D-Backs work to grow their young talent
The Diamondbacks have what is widely regarded as one of the better farm systems in baseball, and their stockpile of talent will only get deeper once they sign the players they selected in last week’s draft.
The problem, of course, is they have nowhere to play. The start of the majorleague season remains on hold as owners and players bicker over finances, and most expect the minor-league season to be canceled.
And so the Diamondbacks, whose long-term plans for the organization are built around a strong farm system, are unable to properly develop their talent and are left instead to do what little they can to keep their prospects from stagnating.
“It’s tough,” Diamondbacks farm director Josh Barfield said. “You do need the reps. That’s why there are so many levels, so many games in a season. Guys need reps to get better and to hone their skills. It’s unfortunate guys are missing out on this time. And who knows how
much time ultimately they’ll end up missing?”
For now, the Diamondbacks, along with baseball’s 29 other teams, have no choice. With the game in a shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teams are prohibited from having minorleague players at their facilities. They are hopeful that eventually will change, but they realize the steps involved are daunting.
Baseball’s return-to-play proposal for major-league games reportedly includes testing players, staff and personnel multiple times a week. Officials assume that the standards would be similar for any sort of return for minor leaguers. That would mean bringing players back for workouts or intrasquad games would be complicated — and likely would mean teams couldn’t house all of their prospects due to space constraints.
Baseball America reported earlier this month tentative plans for expanded fall leagues in which each team would send a full roster of players to play in Arizona and Florida. From a health and safety perspective, those would be difficult to execute, as well.
If baseball does resume play at the major-league level this summer, that could provide another route for a limited number of prospects to remain active. According to reports, MLB is discussing plans for each team to have 60-man “taxi squads,” thus allowing players to remain sharp in the event they are needed at the big-league level.
In that scenario, Diamondbacks General Manager Mike Hazen said he would like to dedicate some of those roster spots to players who likely would not play in the majors this year.
“We haven’t gotten any official word on what that would look like,” Hazen said. “We are probably going to need to be prepared to support the majorleague club to a significant degree, given the unknowns and the health environment. But, yeah, if that presents itself that would be an avenue for us.”
In the meantime, teams have had little choice but to try to develop their players from afar over the past three months. Social media sites are filled with videos of players hitting in backyard cages or throwing off makeshifts mounds, and Barfield said many of his players have done their best to both stay in shape and develop their skills.
“These guys are really resourceful,” he said. “Guys are getting together and getting in sim games in the cage, or guys are finding facilities around the country where they can use Rapsodo or TrackMan (devices) to monitor their progress. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.”
Barfield said Diamondbacks’ minorleague coaches and staffers have remained in touch with players, with the sides communicating multiple times a week. That includes players sharing videos of their hitting and pitching mechanics with their coaches.
“The players want to know, ‘What do you think?’” Barfield said. “They’re like, ‘I know we were working on this before we left, how does this look?’ I think you can get in a lot of good reps right now. Even though it might not be game reps, it can help with the muscle memory. It’s going to allow you to feel more confident in the changes when you do come back and do it for real.”
As for when that might happen, no one is certain, including Hazen, who has made improving the Diamondbacks’ farm system one of his primary concerns during his three-plus years on the job. For now, though, he says there is a limit to just how much concern he can place on it given the circumstances.
“We don’t have a choice right now,” he said.
“I think in a vacuum we all would want to be playing baseball and seeing guys get their reps. We haven’t been in a situation to be able to do that yet. We have to deal with it. There’s nothing really to lament because it’s just shut down.”