Jordan Lawlar debut, v2.0
Roster moves
The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 38.
- Recalled from Triple-A Reno: INF Jordan Lawlar
- Reinstated from 15-day injured list: RHP Kendall Graveman (strained right lumbar)
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Designated for assignment: LHP José Castillo
INF Garrett Hampson
There it is. As rumored yesterday, the Lawler era in Arizona has begun. Again. For, in all the #FreeLawlar hype, it’s kinda easy to forget that this isn’t his first time at the rodeo. His MLB debut actually took place way back, on September 7, 2023 – more than twenty months ago. At the time, he was only 21, and… it did not go very well. Despite a good degree of hype, he managed only four hits in 31 at-bats, with two walks and eleven strikeouts. Though he was part of the team’s post-season roster that year, he barely saw any action, getting just two trips to the plate. But that is all forgotten now, and much better is expected, especially considering his Reno stats of .336/.413/.579 for a .992 OPS.
Applying the standard Reno correction there, I would be expecting an MLB line of maybe around .240/.300/.420 for a .720 OPS. Decent, rather than spectacular. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but would rather expect less and be pleasantly surprised. However, I firmly expect the Twitterati to be calling for his demotion after his first 0-for-12 streak. The delayed promotion is a bit of a double-edged sword. Presuming he stays up, it does mean this year won’t “count” for service time, because he’ll still have less than one full year at season’s end. However, it does mean that if he does become Rookie of the Year, there will be no draft bonus, like the team received for Corbin Carroll’s success.
I mention this, because to this point, the NL Rookie of the Year contest is wide open. The expected front-runner was Roki Sasaki, but he has been… barely okay, with a 4.72 ERA thus far. The leading position player by bWAR is Luisangel Acuña of the Mets, who has just 0.6 wins to his credit so far. Similarly, there’s no pitcher with even one bWAR so far. If Lawlar performs up to his #4 overall prospect ranking, he could easily catch up with the current leaders by the All-Star break. We shall see. It’s going to depend on things like playing time, but Torey Lovullo seems to have committed to getting him into the line-up. So we’ll see how that all works out, and I’m excited to see Lawlar.