Introduction
When I first outlined this article after the signing deadline had passed, I wasn’t very impressed with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ first selection in the 2026 draft. Just to be clear, this isn’t a slight against Helfrick, but because I think there are catching prospect that might be just as good, if not better than him already.
I thought it was worthwhile to not only take a deeper look at Ryder Helfrick, his scouting reports and grades, but to do the same for three other prominent catching prospects
in the Arizona Diamondbacks farm. For the scouting grades, they are the standard scouting scale, so 80 would be the best ever. I honestly can’t think of a single example of an 80 grade being handed out. (If you know of any let me know in the comments!) A 40 grade is a solid but average in evaluations
Ryder Helfrick
Scouting Grades: Hit: 30+/40 | Power: 60 | Run: 40 | Field: 55 | Arm: 60
Bats/Throws: Right Height/Weight 6’1″ / 210 DOB: 2/17/2005 Level/League: A ball Visalia Rawhide, Cal League
Helfrick was a highly-regarded high school prospect in Northern California who ventured all the way to the SEC for college. Had a power-hitting breakout as a sophomore, struggled with Team USA during the summer, then broke out his third year with a .283/.417/.562 triple slash, and slightly fewer strikeouts than the year before. What’s much more notable about Helfrick’s NCAA career is the fact that he was very involved with his pitching staff, actually calling in-game pitches and coming up with game plans with the Razorbacks pitching staff. (This doesn’t sound unusual if you’re not super familiar with college ball, but it is very unusual now that it has become common place to delegate all of that to the coaches in the dugout, which was something I didn’t know prior to Helfrick’s selection)
Helfrick has now played nine games in Visalia, which is honestly too small of a sample size, but obviously we’re gonna talk about it anyway. In 44 plate appearances, Helfrick has had eight hits with two doubles and two homeruns in 35 at bats, with eight walks and ten strikeouts. That works out to a .229/.364/.457, which is still above the California league’s average offensive production, and is about what I would expect Helfrick’s offensive production more or less look like at the MLB level. In other words, expect a defense first catcher with some hard three true outcome tendency.
Baseball America is definitely the highest on Helfrick out of any publication, with them going so far as to rank Helfrick as the Diamondbacks #2 overall prospect in their midseason top 30 prospect list, behind consensus top prospect Demetrio Crisantes. My fellow Snakepit colleague James Attwood recently ranked Helfrick at #4 whicg is closer to where Helfrick has been ranked on average amongst other credible prospect evaluators. Helfrick does deserve credit for how polished he is, I am not so certain he’s the best catching prospect in the system and having at fourth overall doesn’t really make sense once you compare him to the next catcher we’re discussing. However, there is one advantage Helfrick has over the other three catchers, which is in this article, even if it isn’t spelled out. You’ll have to let me what that advantage is in the comment section!
Carlos Virahonda
Scouting Grades: Hit: 50+ | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Field: 60+ | Arm: 60+
Bats/Throws: R/R Height/Weight 5’10” / 200 DOB: 12/13/2005
In January of 2023, the Diamondbacks signed Carlos Virahonda out of Venezuela for $200,000, largly based on the strength of his defensive tools, but also thanks to being impressed by his short quick swing at the plate. Virahonda’s offensive potential was apparent immediately after his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League. In 38 games combined between the Dbacks two DSL affiliates in 2023, Virahonda hit .304/.401/.482 with a .482 wOBA and a 133 wRC+. Considering how impressive of a debut he had, it become even more unfortunate that any progress Virahonda was making immediately stalled out for 2024, with his next go around in the DSL was not nearly as successful. In 49 games in 2024, Carlos Virahonda put up a paltry triple slash line of .156/.279/.231, with his wOBA falling over .200 points to .278, and his wRC+ dropping to 43. Fortunately for Virahonda and the D’backs, things would immediately turn around tue next season.
In 2025, Virahonda came stateside and began his season in the Arizona Complex League. In 37 games, he hit .347/.464/.455 with a .445 wOBA and a 153 wRC+. That would earn him a promotion to the Diamondbacks A ball level level affiliate, the Visalia Rawhide, where he’d play in 33 more games to finish out his season. In those 33 games, he’d hit .256/.362/.357 with .358 wOBA and 108 wRC+. His combined statline for the 70 total games played in 2025 would be .300/.413/.404 .401 wOBA and 130 wRC+, which is a massive turnaround from the season prior.
For the 2026 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks had Virahonda return to the Visalia Rawhide to start year. In 48 games there, he hit .273/.359 /.508 with a .382 wOBA+ and 116 wRC+ which was enough of an improvement to earn him a promotion to A+ level Hillsboro. In his first 36 games there, he’s hit .261/.399/.496 .403 wOBA and a 137 wRC+. Virahonda is only 10 months older than Helfrick while being already a level ahead of him. It’s possibility he even ends up two levels ahead of him by their next season. (If Virahonda continues his hot hitting in Hillsboro the rest of the season, while Helfrick continues to slump in Visalia he might repeat the level) there’s potential for Virahonda to start his next season in AA
Virahonda is not only the most well rounded as a hitter of the catchers we’re discussing, but he’s also no defensive slouch either. In fact Virahonda is likely thw best defender too, as he was also ranked as the best defensive catcher in the system according to Baseball America. Take it all together, and I think you have the best catcher in the system in Virahonda. Well, except for that one advantage Helfrick has over Virahonda
Ivan Luciano
Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 30 | Field: 55 | Arm: 50.
Bats/Throws: L/R Height/Weight 5’10” / 185 DOB: 11/24/2006
Two season ago in the second round of the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft, with the 64th overall pick, the Diamondbacks selected Ivan Luciano out of El Shaddai Christian Academy in Dorado, PR with a $990,000 bonus.
Luciano wouldn’t make his professional debut until thw following year in 2025, when he began his season in the Arizona Complex League. In 44 games there, Luciano hit .275/.398/.382 with a .380 wOBA and a 115 wRC+, which earned him a three game cup of coffee in A ball with Visalia to end the 2025 season.
In 2026, Luciano spent his first 85 games in Visalia and hit 264/375/.441 with a .372 wOBA and 110 wRC+. He’s appeared in only five games so far since being promoted to Hillsboro; he’s 3 for 14 with a home run and three walks, which is above-average offensive production for the NWL.
At 19 years old in A ball, Luciano was on the younger side for the California league, but nowhere close to being the youngest in the league. Now in the A+ Level Northwestern league, Luciano is the 28th youngest batter, and the fourth youngest catcher. He is the youngest catcher being discussed here and not by an insignificant amount. He’s two years younger than Helfrick based on the cutoff date that MLB uses, while also now being a level ahead of him. Just like with Virahonda, if he continues hitting well, he very well could be two levels ahead sometime next season. Luciano is also an extremely well rounded player overall, with speed being the only tool that he has that isn’t above average. As a left handed hitter batter, he also has an extra track onto a major league roster as the LHB half in a platoon with the other three guys.
Luciano is basically not on any current rankings though, despite having just as impressive of production and tools as the other three catchers discussed, while also being younger.
Alberto Barriga
Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 55 | Field: 55 | Arm: 70+
Bats/Throws: R/R Height/Weight 5’9″ / 155 DOB: 11/15/2004
Barriga might not be the youngest prospect here or the highest ranked, but he’s the catching prospect who impressed me the most to begin the 2026 season. So much so that I wrote an article about him a couple months ago, which you can read here.
If Barriga hadn’t struggled after being promoted to AA and hit like he had in Hillsboro, he honestly might be one of the, if not the Dbacks breakout prospects of the year, after Manuel Pena. Unfortunately, he has slowed down dramatically putting up a 61 wRC+ over 41 games vs the 115 wRC+ in 40 games he had put up in Hillsboro.
Barriga reminds me a lot of former catching prospect of the Diamondbacks, Daulton Varsho, who coincidentally was traded for the Dbacks current starting catcher Gabi Moreno. While he doesn’t have the speed that Varsho had, Barriga does have the defensive tools to stick at catcher and has a sniper rifle of a throwing arm behind the plate. In other words, not only does he have the strongest throwing arm of all the catchers in the Dback system, but he’s actually very accurate with it toboots. That 70+ grade is the highest grade of any of these players, and one I almost never give out. It is impressive.
I bring up the Varsho comp for the reason that I wouldn’t be surprised if down the line Barriga gets moved off of catcher, since considered undersized for the position. The D’Backs tried him out at other positions early on his pro career in the Dominican Summer League, but I don’t they were impressed as he’s exclusively played at catcher outside of occasional starts at DH.
Conclusions
The Diamondbacks have some exciting young catching prospects that at minimum should provide some much needed emergency depth in the very near future, but could potentially become heir apparent to Gabi Moreno when he exits via Free Agency, if they continue making progress.
As far as to who is the best catching prospect, I think the answer depends on who you’re asking. I’d actually rank Virahonda basically the same as Helfrick, somewhere in the middle of the top ten. Let me know in the comments where you would rank these players, but more importantly let me know what you think has given Helfrick the edge in these prospect evaluations?
