Been a little while since the last edition: once spring training got started, between the questions, the gameday threads and the recaps, there wasn’t a lot of room on the ‘Pit! But with the calendar having turned to March, and an off-day today, I’m going to try and get the balance of these knocked out over the next week or so. The previous entries (linked below) covered the pitchers and catchers, but we still have the infielders and outfielders to look at. We start with the former today, and therefore,
without further ado…
Jacob Amaya (18)
Originally a Dodgers prospect, but let’s not hold that against him. Amaya was dealt to the Marlins for Miguel Rojas, who DFA’d him to make room for old friend Emmanuel Rivera. He since played for the Astros and White Sox – just not very much, accumulating a total of 154 PA. Not-so-fun fact. With an OPS+ of -1, Amaya is currently the non-pitcher in baseball history with most career PA and a negative OPS+. Last year, he had an OPS of .260 across 36 games. I think it’s safe to call him a glove-first player, and he has over five thousand innings of experience at the shortstop position. He also pitched a clean inning for the White Sox last year (below). Maybe he can help the bullpen.
Luken Baker (21)
Baker has already made an impression this spring, whacking two home-runs including one on Saturday with an exit velo of 112.5 mph. He was let go by the Dodgers this winter, after being taken on waivers from the Cardinals, and is a very large mammal. His listed weight is 285 pounds, easily most among the 40-man roster or non-roster invitees (it’s forty pounds more than the Hispanic Titanic, which tells you something!). He is a right-handed hitter, so if Carlos Santana can’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag, he could be a potential platoon partner with Pavin Smith at 1B – or, probably more credibly given his defensive limitations, at DH.
LuJames Groover (91)
A top ten D-backs prospect according to both Fangraphs and Prospects 1500, he was also ranked the number six prospect at the hot corner by MLB Pipeline last month. Groover had a very solid season with Double-A Amarillo last year, and batted .309 with 12 home-runs and an .833 OPS, almost exclusively as a third-baseman. He may well start this year with the Reno Aces, and Groover could be in line to take over from Arenado when his contract is done at the end of 2027. So far, he’s had a decent spring, going 7-for-21 with a pair of doubles, though has yet to take a walk. LuJames is the man with many nicknames, as discussed in the video below.
Ben McLaughlin (96)
McLaughlin (pictured, top) was a ninth-round pick by the Diamondbacks in 2024, so it’s quite impressive that he’s getting a spring training invite, barely eighteen months later. But Ben’s bat really took off after a promotion to Double-A Amarillo. He took full advantage of the hitter-friendly surroundings, batting .343 across 28 games for the Sod Poodles, with a .990 OPS. McLaughlin was part of yesterday’s cuts from the roster, but made a strong impression in limited playing time, notching four hits in nine at-bats, while also drawing three walks. Fun fact: the first baseman also pitched three times for High-A Hillsboro, notching 3.2 scoreless innings and only giving up one hit.
