Hoping to get more production from the left side of the field, the Diamondbacks announced late Wednesday afternoon that they are promoting top prospect Jordan Lawlar from Triple-A Reno. He will join the team in Chicago on Thursday in time to start a pivotal four-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
General Manager Mike Hazen appeared to be hinting at the possibility of a promotion earlier in the day, saying that Lawler’s hot racket at Reno was starting to force the team at a time when other veteran options were struggling to bottom out.
A shortstop, Lollar started taking ground balls at third base this week and started in the Reno position for the first time Tuesday night.
“I’m just trying to give him chances,” Hazen said Wednesday morning. “He’s starting to swing the bat really well. He’s getting a decent number of at-bats under his belt. We wanted to open up the opportunity for him to come over here and make an impact for us if he could.”
Lawlar, selected by the Diamondbacks the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, started his year slowly at Double-A Amarillo but has been very hot over the past three months, hitting a total of .325/.413/.565 with 15 home runs and 25 steals in the last 71 his match.
Lawlar’s numbers have been better since his move to Triple-A Reno in the middle of last month. Hazen said he wanted Lollar to continue to focus on his development at shortstop, but Lollar’s bat changed the equation.
“A few weeks ago, the bat wasn’t necessarily where the bat is today,” Hazen said. “It pushes the envelope. These things come to you quickly sometimes. We had hoped that the guys would shut down certain places and make these decisions somewhat irrelevant, but they haven’t.
Hazen points to the poor offensive production his club received from his third baseman and Nick Ahmed, the Diamondbacks shortstop who was hired after Wednesday’s 12-5 win over Colorado for the job of making room for Lawler.
Wednesday’s Diamondbacks entered second-to-last in the National League with . 661 OPS at third base, home runs primarily by Josh Rojas, Emanuel Rivera, Evan Longoria, and Jess Peterson. Since June 13, their third baseman has only hit .189/.276/.288 with five teammates in 277 plate appearances.
Ahmed, who was primarily starting against lefties, was hitting just . 212 with a . 560 OPS.
Manager Torrey Lovolo said Lawler would have “100 percent” from the starting shortstop against left-handed pitchers. Lovolo said Lawler will also be an option at third base.
Earlier today, Hazen said he envisions any time Lawler spends in the major leagues will be beneficial to his development, especially since it will come in the midst of a playoff race.
“If he came here, there would be no expectation that he would be a ‘savior’,” Hazen said. “He’d be an extra player in the team if he came here. He’ll get his chances, but we need the collective here to make him an extra player too, to make him kind of the cherry on the sundae. And that’s what we’ll work for if that happens.”
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A year ago, the Diamondbacks faced a similar question about when to promote quarterback Corbin Carroll from Reno. Hazen said Carroll’s performance from start to finish weighed more on the club than Lollar, but he did not rule out what Lollar had been doing for most of the summer.
Six weeks into the season, Lawler had hit just .168/.298/.336 with five homers and 46 hits in 125 at-bats. Hazen said Lawlar’s hits weren’t necessarily related to chasing pitches out of the area and he didn’t think it was a mechanical issue with his swing.
“I think there was some problem, not cheating, but recognizing the inside half of the plate, and maybe being wise to spin a little bit, rather than being, you know, a very good hitter and can dominate the other side of the field,” Hazen said. They worked hard and discovered these things and came back to do it. He was crushing the ball.”
Carroll smiled when a reporter told him that Lollar was expected to receive an invite to the major leagues.
“he?” Carroll asked. “Yeah, I mean, that’s cool. I haven’t heard that yet. That’s very exciting.”
Carroll, a frontrunner for the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award, was asked what kind of lift Lawler could bring.
“I think he just needs to come here and be himself,” said Carroll. “I think he has a lot of resources here, a lot of experienced players and then some youngsters too, who can share some experiences with him. I think he’ll be in a great position.”