Is Dominic Canzone Ready for a Big League Opportunity?

The last week has been a great sign for the D-backs farm system, as some of their prospects are getting healthy and others are in the middle of a hot streak. This week's segment of three up, three down will feature four players in each category, led by a somewhat forgotten outfield prospect in Reno who has been barreling up baseballs of late. At the end, there are some injury updates to three Top 10 prospects. 

Four Up

Dominic Canzone (No. 12) is banging on the doors for a big league opportunity, as he's been on a tear over his last 19 games. Over that stretch he is batting .422 with 12 doubles, two home runs, and a 1.228 OPS. While we have to take numbers from Reno with a heavy grain of salt, the batted ball data backs up the surge. His line drive rate since May 16th is 33.3% and his hard-hit rate, which is a batted ball with an exit velocity of at least 95 MPH, is over 62%. The combination of more line drives and hitting them hard has resulted in his average skyrocketing to .344 with a 1.060 OPS on the season. Depending on what happens with Pavin Smith at the big league level, Canzone could see his opportunity sooner rather than later.

Jordan Lawlar (No. 3) was hitting .162 with a strikeout in nearly a third of his plate appearances on May 21st. Since then he's hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games, batting .389 with three home runs and only eight strikeouts in 78 plate appearances. On the season he's batting .249 with eight home runs, 21 extra base hits, and an .801 OPS in 49 games. His strikeout rate has dropped below 25% while maintaining his walk rate above 10%. With the recent uptick in performance, the hope here is Lawlar is turning a corner and making the necessary adjustments. He's the type of player you take a snapshot of at the All-Star break and decide whether or not to promote to Triple-A Reno.

A.J. Vukovich (No. 16) has gone on a bit of a tear of late, hitting .375 with five home runs and 16 RBI in his previous two series. Over that stretch he has struck out just nine times in 51 plate appearances (17%), an issue that has plagued him throughout his career. The combination of a reduction in strikeouts along with more power is an encouraging sign for Vukovich, who lacks a true defensive position. Ultimately the main concern is if the bat plays at the big league level because if it does, they'll find spots for him.

Joe Elbis' (No. 20) debut at Ron Tonkin Field was impressive, as he held Spokane to two runs over 6 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts. Between him, Yu-Min Lin, and Dylan Ray, the organization has three decent pitching prospects behind their prospect studded rotation in Reno. On the season as a whole, the 20-year-old right hander is pitching to a 2.61 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 40/15 strikeout to walk ratio in 41 1/3 innings. 

Four Down

Jorge Barrosa (No. 23) had a tough week in Reno, hitting .174. With Canzone on a hot streak and Dominic Fletcher showing he can compete at the big league level, Barrosa could end up being buried on the organization's depth chart in the outfield if he doesn't hit. 

Deyvison De Los Santos (No. 15) continues to struggle at the Double-A level. While his strikeout and walk rates have improved to 23.0% and 8.5%, the quality of contact has gotten worse. De Los Santos is putting the ball on the ground over 57% of the time, limiting the 19-year-old slugger's offense. The high ground ball rate, which has been a consistent issue in his career, has caused his average to drop to .207 with a .618 OPS. 

Dylan Ray (No. 14) has struggled in back-to-back starts, allowing 10 runs in 6 1/3 innings with a 6/6 strikeout to walk ratio. After going at least five innings in four of his first five starts, Ray has only pitched into the fifth inning once in his last five. The D-backs have been watching his workload this season, with his pitch count being in the 65-75 range with each of his starts. This is his first full year since undergoing Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2021.

Manuel Peña (No. 19) has been slow to adjust to pitching in Low-A, batting .233 with 10 extra base hits and a .616 OPS. After an encouraging month of May, where he hit .308 with a .792 OPS, Peña is slumping again in his first 10 games in June. 

Injury Updates

Landon Sims (No. 8) has made his return to the mound, making his organizational debut last Friday by tossing an inning. Sims underwent Tommy John surgery last March before getting drafted by Arizona with the 34th overall selection in last year's draft.

Druw Jones (No. 3) is expected to start his rehab assignment in the Complex League before being activated off Visalia's injured list. Jones had been out since April 19th with a right quad strain. 

Blaze Alexander (No. 10) has been activated from the 7-day injured list by the D-backs Triple-A affiliate. He homered in his second at-bat back against the Las Vegas Aviators.