The Diamondbacks head into 2024 with a pair of intriguing young shortstops. Arizona carried both Geraldo Perdomo and top prospect Jordan Lawlar on last year’s playoff roster. Perdomo held the job throughout the postseason and will continue in that role for the upcoming year.
“Perdomo is going to be our starting shortstop,” manager Torey Lovullo declared from the team’s Spring Training complex this week (relayed by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports and Steve Gilbert of MLB.com). “He’s earned that right. I know he has worked very hard on his right-handed swing. … He deserves the opportunity to show me he’s able to handle a full workload as an everyday shortstop.”
Perdomo was an All-Star last season at age 23. He earned that nod with an impressive .271/.378/.409 batting line through the first half. Perdomo’s offensive production cratered down the stretch, as he hit .214/.322/.297 coming out of the All-Star Break. It looked as if that mediocre finish could at least open the door for Lawlar to seize the job, but the D-Backs are clearly bullish on Perdomo’s ability to rebound.
Overall, Perdomo is coming off an impressive year. His .246/.353/.359 line is right around league average. Perdomo drew walks at a strong 12.9% clip while striking out less than 18% of the time. His offense bounced back in October, as he turned in a .275/.362/.392 slash in 17 playoff contests. Perdomo logged nearly 900 regular season innings at shortstop. Defensive Runs Saved graded him slightly below average, while Statcast’s defensive marks had him just above par.
As Lovullo implied, one of the biggest remaining questions is whether the switch-hitting Perdomo can do enough damage from the right side of the plate. He didn’t hit for any power against left-handed pitching a year ago, running a .242/.304/.274 line in 71 plate appearances. Perdomo showed gap power as a lefty bat, collecting 18 doubles and six homers with a .246/.362/.374 slash.
It seems he’ll get a chance to prove he’s capable of handling pitchers of either handedness. Barring injury, it’s likely that means Lawlar is headed back to Triple-A Reno to start the year. Arizona acquired Eugenio Suárez to play third base and has Ketel Marte locked in at second. They signed Joc Pederson to take the bulk of the DH at-bats. There’s no path to regular playing time on the infield if everyone’s healthy. Arizona certainly won’t want Lawlar playing sparingly in a utility capacity.
The 2021 #6 overall pick could benefit from additional reps at the top minor league level. Lawlar barely played in Reno before Arizona called him up last September. He had just 16 games of Triple-A experience. The right-handed hitter spent the majority of the season at Double-A Amarillo. He turned in a stout .263/.366/.474 line with 15 homers and 33 steals over 89 games there in his age-20 campaign.
Reno’s extreme hitter-friendly nature can throw a wrench into the evaluations for Arizona prospects on both the position player and pitching sides. That’s probably not much of a concern with Lawlar, though, as he remains a consensus top-tier talent. He placed among the sport’s top 10 prospects on recent lists from FanGraphs, Keith Law of the Athletic and Baseball America. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel slotted him in the top 20.
If Lawlar starts the season in Reno, Emmanuel Rivera and Jace Peterson project as the depth infielders. Neither is a great fit at shortstop, so the Snakes could add a glove-first middle infielder to back up Perdomo and Marte. Minor league signee Kevin Newman fits the bill and is trying to crack the MLB team as a non-roster invitee in Spring Training.
Just giving Lawlar a little more time to develop it seems. He’s been pushed yet has held his own for the most part
Lawlar can play an excellent SS just give him the job and let him work out the offense. Perdomo is trade bait
Lawler needs every day at bats at Reno. Hopefully Gerry does well and there isn’t a spot at SS, and he needs to develop some defensive versatility. I am sure he’ll get the call at some point this season.
I’ll also say this shows the great leadership of Torey to make it clear that Gerry doesn’t have to prove himself at Spring Training. He’s a young leader, like Corbin and Montero. He was an All Star. He had a great playoff run. It is important for Torey to send the message that they have an established young core of players that stepped up on the big stage. He has Alek’s back too. Injuries aside, the only positions up for grabs are 5th starter and maybe a bullpen spot. Even Lawler will respect that Torey has Gerry’s back here, after stepping up on the big stage.
Yikes Perdomo is a player u sell high on even though he’s not that good even now
He’s markedly improved over ’22 and is cost-controlled for four more years and proven he can stick in the MLB. Can’t say the same for Lawlar yet.
His xBA and xSLG actually somehow dropped last year.
2022 xBA .213 xSLG .282
2023 xBA .201. xSLG .266
And his hard contact dipped below 20% which is single digit percentile. Yikes.
Perdomo is a sure gloved slap hitter who found some luck from the left side last year. If they’re smart, they call Lawlar up in three weeks and go for the ROY draft pick.
You obviously haven’t watched the games. He adds tremendous value when weighed against his contract. Plus, it’s clear that he’s on the rise, and he’s a leader. Did you see the way he stepped up on the big stage? That says he has what matters most — the mental ability to put the physical ability together.
He’s just a placeholder until they feel Lawlar is ready.
Theres an easy path to Lawlar forcing himself onto the infield. Eugenio suarez struck out 214 times last year, his .iso dropped off a cliff, yet his .babip remained at career norms. He’s a good clubhouse guy and plays everyday but i could see him completely being washed up as soon as this year. As for Perdomo, he needs to be andrelton simmons to make up for his total lack of power. He draws walks but looks like a utility infielder long term. If Lawlar hammers aaa pitching to start the season he will be up. He has ROY potential and with that comes draft pick compensation. Dbacks saw it with Corbin Carrol last year.
Lawlar should develop w/ the Aces all season barring a Perdomo injury. After the call up, when he did make contact he hit like he was swinging a wet newspaper. Call him up when rosters expand again. Great depth isn’t a problem, it is a strength for successful organizations.
No, he should not be in the minors all season. He’ll be called up for good by June at the very latest. This is a top prospect we’re talking about here, not far behind Corbin Carroll in overall ability.
Perdomo’s value to the Dbacks is huge! He bats 9th and constantly kickstarts the offense. He is the unquestioned captain of the infield defense. He settles down and encourages pitchers as the last voice to leave mound visits. He earned his 2023 All-Star game bid. He proved his offensive chops and “winner” label during the Dback’s 2023 run to the World Series. In Perdomo’s case advanced metrics don’t tell the whole or the accurate story.
I forecast Lawler becoming the starter at SS, Perdomo being the infield utility guy, and Rivera and Peterson becoming AAA depth.
Suffer
I forecast Lawler being traded and Perdomo remaining the Dbacks starting SS until Tommy Troy pushes him out.
For example, the Dbacks trade a package highlighted by Lawler and Alex Thomas to the White Sox for Luis Robert, Jr. and Dylan Cease.
Lawler would only be traded for an established star like Robert, Jr. who has 4 more years of control. He will not be traded for a 1 or 2 year rental.
I don’t see Hazen trading Lawler at his bottom value. He’s not going down in value and Reno isn’t going to make it go up enough, whereas his value spikes considerably with some good big league experience.
They’ll never trade Lawler, and especially not for those players. Robert, Jr is injury prone, and Cease is way overrated.
@scottaz
Pipeline throws a 55 FV on Lawlar’s: hit tool, game power, fielding, and arm; along with a 60 FV on his speed
FG throws a 60 FV on Lawlar’s: game power, fielding, and arm (also his pitch selection); along with 70 FV on his speed, and “only” a 40 FV on his hit tool.
Either way, both publications see him as a 60 FV overall; I can’t see Hazen dealing him if their internal evaluations are consistent with either publication (and there also exists the possibility that Hazen is even higher on Lawlar than either list).
That’s something like a top 5 SS in MLB; it’s rare to have a potential 5-tool profile out of a no-doubt SS.
Perdimo is 23 and was good enough to be an allstar and had a very good post season. Most teams dream they would have that.
I agree. He’s also a leader. He’s part of their core.
as adiehard dbacks fan he can be leadoff! he’s got a great eye! don’t dare change him!
Everybody forgetting that Blaze Alexander is also part of the system, is viewed as a sure fit at SS (an 80-grade arm helps a lot there), has experience covering both 2B/3B, and is already on the 40-man.
He’s one to keep an eye on in Spring Training.
Reno should be a fun place to watch baseball for awhile, and it’s a nice problem to have so much infield depth.