Bevy of arms waiting in D-backs' pipeline behind top offensive prospects

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- There are 14 pitchers ranked among D-backs’ Top 30 prospects in MLB Pipeline’s 2026 preseason rankings, and of those 14, nine have entered the organization since last July -- either through the Draft or via trades. Building out the depth of arms in the system has been a clear priority at a time when each of the club’s six top prospects are hitters.

But it’s one thing to add talent from external sources. It’s another to develop that talent into Major League contributors, and that’ll be a focus heading into 2026.

“Everyone comes in with different ways their arm works, different ways their body works, and that oftentimes influences what options we can add,” said Arizona director of player development Chris Slivka. “So it's not a cookie-cutter approach by any means. We want to be very individualized. That also helps our acquisition group because then it doesn't have to be pigeon-holed to one area of the menu. We should let them choose from the entirety of that menu, and then we can prepare whatever dish it is.”

The D-backs got a look of what a future face of their pitching group could be when 6-foot-4 right-hander David Hagaman (No. 8), who was acquired from the Rangers in the Merrill Kelly trade at the Deadline, showed the potential for a plus fastball and curveball, along with an average slider and changeup, in last year’s Arizona Fall League. The 2024 fourth-rounder was still building up from internal brace surgery at the time of the deal, and with the elite extension and promising ride on his four-seamer, that heater could get to even better quality if he adds more velocity the farther he gets from surgery.

From that same Kelly swap -- interestingly enough, since the veteran right-hander rejoined the organization as a free agent this offseason -- Kohl Drake (No. 12) and Mitch Bratt (No. 14) have built up their arsenals since joining the organization. Drake has added a gyro slider, while Bratt has folded in a two-seamer. Neither has a true plus offering right now, but by diversifying the mix, they’ll get a better chance at cracking the Arizona rotation now that each is on the 40-man roster.

“We need to build out pitchers who are platoon neutral and also guys who are strike throwers,” Slivka said. “Whether it's continuing to introduce different weapons to the arsenal, adding velocity, those are going to be big pieces of what we're doing here. Moving forward, we want to push the stuff envelope and give those guys more room for error and enhance their entire arsenals because that’s a force multiplier for all their pitches.”

From the Draft, Slivka highlighted fourth-rounder Dean Livingston (No. 19), who might fit that velo addition bucket best. After being taken from the Georgia prep ranks, the 19-year-old righty has spent most of his first nine months in Arizona as the D-backs have tried to craft the foundation for the rest of his career. He’s added 17 pounds since Draft Day, according to Slivka, and is up to 96-97 mph on the backfields as he continues to add onto the promising heat he flashed in last year’s Combine.

Since Brandon Pfaadt’s prospect graduation in 2023, Arizona hasn’t quite found a homegrown starter that’s stuck in its rotation. But with the right acquisitions and development -- and the hiring of former Pirates director of pitching Jeremy Bleich as an assistant general manager -- that next arm, or even arms, could be in the pipeline now.

“I think we’re working on building that identity,” Slivka said. “We brought on Jeremy Bleich. He’s been awesome in terms of setting the vision and making sure the standards are there for how we want to move forward. We continue to develop that. We continue to finetune our processes.”

Camp standout: SS Jose Fernandez (No. 27)

Arizona added Fernandez to its 40-man roster as Rule 5 Draft protection in the offseason as he came off a career year with Double-A Amarillo where he slashed .272/.321/.454 in 122 games. He also clubbed 17 homers in the Texas League, more than double his previous career total of 13 over his prior four Minor League seasons.

Amarillo is one of the most hitter-friendly environs in all of Minor League Baseball, but the 6-foot-3 shortstop has proven that it was no Texas League mirage this spring with some of the loudest contact in Arizona’s Cactus League play. Entering Monday, 15 of his 18 batted balls in official Spring Training games have been hit with exit velocities above 95 mph. All seven of his hits went for extra bases, including three homers, leading to an .840 slugging percentage over 26 plate appearances.

Fernandez spent much of the offseason back in Arizona’s facility in Scottsdale focusing on building up his strength gains, and he’s much more physical these days than his listed weight of 165 pounds -- all while retaining the athleticism that could make him a solid defensive infielder, either at short or third base. Still only 22 years old until September, he could be a big piece of the D-backs infield depth more quickly than previously anticipated.

“I think something that goes unseen is the way that he processes the game,” Slivka said. “You see the tools. Those are the things that are loud: the arm strength, the foot speed, the power. But his understanding of the game and how to do the little things that we value as an organization -- whether it's moving runners, whether it's running the bases, those little instinctual things -- I’m really proud of how far he's come along on all of those. It shows up between the lines in games, and our Major League staff has communicated that to us.”

Something new: OF Ryan Waldschmidt (No. 1/MLB No. 59)

Taken 31st overall out of Kentucky in 2024, Waldschmidt transitioned well to pro ball offensively with a .289/.419/.473 line, 18 homers, 29 steals and 96 walks (second-most in the Minors) in 134 games between High-A and Double-A.

But a torn ACL in his left knee suffered before his junior year pushed him to left field in his final season with the Wildcats, and with defensive wizard Druw Jones (No. 16) alongside him in Hillsboro, he remained in that corner to begin his first full season. After his promotion to Amarillo, he started to see more time in center by August and impressed enough with his above-average speed and reads off the bat that Arizona plans to make him a primary center fielder at Triple-A Reno to open 2026.

That’s an important note as former top prospect Jordan Lawlar makes his own transition to full-time status in center, so if he falters, the D-backs have another Top 100 talent standing by.

“We're going to make sure we give him significant time in center field this year,” Slivka said. “We want to see what he can do out there. He looked really good in Amarillo, and he took to that really quickly. He didn't have a whole lot of run in the outfield in college because of the knee, and he was even playing the infield before that. So I think that continuing to develop him defensively is a huge priority of ours, and he hasn't shown us any reason to believe that he can't go out and play center field with more development.”

On the mend: 2B/3B Demetrio Crisantes (No. 5)

The 2022 seventh-rounder was trending toward becoming a Top 100 prospect for his plus hit tool when he suffered a posterior labral tear in his left shoulder, cutting his 2025 season short in May. He was hitting .252/.358/.415 with four homers in 34 games to begin his age-20 campaign before the injury but walked more than he struck out and ran a 93 percent in-zone contact rate, per Synergy Sports.

With those latter two data points in mind, the D-backs will push Crisantes to Double-A to begin 2026 where he’ll play second base alongside fellow Top 30 prospects in Cristofer Torin (No. 15) at shortstop and Jansel Luis (No. 13) at third.

“There are things he’s shown us here in camp, but looking at the performance there in Hillsboro last year, the underlying information, there’s a lot to suggest he’s ready for that next level,” Slivka said. “That’s coupled with the fact that he’s more physical this Spring Training. He continues to manage his at-bats at a high level, and I’m excited about the work he’s put in defensively. That’s something we really challenged him on during the rehab process, really getting dialing that in for the season.”