)
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 205 lbs.
B/T: R/R

This pick is Arizona trying to squeeze some extra value out of a Georgia high school arm. As a pitching talent from the SEC’s backyard, Livingston comes with some built-in expectations of excellence.

Livingston lives and dies by his various fastballs. His four-seamer sits in the modest 92-94 mph range with comfortable reach back clocking in from 06-98 mph, making Livingston one of the hardest pure throwers at the MLB combine. Meanwhile, his curveball and slider are differentiated more by their shape than they are by their velocity or spin at this point. Livingston is still rather raw when it comes to spinning offspeed pitches and will need to put in significant work on that front if he is going to fill out his repertoire as a starting pitcher.

Scouts largely seem to be dreaming on his frame and present stuff. With a fastball that can comfortably be thrown as pacey as 96 mph, there seems to be a consensus that, if he can finish filling out without hurting his delivery, he should be able to touch triple digits.

Livingston’s slider tends to live in the low 80s. His change is more slurvy, and is thrown in the upper-70s. His current best secondary offering is a firm change that he throws in the upper-80s. The biggest knock on Livingston’s secondary pitches is that his arm speed and delivery on secondary pitches lag behind the movement on his fastballs. The difference is stark and, as he advances into higher tiers of competition, will become an issue for him as this is almost as bad as tipping pitches.

Livingston demonstrates average control but, due to his clean delivery, looks like a young man who could have that refined into an above average part of his game. Until recently, Livingston struggled to break into the starting rotation. He has the hallmarks of a late-blooming, slower developer. At age 19, this is not ideal. However, going straight into professional ball, the focus on what he does well will be highlighted and he should be able to follow a relatively normal developmental track for a high school arm.

Nathan Hall, OF, South Carolina
DOB: 17 September 2003
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 200 lbs.
B/T: R/R

Hall spent two years at Clemson before moving across the state to rival South Carolina. In his junior season at South Carolina, he had something of a breakout campaign. Not only did he establish himself as a capable center fielder with the speed and instincts to stick, but he also added to his power profile at the plate.

Hall played and started in 54 games for the Gamecocks and led Carolina with a .322 batting average. Hall had 13 doubles, seven home runs, a team-best 38 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 2025. Hall slugged at a 48.6 percent clip and had a .397 on-base percentage. Hall had a 17-game hitting streak from March 1-28 and reached base in 20 straight games. He also led the team with 19 multi-hit games and was tied for the lead with nine multi-RBI performances.

Sawyer Hawks, P, Vanderbilt
DOB: 25 June 2003
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 225 lbs.
B/T: R/R

As will be repeatedly referenced for much of Hawks’s immediate (and potentially even long-term) future, Hawks was a short-term teammate of Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes at the Air Force Academy. After two years pitching for the Falcons, Hawks decided to up the level of competition and transferred to powerhouse, Vanderbilt. That was a rough year for Hawks., one cut short by a severe elbow sprain. Hawks rebounded nicely though, to settle in as the Commodores’ closer for his senor year.

Hawks throws a fastball that averages 93 mph and touches 96 with two breaking balls, including a mid-70s 12-to-6 curveball and upper-70s slider with a more 10-to-4 shape and sweep. He’s a below-average strike-thrower and definite reliever in pro ball. As a college senior, he should be as physically developed as he is going to get. As a reliever, he has very low mileage on his arm. Assuming he can find the strike zone with any regularity, he should be a candidate to be in Arizona much sooner, rather than later.

Joe Ariola, LHP, Wake Forest
DOB: 5 February 2004
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 190 lbs.
B/T: L/L

A three-year reliever with Wake Forest, Ariola owns a career 5.47 ERA over 51 innings with a 30.2% strikeout rate and 16.9% walk rate. That walk rate points to his control issues, and in his 2025 draft season he pitched to a career-high 23% walk rate—one of the highest among college pitchers with at least 20 innings. Ariola remains a prospect because his stuff is loud and in flashes when he puts it over the plate he shows stretches of dominance. ON the other hand, Ariola’s first two seasons at Wake Forest saw him limited to a total of 26 ¹⁄₃ innings, combined.

Ariola sits around 93 mph and touches 96 with his fastball and generates solid riding life from an over-the-top slot. His low-80s downer curveball is a high-spin breaking ball with terrific depth, and he’ll also mix in a mid-80s slider/cutter that has more sweeping action. Alas, all of this movement and depth comes with a severe inability to consistently throw strikes over individual outings. Ariola is nearly the definition of unhittable when he is on. When he is not, batter should be encouraged to never swing, as they may just as easily walk and score.

Ariola is a big swing at a lefty reliever. He has, at best, a 50/50 chance of making it beyond AA Amarillo. However, with his ability to get swings and misses of of some marginally above average pitches, there is plenty of high leverage lefty reliever potential to dream on, potential that the organization should know very soon whether or not he is going to start tapping into.

Jack Martinez, P, Arizona State
DOB: 12 March 2003
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 215 lbs.
B/T: R/R

Martinez spent two seasons with Division III Trinity (Texas) and one season with Louisiana-Lafayette before heading to Arizona State for his 2025 senior campaign. He proved a pleasant surprise for scouts in the Four Corners area this spring, with a 5.47 ERA over 15 starts and 77.1 innings to go with a 32.3% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate. Martinez has above-average fastball velocity and sits in the mid 90s while topping out at 97. Both Martinez’s slider and changeup sit in the 80’s higher and lower respectively. A bit baffling, but also somewhat encouraging, is that Martinez seems to be able to throw his offspeed pitches for strikes in the zone much more consistently. Whereas, many of the strikes Martinez gets on his fastball comes from swings and misses outside the zone.

Another college senior reliever with power stuff, the only thing keeping Martinez from making a near immediate debut with the Snakes is his current lack of reliable command. Martinez should be expected to be put onto an aggressive development schedule. So long as he continues to refine the skills he already has, he could be a reliever option in the very near future.

Wallace Clark, SS, Duke
DOB: 8 June 2002
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 195 lbs.
B/T: S/R

A switch-hitting shortstop, Clark is fresh off a career year in which he hit .307/.478/.507 with 18 doubles, nine home runs and an impressive walk-to-strikeout ratio of 55-to-34. Clark has a line-drive oriented swing from both sides of the plate with some quickness in his hands. He pairs his plus bat-to-ball skills with an advanced approach, and this spring he chased at just an 18% overall clip. Clark is a high-level defender at short where he has smooth actions, soft hands, range in either direction and enough arm strength to handle the position. At 23-years-old, what you see is what you get with Clark – a contact-oriented bat who’s likely to stick at shortstop long-term. As a switch-hitter with a plus glove, Clark likely has a solid floor as a glove-first utility player, capable of playing most anywhere except as part of the battery.

Brady Counsell, SS, University of Kansas
DOB: 3 May 2003
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 210 lbs.
B/T: R/R

Brady Counsell has deep, long-standing ties to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Brady was born to former Diamondbacks super-utility defensive standout, Craig Counsell, while he was still playing for the Snakes, before he returned to his first love team, the Milwaukee Brewers. The draft announcement pegged Counsell as a shortstop and, he does indeed have the defensive instincts to play there. This is not terribly surprising, given that his primary mentor growing up was one of the better defensive infielders of his generation. However, the younger Counsell is all but certain to find his long-term home either in a corner outfield position, or perhaps at third base. While he does have the glove and instincts for playing at the keystone, it would be a waste of his plus (bordering on double-plus) throwing arm.

Counsell is another college senior selected by Arizona. He spent his first three years of college playing at Minnesota. Then, looking to increase his draft stock by facing better competition, he elected to transfer to the University of Kansas where he proceeded to bat 259/.378/.473 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and an even strikeout-to-walk ratio. Counsell has solid pull-side raw power and a long swing launched from a high handset, though without quite the extreme (and easily recognizable) high-handed stance of his father. He posted a strong 90.4% zone contact rate, but chased too often and generally made light contact. Counsell’s future will be tied almost entirely to whether or not Arizona’s development staff is able to quiet his swing and to help him get better control of the strikezone, both through pitch identification and selection. Counsell already possesses 12-15 home run power. A slightly quieter swing, one a bit more compact than his currently is, could see him tap into a bit more pull-side power, putting him into the 15-18 home run range.

Counsell’s ultimate future is likely as a utility player, with less of a settled home than his father, but a more impactful bat. He does show decent bat-to-ball skills already and has a very strong nose for all aspects of the game – again unsurprising given his lineage and upbringing.

Here are the Snake Pit’s Preston Salisbury’s takes on the final seven picks from the bonus pool section of the draft.

Dean Livingston
He was one of the high school pitchers who stood out to me with his combine stuff. He hit 97 with good two-seamer movement, and showcased a good changeup. His breaking pitches do need more spin to be successful at the next level. His delivery looked smooth and relatively effortless; that, his frame, and his age are the reasons why people see him as a future triple-digit guy. Obviously the Diamondbacks are going to develop him as a starter; you don’t pick high school relievers this early, if you pick them at all. But he definitely has the stuff to fall back on bullpen work if needed.

Nathan Hall
Ethan Petry got most of the attention when it came to South Carolina position players, but when I saw them, Hall stood out to me far more. He covered plenty of ground in center field, and can probably stick there. In 238 plate appearances this year he struck out 28 times (a very good rate against SEC pitching) and walked 27 times. He stole 14 bases. There are essentially two paths forward for Hall, as I see it: he could emphasize speed and athletic ability and turn into a Jake McCarthy type player, or he could try to build power and wind up in a corner. There’s some risk either way, but the Diamondbacks got a solid player who isn’t going to be overly pricey in the fifth round. Only about a quarter of fifth rounders ever make it, and I’d put Hall’s chances at 50/50.

Sawyer Hawks
Yes, Hawks was a teammate of Paul Skenes at Air Force. It’s really too bad he didn’t stay there, since “Hawks” is a perfect name for a Falcon. He’s a true reliever with high strikeout numbers who came back from elbow injury to be the closer on the number one seed in the NCAA tournament. It’ll be interesting to hear what the Diamondbacks plan with him; they have tried to move excellent college relievers to starters, and it’s worked in the case of Spencer Giesting and not worked in the case of Landon Sims. I can’t think Hawks gets moved; he’s a potentially fast-moving bullpen arm. Stuff wise, Hawks throws a mid-90s fastball from a low arm slot that enhances movement and velocity. He does throw three other pitches, with the changeup being the best, but his success probably builds off that fastball. He’s the first pitcher taken so far that we could see this year, although health will play a part in that.

Joe Ariola
The stuff is incredible, as he showed at the combine. His pitches, when they are moving like they can, are unhittable. Unfortunately, no one in the ballpark has any idea where they are going. He should be a starter, and if he ever gains control he could be. I’d expect the Diamondbacks to try to fix his control issues and develop him as a starter, where he would have real mid-rotation potential. This is a good pick for the seventh round: immense upside, with the knowledge that it’s most likely not going to work out. This is the first college player the Diamondbacks have taken this draft with a floor of “couldn’t figure it out at A-ball.” Every draft is going to have a few guys with that floor; getting one with the ceiling of Ariola is a nice bonus.

Jack Martinez
The right-handed pitcher has performed at every level as he moved from Division III to Arizona State. He fits the mold of pitchers the Diamondbacks have taken in these rounds in recent years: a high strikeout guy with starting potential, but most likely to wind up in the bullpen. He has unusual mechanics, but throws a mid 90s fastball with carry and backs that up with breaking pitches that have decent movement, but will need some work on their shape to get big leaguers out. There’s some similarity to Kyle Amendt; not in appearance or in fastball velocity, but both are right handed pitchers with unique actions who pound the top of the zone with fastballs and throw breaking pitches off of that. Amendt slotted into a bullpen role and moved through the system quickly; were it not for injury he’d likely have made his Diamondbacks debut. Martinez could be a similar quick mover, or he could start and move more slowly through the system.

Wallace Clark
He’s a switch hitting infielder. He spent a couple of years at Oklahoma where he played a lot of third base, and the last year as Duke’s starting shortstop. He’s put up good numbers, but isn’t a player I’ve watched at any length, so I’ll need to look at some video.

Brady Counsell
The son of Craig has hit for decent pop the last couple of years, but hasn’t hit for a particularly high average. He’ll know what it’ll take to advance to the big leagues, given that his dad was an 11th round pick. He was announced as a shortstop, but he’s going to be second or third base. Making it likely will depend on having positional flexibility and good defense at those positions, but he does have something his dad never did: a possibility for 15-20 home runs, while Craig had a career high of nine. He’s most likely to be a good organizational guy who might get a cup of coffee at some point, but it’s good to have him back “home” (he was born in Phoenix while his dad played here.)