PHOENIX -- August has been a significant month for the Arizona Diamondbacks' farm system, not only due to the introduction of talent from the trade deadline but the promotions of several notable prospects.
Starting pitcher Daniel Eagen dominated for High-A Hillsboro and made the leap to Double-A Amarillo. Outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt has found a groove both offensively and defensively in Double-A, and he has vaulted up the top 100 rankings on national prospects lists.
Infielder Tommy Troy moved up to Triple-A Reno, as his offensive approach and defensive versatility have made him an intriguing call-up option if not by the end of this season then seemingly in 2026.
Top prospect Jordan Lawlar returned from the injured list and is back to playing for Triple-A Reno.
Eagen made his Double-A debut on Friday and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. The 6-foot-4 right-hander finished with 7.2 scoreless innings and eight strikeouts, as he has not allowed a run in three straight appearances.
The 2024 third-round pick out of Presbyterian College is the High-A leader with 132 strikeouts this season in only 97.2 innings pitched. He has struck out more than 12 batters per nine innings as a starting pitcher and looks like the frontrunner to win the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
" I think our amateur group definitely saw a lot of this potential in him," farm director Chris Slivka told Arizona Sports. "He's got swing-and-miss breaking stuff. He comes from a high slot with some deception to the delivery. I think he creates some vertical angles that are tough on hitters.
"I think the velocity's crept up a little bit since he's started his pro career, but the way the breaking stuff has continued to develop and then also his changeup, I think it's made him a pretty well-rounded starter with a four-pitch mix."
Eagen won the Northwest League Pitcher of the Month twice and threw an immaculate inning this year, leading to fans asking online when he would be promoted. The goal was to make sure he is "bullet proof" before heading to a more typically hitter-friendly environment, which included the development of his split-change.
MLB Pipeline has him ranked No. 15 in the system with an ETA of 2027, which can be sped up if he continues to pitch like this.
After a relatively slow start at the level, Waldschmidt has been arguably the best hitter in Double-A in August.
The 2024 first-round pick (31) leads the level with a 1.176 OPS this month, hitting .380 with a .500 on-base clip. In 88 plate appearances, he has struck out 12 times (13.6%) with 15 walks (17%). He has also stolen nine bags.
Coming off winning the Texas League Player of the Week, Waldschmidt recorded his first professional four-hit game on Thursday.
"I think it's seeing the higher level of competition is one piece of it," Slivka said. "I'm sure he got a little bit more secondary stuff and sharper breaking pitches than he had seen in A-ball. The other piece of it too is he's starting to feel something in his swing that has helped him take off lately."
Defensively, he has played regularly in center field in Amarillo, an area of his game that Slivka highlighted after Waldschmidt was a corner outfielder with Kentucky.
He has climbed into the top 100 prospects list on ESPN and MLB Pipeline, putting himself on the national map as someone to watch for potentially in the second half of 2026.
The Diamondbacks earlier this month promoted Troy and Ivan Melendez from Double-A to Triple-A Reno, while prized trade deadline-acquired pitching prospect Kohl Drake was assigned to Reno.
Troy, Arizona's first-round pick in 2023, has been one of the most consistent hitters in the farm system this season with a well-rounded profile. He's hit .288 with an OPS of .838, 13 home runs, 24 doubles and 21 stolen bases. He remains third in the Texas League in OPS (.843).
Defensively, the Diamondbacks have tried Troy out in center field given his athleticism and potential versatility.
He has experience all over the infield and continues to primarily man second base, but as he nears the major leagues, being able to cover an outfield spot could prove to be valuable. Geraldo Perdomo anchors shortstop, Ketel Marte is at second base, Blaze Alexander is playing well at third base and Lawlar will be a major leaguer again soon.
"We wanna make sure our players have as many avenues as possible to reach to the big leagues. We felt like adding this skill to his tool belt would be a positive step in his development," Slivka said.
" I think offensively, just continuing to show that consistency at a higher level against more advanced pitching."
Melendez has been a success story this season as a player who improved against high velocity, lowered his strikeout rate significantly from 30% to 24.6% and improved his walk rate from 7.7% to 9.5%. The "Hispanic Titanic" and Golden Spikes winner was a second-round pick in 2022 out of Texas who did not move up the ladder last season, but this year has been a positive step.
Drake, a left-hander acquired for Merrill Kelly, threw four innings with no earned runs and seven strikeouts during his last appearance with the Aces. Arizona put him on the development list, but Slivka said this was a workload management situation and he would start on a few extra days of rest.
Drake appears to have as solid a path to the major leagues this season as any starting pitcher in the system. Nabil Crismatt is occupying one of Arizona's five rotation spots, and Drake is an option if the club wants to give a younger arm a look.
" He is a competitor, throws strikes, does a good job moving the fastball around," Slivka said. "It's been pretty encouraging. When he has the changeup and curveball working for him, it's fun to watch. He knows how to pitch. He attacks hitters."
The Diamondbacks sought pitchers who throw strikes, and so far, that has materialized for many of their new starters. The early returns on Arizona's trade-acquired crop of pitchers have been solid in the minor leagues:
"David Hagaman's been a guy that I think flew under the radar a little bit in the Merrill Kelly deal, but he's been extremely impressive," Slivka said.
"We've sent him straight to High-A, he'd been pitching at Low-A. He is coming off injury this past season, so we're trying to control his workload. He's been very efficient, he's been missing bats. He's featuring a curveball in the low-mid-80s that's been a swing-and-miss pitch at that level. Flashes of mid-upper 90s velocity. We're really excited about that one. He's somebody that's been standing out."
Relievers Juan Burgos and Andrew Hoffman have mostly pitched in the major leagues, while Hunter Cranton has been on the injured list.
When looking at prospect rankings, which aren't the be-all end-all but serve as a guide to a farm system, seven out of the D-backs' top nine pitching prospects on MLB Pipeline joined the system at the trade deadline or in last month's draft.
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranked three D-backs within the top 15 prospects dealt at the deadline.
The D-backs used six of their first eight picks on pitchers, so there has been an infusion of arms into a system that dearly needed them. Especially since this has been a tough year for both Yu-Min Lin (7.48 ERA) and Yilber Diaz (12.19 ERA).
The Diamondbacks wasted little time getting 19-year-old, 2025 first-round pick (No. 18) Kayson Cunningham out to an affiliate.
Arizona assigned the infielder to Low-A Visalia, where he will play shortstop while 2024 No. 35 overall pick JD Dix will man second base.
Cunningham recorded hits in each of his first three games.
"The quality of the at-bats and how he carries himself at the plate has really stood out," Slivka said. "Even getting sent to Visalia, which is a pretty significant jump in today's minor league landscape, the early returns have been positive over the first couple of games. It's early, but he's showing some really intriguing hitters qualities."
Cunningham is another short, toolsy, left-handed, high-upside high school bat, a player evaluators considered among the best pure hitters in the draft.
Lawlar spent six weeks on the injured list with a hamstring strain, and he has played eight games since returning with a .306 average.
He is expected to get run in the major leagues before the end of the season. The question is when.
Lawlar has dominated the minor leagues this year (.974 OPS), but he went 0-for-19 in his latest MLB stint.
"We saw some things at the major league level that he needs to continue to work on, handling the right-handed breaking pitches and spin a little bit more consistently and continuing to fine-tune the quality of his at-bats," Slivka said. "On the defensive side, continue to get him exposed to second and third."
He mostly played third base since returning but started at second base on Saturday. With Alexander fitting well at the hot corner in the major leagues, the Diamondbacks will have some maneuvering to do for playing time when the time comes.
September call-ups are a week away.
- Slivka pointed out the growth made by teenage catcher Carlos Virahonda. The 19-year-old popped up on MLB Pipeline's top 30 prospects list for Arizona, and Slivka said he has the makings of a plus defensive catcher who could hold his own at the plate. He is playing in Low-A.
- LuJames Groover recorded a five-hit game and a four-hit game over his last seven games played in Amarillo.
- After a slow start in Hillsboro, Slade Caldwell has started to turn a corner. He delivered his first four-hit game last weekend, followed by three hit-games on Wednesday and Saturday. The 19-year-old is among the youngest players at the level, moving up from Visalia quickly after a blazing start to the year. The 5-foot-9 speedster has split time in center field with Druw Jones and played left field, making catches like this: