Baseball returns: Dbacks set youthful 60-man pool

Tahoe Onstage
Reno Aces infielders Juniel Querecuto, Ildemaro Vargas and Kevin Cron are on the Arizona Diamondbacks 60-man player pool.
Shaun Astor/ Tahoe Onstage

Major League Baseball is coming back, and dozens of Arizona Diamondbacks prospects have a chance to don the Sedona red this season.

Arizona released its 60-man Diamondbacks Summer Camp roster on Monday as MLB prepares for a 60-game regular season that starts July 23-24. Several top prospects can potentially make an impact on the big-league roster with the new taxi squad addition.

Each team is allowed to have a pool of 60 players this season, 30 of whom are on the active roster. The remaining 30 players are on the taxi squad to fill in as a replacement in the majors. Since a Minor League Baseball season is still up in the air, this plan gives a team’s top prospects time to stay in physical shape and contribute to their organization.

Arizona has one of the deepest and talented farm systems in all of baseball, and four of its top prospects made the cut for the 60-man roster. Each player is listed on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list.

Outfielders Alek Thomas (No. 49 overall) and Corbin Carroll (No. 89 overall) join versatile catcher Daulton Varsho (No. 76 overall) and shortstop Geroldo Perdomo (No. 82 overall) in the 60-player pool.

Pitchers Corbin Martin, J.B. Bukauskas and infielders Josh Rojas and Seth Beer also made the 60-man roster. All four players were acquired in the Dbacks’ Zack Greinke trade to the Houston Astros last season.

One notable player to not be included on the list is 19-year-old outfielder Kristian Robinson. Robinson is viewed as arguably Arizona’s best prospect and comes in at No. 43 overall at MLB Pipeline. He played 69 games between Single-A Short Season Hillsboro and Single-A Kane County last season. 

Per Zach Buchanan of The Athletic, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said Robinson, a resident of The Bahamas, will have limited access to the team’s Scottsdale facilities, allowing him to workout while not being on the 60-man player pool.

Right-handed pitcher Bryce Jarvis, Arizona’s 2020 first-round pick, was added to the pool. Jarvis was taken 18th overall out of Duke and signed for a bonus of $2,650,000. He is one of the few 2020 draft picks on a team’s 60-player pool. He joins fellow right-handers Josh Green, Levi Kelly and Luis Frías.

Arizona’s 2019 first-round pick Blake Walston made the 60-player pool. The 19-year-old southpaw had a 2.45 ERA with 17 strikeouts in six games between the AZL Dbacks rookie league and Single-A Hilsboro.

Tahoe Onstage
Kevin Cron is one of 16 Aces players from last season on the 60-man pool.
Tim Parsons / Tahoe Onstage

Along with a bevy of young prospects, 16 players who appeared with the Triple-A Reno Aces last season were added to Arizona’s 60-player pool. Their names are listed here:

Pitchers:
Jon Duplantier (RHP)
Kevin Ginkel (RHP)
Joel Payamps (RHP)
Jimmie Sherfy (RHP)
Riley Smith (RHP)
Taylor Widener (RHP)
Alex Young (LHP)
Taylor Clarke (RHP)
Stefan Crichton (RHP)
Position Players:
Kevin Cron
Tim Locastro
Wyatt Mathisen
Andy Young
Juniel Querecuto
Josh Rojas
Ildemaro Vargas

Mathisen, Widener, Smith and Young were added to the Dbacks’ 40-man roster on Nov. 20. Cron, Payamps and Clarke made the 40-man roster in 2018. Clarke and Cron each made their MLB debuts last season.

Yasmany Tomás was left off Arizona’s player pool.
Mike Smyth / Tahoe Onstage

One notable Reno Aces player left off Arizona’s pool is Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomás. He is in the final year of a $68.5 million deal with Arizona in 2014. He played in Reno the last two seasons, getting called up for just four games with the Dbacks in 2019. In the shortened 2020 Spring Training, Tomás batted .412 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs in 17 at bats.

With the addition of the designated hitter in the National League, Tomás could have taken advantage. He slugged 29 homers with Reno last season and won the Triple-A Home Run Derby in El Paso, Texas. He struggled defensively in the outfield but was adequate at first base.

Arizona plucked several young outfield prospects to its 60-man player pool instead. Cron may get a chance with the designated hitter spot. He led the minors with 39 home runs last season.

The return of Major League Baseball has sparked a sense of optimism as the sports world gets back to a sense of normalcy. A 60-man player pool can give Arizona’s top prospects a chance to shine on the biggest stage.

—Isaiah Burrows

ABOUT Isaiah Burrows

Isaiah Burrows
Tahoe Onstage sportswriter Isaiah Burrows also is a general assignment reporter for CarsonNow.org, an online news source in Carson City. He is a journalism major at the University of Nevada, Reno, where is the sports editor of the Sagebrush student newspaper. He is the Reno Aces beat writer for Tahoe Onstage.

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One Response

  1. Creo que Yasmani el Tanque Tomás se merece una buena oportunidad . Es un gran pelotero ya tiene mas experiencia y puede ser muy útil . #arribatanque desde Cuba te apoyamos .

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