Homegrown top prospect looking to make D-backs history after Fall League stint

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- No player has been born in Arizona, played high school ball in the state, been drafted by the Diamondbacks out of that program and gone on to debut with the hometown club. That all could change in 2027 as Nogales’ own Demetrio Crisantes knocks on the door of Chase Field, the ballpark he grew up dreaming of playing in.

The 2022 seventh-round pick possessed an above-average hit tool, but questions about where he might land defensively and how he would grow into his power kept him off MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft Prospects list. Still, at just 17 years old on Draft Day, the club pried him away from a University of Arizona commitment with an over-slot signing bonus of $425,000 and watched him tear up the Arizona Complex League (.347 average) in his debut a year later.

Crisantes, MLB's No. 84 prospect, hasn’t stopped hitting. Since his pro debut, 1,044 players have accrued at least 1,000 Minor League plate appearances -- among that group, he stands tied for seventh with a .312 average, trailing a group that includes current big leaguers Chandler Simpson and Justin Crawford.

Those bat-to-ball skills have been as advertised as Crisantes has struck out in just 16.2 percent of his plate appearances while pairing it with an 11.8 percent walk rate. Arizona has been aggressive in challenging the right-handed hitter, having him open 2025 with High-A Hillsboro at just 20 years old.

The D-backs' top prospect was off to a solid start when things came to a sudden halt in mid-May. On a check swing, he sustained a posterior labral tear in his left shoulder, zapping a vital year of development. It meant down time -- no lifting weights and no swings initially, gradually building things back up.

Crisantes was held out of official game action for just over a year. He played in three rehab games this summer and then homered twice in his return to Hillsboro on May 26. After four contests, it was apparent he was ready for the challenge of the upper Minors.

No one would have blamed the D-backs for keeping Crisantes at Double-A through his age-21 campaign, when he was still nearly three years younger than the average competitor. But he hit .319 with a .961 OPS in 35 games for Amarillo, a clear indication that his fast-tracked timeline wasn't slowed in the slightest by the injury.

The numbers at Triple-A -- .278 average, .755 OPS with three homers in 50 games -- don’t jump off the page but his two months at the Minors’ highest level were impactful beyond the stat sheet.

“In the beginning with Reno, I was trying to do a little too much,” said Crisantes, “but once I dialed it down and just remembered who I was as a player, [I settled in.] I'm in a better mindset to come into Spring Training as well, facing guys that played in the big leagues, playing with guys that played in the big leagues.

“My confidence is a lot higher than what it would be if I didn't go to Triple-A this year.”

The 22-year-old cited the influence of Pavin Smith, Tommy Troy, Adrian Del Castillo and Santiago Espinal as integral to his continued development, a mix of veterans and hitters at a similar stage -- all with their eyes on downtown Phoenix.

Crisantes’ 60-grade hit tool is tops among all D-backs prospects and a major reason why he's ranked in the overall Top 100. But as a solid defender at second base who isn’t a major factor on the basepaths (he didn’t notch a steal across 92 regular-season contests), the next question surrounding his prospect profile will be about the development of his power.

Crisantes ended the regular season on a heater with seven of his final 12 hits going for extra bases (1.094 OPS) for Reno. Through his first five Fall League contests, he put seven balls in play at 98+ mph. With his surgically repaired shoulder back to 100 percent, a stint with the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League -- which includes playing home games at the club’s complex in Scottsdale -- will help him refine things heading into next year.

“Little swing changes, using my legs a little more,” said Crisantes of how he’s working to tap into his extra-base thump. “Maybe getting a little more separation in my hands because, you know, I have the bat-to-ball skills, so adding that power is just going to make me even a better player.”

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Other D-backs hitters in the AFL:

Yassel Soler, 3B (No. 30): Young for every level he’s appeared in since signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2023, it’s been one stop up the Minor League ladder per season for Soler. The 20-year-old is extremely pull-happy and offers 20-homer upside but he’ll need to lift the ball with a higher frequency after producing a career-high 54.4 percent ground-ball rate in ‘26 at High-A. All of his defensive appearances as a pro have come at the hot corner, where he offers the above-average arm strength to stick at the spot long term.

Nathan Hall, OF: After playing sparingly across two seasons for Clemson, Hall transferred to South Carolina in 2025 and hit .322 while displaying enough of a power-speed combo for the D-backs to pop him in the fifth round that summer. His pro debut was delayed until mid-August due to a right arm injury and he homered for his first hit with Visalia on Aug. 19. He has already seen time at all three outfield spots for Salt River and swiped four bags in his first five games while also recording a 108.8 mph max EV.

D-backs pitchers in the AFL:

Patrick Forbes, RHP (No. 11): The 29th overall pick in the 2025 Draft started the D-backs’ Spring Breakout game in March but sustained a right flexor strain that delayed his official pro debut until late May. The 22-year-old threw just 27 2/3 innings at High-A but posted an 0.98 WHIP, .204 average-against and 12.4 K/9. Working with his trademark dynamic delivery, his fastball sat 93-95 mph in his first outing for Salt River (topping out at 96.6) and he incorporated his upper-80s cutter in addition to his 82-83 mph slider and upper-80s changeup.

Joe Ariola, LHP: No Minor League hurler who accrued more than 30 innings in 2026 struck out batters at a higher rate (45.8 percent) than Ariola. A seventh-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2025, he posted a 1.56 ERA across four levels of the system after missing three months due to bone chips in his throwing elbow. His fastball has sat 93-95 mph in Arizona and he has a pair of breaking balls -- a mid-80s slider and a 78-80 mph curveball -- that generate whiffs from righties and lefties alike. More >>

Luke Craig, LHP: Limited to 31 1/3 pro innings thus far after Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2025 campaign, Craig returned in July and made 16 appearances between the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League and High-A Hillsboro. In that small sample size, he ran a 50 percent ground-ball rate, operating with a low-90s sinker and an upper-70s slider. A full-time reliever, the Fall League will prepare him for a push into the upper Minors during his age-25 season next year.

Connor Foley, RHP: The D-backs found success drafting and developing Indiana hurler Andrew Saalfrank in 2019 and are hoping to return to the well with Foley, whom they paid a significantly over-slot $1 million signing bonus in the fifth round in ‘24. At 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Foley offers premium stuff that helped him compile 46 strikeouts across 26 innings this year -- primarily with Single-A Visalia -- but he also walked 20 batters in that stretch. His fastball velocity topped out at 97.8 mph in his first outing for Salt River and he also operates with an 87-89 cutter that dives away from righties and bares in on lefties at its best.

John West, RHP: A 12th-round pick in the 2024 Draft out of Boston College, West spent most of his first two pro campaigns with Hillsboro. At 6-foot-8 and 265 pounds, he offers a durable frame and accrued just shy of 200 innings over that span. Despite his size, West doesn’t operate with high-octane velocity, sitting 91-93 mph with his sinking fastball during the Fall League. He also has an upper-80s changeup, a mid-80s cutter and an 82-84 mph sweeper in his arsenal. The 25-year-old -- who got a late-season bump to Double-A -- is also a two-time winner of Hillsboro’s “Hop of the Year” Award, which honors a player’s commitment to community service and youth baseball involvement.