D-Backs prospects Corbin Carroll, Jordan Lawlar off to fast starts in minors

With outfielder Corbin Carroll and shortstop Jordan Lawlar each coming off shoulder surgeries that brought ends to their 2021 seasons, expectations were muted for two of the Diamondbacks' better prospects, at least to start the year.

But rather than struggle, both are off to scorching hot starts with performances that already are raising questions about how long the organization might wait before challenging them with a promotion to a higher minor league level.

“I think from a performance standpoint I would have expected both to get off to a slower start — coming off surgery, not playing a lot last year, starting the year (with) cold (weather),” Diamondbacks farm director Josh Barfield said. “But these guys have come out and from Day 1 they’ve been on it — almost from the first swing they’ve taken.”

Lawlar and Carroll each homered in their first games of the season, with Lawlar doing so in his first at-bat.

Carroll maintained his ranking as Baseball America’s top Diamondbacks prospect despite needing a major surgery last May. On a swing that generated a home run for High-A Hillsboro, Carroll suffered tears in his right (non-throwing) labrum and posterior capsule. After the pandemic canceled the minor league season in 2020, it marked a second consecutive year cut short for Carroll.

He has shown no ill-effects this season and is putting up impressive numbers for Double-A Amarillo. Through 14 games, Carroll, 21, owns a .364/.478/.655 mark with five doubles, a triple, three homers and 11 walks. Amarillo is known to be one of the more hitter-friendly environments in the minors, but Carroll’s OPS is 31% better than the team’s. Carroll also has five steals in six attempts.

Given that Carroll, a first-round pick in 2019, entered the year with just 215 plate appearances in his career, it makes his performance so far at an advanced minor league level even more impressive.

Barfield said Carroll has shored up one area of his game that was considered a weakness before surgery — his throwing arm — noting that he has more zip on his throws than in the past.

“That was something he worked on during his time down,” Barfield said. “Once he was able to start throwing, he worked pretty aggressively to get his arm stronger, and it’s considerably noticeable now.”

Lawlar, the sixth overall pick in last year’s draft and the club’s second-ranked prospect per Baseball America, suffered a posterior labrum tear in his left shoulder just two games into his professional career last year. Though not as serious a surgery as Carroll’s, it still brought a quick end to his pro debut and raised concerns about whether his recovery might linger into this year.

Lawlar, 19, not only made it back in time for the start of the season, he has quickly impressed evaluators with his performance. In 13 games, he is hitting .354/.484/.563 with three homers and has notched 9 for 11 in stolen base attempts. He also has drawn nine walks compared to 12 strikeouts, an encouraging indication that his approach might be refined beyond his years.

“As far as physical attributes and what he can do, he’s super athletic,” a scout with an American League club said after watching Lawlar this month. “It’s really, really fun to watch. It’s like, ‘Wow, did he really just do that?’ Like getting to balls up the middle, coming in and getting a ball or going in the hole. The movements and athleticism, you don’t see that on a baseball field that often. And it’s smooth. He’s got smooth actions. It’s really athletic.”

Despite his athleticism, Lawlar’s defense has been crude, according to scouts, but they don’t see it as being anything out of the ordinary for a first-year shortstop out of high school. They see no reason why it wouldn’t improve in time, with one saying he expects him to hit enough to play just about anywhere on the diamond anyway.

“I saw a pretty good approach, pretty good plate coverage, good power,” another scout said. “He’s got a million miles to go at shortstop, but it won’t matter. You can probably put him in center field and he’d be fine. If I were the Diamondbacks people, I would be very happy with his start.”

Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D-Backs prospects Corbin Carroll, Jordan Lawlar off to fast starts