3 Diamondbacks call-ups who can serve as second-half trade additions of their own
The Arizona Diamondbacks are in position to be competitive again this season. They proved last season that all they need to do is make the postseason and then anything can happen.
Still, they weren't very aggressive at the trade deadline, leaving multiple holes in their roster to be filled if they want to be competitive in October. Luckily for the Diamondbacks, they have a farm system with some top end minor league talent. Plenty of Diamondbacks minor leaguers appear ready for the big leagues with one of them even being a top 100 prospect in all of baseball.
They will likely dive into this farm system to improve their roster in the coming weeks. Here are three prospect who can make an immediate impact for the second half of the season.
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3. Adrian Del Castillo, C, Triple-A
There may not be a better performing player in the entire Diamondbacks system than their 28th ranked prospect, catcher Adrian Del Castillo.
The 24-year-old is currently slashing .322/.403/.608 and none of those numbers are a typo. He's slugging at an incredible rate, reaching base over 40 percent of the time and getting hits as often as anybody in the organization. Del Castillo has hammered 23 home runs and 36 doubles in 98 games, leading to his ridiculous slugging percentage over .600.
At a defensive first position like catcher, this kind of offensive production is incredibly rare. The Diamondbacks are going to need to bring a full 26-man roster of talent into the postseason with their best players if they want to have a chance to compete with the best teams in the league. It's impossible for the Diamondbacks to build a 26 man roster without including Del Castillo in it.
Adding him to the roster would be like the trade acquisition that the Diamondbacks never made. Finding an impact bat like Del Castillo's is incredibly rare on the trade market. He has the chance to come up and be a .270 hitter with 20 homer potential.
2. Cristian Mena, RHP, Triple-A
The Diamondbacks are going to need to add pitchers to their roster down the stretch if they want to compete in the postseason. They need to find some arms to fill in for their struggling starters as well as additional bullpen pieces. Jordan Montgomery and Slade Cecconi have struggled in the starting rotation and there are a few bullpen pieces that could be replaced too.
Trying to pinpoint exactly which prospect arm it will be that comes up to replace Montgomery, Cecconi and the struggling bullpen arms is tough. The name that I kept landing on was Cristian Mena, a 21-year-old right hander that's in Triple-A right now. He's the team's 11th ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline.
Mena holds a 4.61 ERA in Triple-A this season and he's received one start in the big leagues resulting in a bit of a rough outing, but he needs another chance to truly prove himself, even if it's just in the bullpen. He has an excellent arsenal featuring a few different breaking balls and a solid fastball. The right hander is also coming off two solid starts. If he can build off that in his next start or two, we could see him back with the Diamondbacks in no time.
1. Jordan Lawlar, SS, Triple-A/Injured list
The most obvious option to be moved up for the Diamondbacks is their top prospect, shortstop Jordan Lawlar. Lawlar is one of the top prospects in the game of baseball and he's an elite prospect when he's healthy. Speaking of health, he's missed time with a thumb surgery earlier in the season and he now sits sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Nick Piecoro of USA Today discussed the Diamondbacks plan when Lawler returns from injury.
"When Lawlar reinjured his hamstring two weeks ago, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said the expectation was that Lawlar would miss six to eight weeks, a timeline that likely would mean a return to action sometime in September," Piecoro wrote.
When Lawlar returns in September, he will likely have a week or two of action in Triple-A before he gets a chance in the big leagues again.
When healthy, Lawlar has slashed .327/.414/.531 in 49 at bats split between rookie ball and Triple-A this season. He's an elite runner with an above average bat. He's a good defender that looks like a true five tool prospect for the Diamondbacks. Adding him to the roster would improve their depth and overall talent across the infield. His addition back to the big league team would be like the Diamondbacks trade acquisition that they never got at the deadline.