Who Could be the Diamondbacks' Top Prospect for 2027?
A look at five candidates that could headline the Arizona Diamondbacks' farm system a year from now.
The Diamondbacks enter the 2026 season with a clear consensus as to who their No. 1 prospect is. Outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt headlines a system in transition. Arizona used the trade deadline and the 2025 MLB Draft to strengthen a depleted farm system.
However, a fun exercise would be to project who the D-backs’ top prospect will be a year from now. A lot can happen in a major league season, as player development is often non-linear to begin with.
For this exercise, I’m projecting these two prospects to graduate.
LF Ryan Waldschmidt
2B Tommy Troy
Waldschmidt and Troy are my top two prospects in Arizona’s system. Both players project as major league regulars at their respective positions. I have Waldschmidt winning the starting left field job out of camp and Troy getting a call-up midseason as an injury replacement. Given Ketel Marte’s documented hamstring issues, it’s not a question of if, but when in the 2026 season.
Other top prospects that I project to graduate include LHP Kohl Drake, LHP Brandyn Garcia, and RHP Cristian Mena.
Without further ado, here are five candidates for the top prospect slot in the D-backs system in 2027.
OF Slade Caldwell
Slade Caldwell is the most obvious candidate. He has the most room to grow of all the D-backs’ position player prospects. While he doesn’t possess the lofty ceiling that Druw Jones has in center field, he carries a much higher floor.
Caldwell is a very selective hitter, too selective at times. Per The Athletic’s Keith Law, the 2024 first-rounder carried a 15% chase rate and a 56% in-zone swing rate. That isn’t necessarily a death sentence if he has a truly discerning eye at the plate. One such example is Geraldo Perdomo, who carried a 19% chase rate and a 57% zone swing rate.
You can argue whether it’s unfair to compare Caldwell’s approach to that of one of the most disciplined hitters in MLB. But it serves as an example of an MLB hitter with similar chase and zone swing rates being successful.
2026 will be a big year for Caldwell. With plus-plus speed, the key will be for him to hit the ball in the air. His ground ball rate with High-A Hillsboro was 53.5%. With such a high ground ball rate, there is considerable risk that it’ll significantly handicap his offensive ceiling like Alek Thomas. His offensive strengths play perfectly into Chase Field’s deep gaps, if he can spray line drives.
There’s still time, as Caldwell is unlikely to sniff the major leagues in 2026. Instead, he’s looking at a late-2027 ETA. Once he shows more consistency in applying count leverage (1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1 counts) to slug the baseball, it should be a fast track to the majors. A good year will include a midseason promotion to Double-A Amarillo, and possibly a late-season run with Triple-A Reno.
Like Jones, he projects well defensively in center field. While not the plus-plus defender the 2022 first-rounder is, Law still rates Caldwell as a plus defender in center field. With Jones having bigger questions with his whole swing operation, the 19-year-old could have a chance to establish himself as Arizona’s center fielder of the future.
3B LuJames Groover III
The D-backs acquired a bridge between Eugenio Suárez and LuJames Groover III this offseason. Arizona’s trade for Nolan Arenado allows Groover to develop at a steady rate in 2026, while also giving some protection if he’s not ready to take over in 2027.
There’s no question about Groover’s ability to hit. From a raw hit tool perspective, he’s right up there with anyone in the D-backs system. However, there are concerns about his ability to slug based on his Arizona Fall League batted-ball data and 2025 results.
While he won a Southern League batting title with a .309 average, he only slugged .434 and launched 12 home runs despite being healthy all year.
Groover cut his ground ball rate in 2025, but also did the same with his fly ball rate. Considering it coincided with more balls being hit to the center of the diamond instead of pulled, it was translating into more singles. That’s a clear indication of why his slugging and his park-adjusted metrics (120 wRC+) took a slight drop.
His 2025 results suggest that Groover could be a high on-base (.399 OBP), 40 doubles, and 15 home run hitter. That inherently isn’t bad, as he carried a 14.4% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate. But it does add pressure to his ability to stick at third base.
The D-backs played Groover exclusively at third base. That’s an indication they feel stronger about his ability to stick there. He should get a cup of coffee toward the end of 2026, but could earn the starting role as early as 2027.
