No. 1 prospect Lawlar establishing himself on and off the field
Steve Gilbert
@SteveGilbertMLBThis story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert¡¯s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
To say that the 2024 season was a frustrating one for shortstop Jordan Lawlar -- the Diamondbacks' top prospect and No. 11 in the Majors, per MLB Pipeline -- would be an understatement.
Injuries -- first to his thumb and then later his hamstring -- limited him to just 104 plate appearances between Triple-A Reno, Double-A Amarillo and the Arizona Complex League.
The frustration left Lawlar with two choices. He could feel sorry for himself and lament the bad luck that put him in this spot, or he could still try to get everything he could out of the season.
¡°Initially I was down maybe a day or two,¡± Lawlar said. ¡°You think about it like, 'Why does this happen?' You can sit in the corner and cry about it or you can do something about it. Then you turn the page and attack rehab, get better every day, and it's just part of it. Sometimes you can only control so much, and I'm big on controlling the controllables. Sometimes it's just out of your control.¡±
While rehabbing during the summer, Lawlar studied ways to avoid future injuries and reframed the experience as best he could.
¡°It's a blessing,¡± Lawlar said. ¡°I learned a lot from it -- perseverance, and I know my body even more now [since] I spent a lot of time on the [training] table. Obviously I want to be out there with the guys and be with the fellas, but a lot of good can come out of something like that sometimes.¡±
To make up for the missed at-bats during the season, Lawlar went down to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball where he got another 108 plate appearances. He also added some versatility to his game playing some third base.
That¡¯s especially important now that the Diamondbacks signed shortstop Geraldo Perdomo to a four-year, $45 million contract extension this spring. With Perdomo entrenched at short, Ketel Marte at second and Eugenio Su¨¢rez at third, there isn¡¯t a clear path to the big leagues this spring for Lawlar.
This spring, Lawlar will see time at short and also third. Second base is not in the plans right now, manager Torey Lovullo said recently.
¡°I know that he's probably curious about the Perdomo contract and we talked about it,¡± Lovullo said. ¡°I called him and he said it's a non-factor for him. He's here because he wants to learn, and he's going to have a lot of good days for us. And when it's time [to be in the Majors], he's going to show us it's time. When that is, I don't know. It might be tomorrow, might be a week from now, might be a month from now, I don't know. But he's a special talent, and the best part of him is from the neck up. He's a great teammate.¡±
In the spirit of being a good teammate, Lawlar has learned Spanish so he can communicate better with some of his teammates. He hasn¡¯t had any formal classes, but he listened to podcasts in Spanish and to the popular Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny among other musicians to pick up the language.
Lawlar started learning back in 2022 while in Single-A and his teammates give him rave reviews for how good it is, but as one said, the very fact that he¡¯s been making the attempt means a lot.
¡°I feel comfortable speaking it,¡± Lawlar said. ¡°And the more you learn a language, the more comfortable you get with it. And you just got to make mistakes. [My teammates] care about it, and they'll help you out, like they'll fix it if you mess up.¡±
Lawlar also used his downtime last year to learn cooking. Again, he didn¡¯t take any classes, but instead watched a lot of YouTube videos. He¡¯s most proud of a hibachi style chicken stir fry and a basic steak and baked (or sweet) potato with vegetables.
As for on the field, Lawlar is still very much a big part of the team¡¯s future going forward. When that future begins is the only question.