The Diamondbacks will have a pair of representatives in this year’s All-Star Futures Game with outfielder Slade Caldwell (No. 2/MLB No. 84) and third baseman LuJames Groover (No. 10) representing the organization.
The 26th edition of the game features 35 members of the newly refreshed Top 100 Prospects list and all but one player on both the American and National League rosters are on a team Top 30 list. So you’ll want to tune in at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 12, on MLB Network, MLB.TV, MLB.com and via the MLB app. Melanie Newman, Yonder Alonso, Jonathan Mayo and Sande Charles will be on the call from Truist Park in Atlanta.
Caldwell, 19, was the Diamondbacks first round selection (No. 29 overall) less than a year ago and he has made a rapid rise to High-A Hillsboro where he has played left and center field.
“It doesn't happen very often,” Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye said of a player that young advancing that quickly. “Obviously you can see what he’s done at the plate, but he’s run the bases well and defensively he’s really taken strides in center field.”
One of the things the Diamondbacks liked about Caldwell when they picked him was the way he controlled the strike zone. That has not changed as he entered pro ball.
“He knows the strike zone and he really doesn't come out of it,” Sawdaye said. “I think you see his strikeouts right now have been elevated at the lower levels, because at those levels, I think sometimes the umpires don't know the zone as well. It’s similar to how [shortstop Geraldo] Perdomo was at the lower levels, where he just refused to expand the zone, and it'll pay off at the upper levels. He's starting to learn how to be more aggressive and really unload on his pitch if it's a pitch that he knows he can handle. He’s hitting the ball hard, he's getting on base. High-A is a really tough league for a 19-year-old, and he's obviously keeping his head above water.”
Groover, 23, was a second-round pick in 2023 out of North Carolina State and he has also risen quickly in the system playing his final 14 games last year at Double-A Amarillo where he started again this year.
Through Thursday’s games, Groover had a slash line of .306/.380/.469. Yes, the Texas League is a hitter-friendly league, but Groover has hit everywhere he has played.
“He just can hit,” Sawdaye said. “He can really hit. He hits the ball really hard. He’s a professional hitter. I think the power is still going to come with him. He’s hit for some power now, but I think there’s still more in the tank. He has a very clean, efficient swing. Sometimes, people look at Double-A and they think, just because it’s a hyper offensive environment, that everybody should be doing what [Groover’s] doing, but it's not as simple as that. There's still stuff he needs to clean up in his approach, but he's seeing better pitchers and has been pretty consistent throughout the year.”
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo got a look at Groover during Spring Training when he was a non-roster invitee, and he liked what he saw.
“Geno can just hit,” Lovullo said. “A tremendous amount of bat speed and knowledge as to how to use the entire field.”
Lovullo phoned both players recently after their selections were announced.
“[I] congratulated them,” Lovullo said. “It's a pretty impressive thing to go out there and represent this organization the way we want them to. So I know they're excited about it. They're both really ready to go and make their mark.”