The D-backs have agreed to terms on a deal with No. 18 overall pick Kayson Cunningham, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com. Cunningham, a high school shortstop out of Texas, will receive a $4,581,900 bonus — full slot value for his selection. Arizona also agreed to a $3MM bonus with No. 29 overall pick Patrick Forbes, a right-hander out of Louisville (also via Callis). That’s $191K under slot value.
Cunningham, 19, was regarded as a clear first-round talent and considered the best pure hitter among this year’s high school ranks — if not the best pure hit tool in the pool overall. He’ll forgo his commitment to Texas and begin his professional career. Cunningham landed as highly as No. 8 on FanGraphs’ rankings of the top prospects in this year’s draft. Baseball America ranked him 12th, while MLB.com had him 14th and Keith Law ranked him 15th over at The Athletic. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him 25th heading into the draft.
Scouting reports on Cunningham laud his feel for hitting and above-average speed, but there are questions about whether he’ll stick at shortstop or have to move over to second base, where the bar for offense is higher. He’s also perhaps generously listed at 5’10”, leading to some questions about his size, but Cunningham has the makings of a hit-over-power middle infielder with good speed.
Forbes ranked 29th at FanGraphs, 31st at MLB.com, 32nd at The Athletic, 33rd at ESPN and 47th at Baseball America. He’s a 6’3″, 220-pound righty who’d previously been a two-way player but is now focused on the mound, where he boasts an upper-90s heater and an above-average slider. Forbes has missed time due to injuries and pitched just 29 innings in 2024. He bounced back with 71 1/3 frames this year, and while his 4.42 ERA was lacking, he fanned nearly 37% of his opponents.
The Diamondbacks also agreed to an under-slot deal with third-round pick Brian Curley and over-slot deals with fourth-rounder Dean Livingston and 11th-rounder Luke Dotson (all per Callis). Curley’s $700K bonus checks in about $139K under slot value. Livingston’s $1MM bonus is nearly $400K over his slot value of $611K. Dotson secures a $500K bonus — $350K of which will count against Arizona’s draft pool. (All picks in rounds 11-20 come with a standard $150K slot value, and only money that exceeds that figure counts toward the team’s pool.)
Usually the more advanced college bats from p4 conferences go to high a and play there instead of playing against eighteen and nineteen year old players who are less mature in their game.
Cunningham will be the heir apparent to replace Marte at 2nd base.
He’s still too far out to say that definitively; everybody is pretty convinced that Jordan Lawlar (in AAA) is going to end up at 3B, but LuJames Groover (playing well in AA) could end up covering 3B with Lawlar at 2B.
Tommy Troy (in AA) has been showing improved peripherals at a higher level, so he just may be getting his development back on track (and has seen more consistent time at 2B than SS).
Then there are Demetrio Crisantes, Jansel Luis, and Cristofer Torin (all at A+) that are showing varying degrees of promise at 20 y.o
And finally, as suffer pointed out, there is JD Dix in A ball. They all have a few years to jockey for position before Ketel has to play very little in the field.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Marte at 1B next year, with Lawlar given an opportunity to take over at 2B
@five, I don’t think we’ll ever seriously see Marte as a 1B. He’s got significant value as a 2B defensively for now, and if/when the positional change needs to be made, it’ll be to DH. First is for players who can’t play elsewhere. It’s a potential option, but I don’t see Hazen & Co doing it. Not really their MO.
Now if they can only find CHUCK Cunningham !!
The fact they haven’t found him after all these years can mean only one thing – coverup…
@ Spence, I agree Marte future is as a DH, especially being a switch-hitter. As for who is playing third and second in the future, remember what GM Hazen said a couple years ago after he made the Seawald trade at the deadline, he said he see’s prospects as exactly that prospects, which means they are the easiest thing to use as trade pawns, and that he has no problem in trading prospects whoever they are if it benefits the existing ML roster. So, if this run right now proves out to get this team into the playoff race, it would not surprise me if Hazen would use these prospects as trade collateral if he decided to be a buyer instead of seller.
Sure. But he isn’t going to undervalue any prospect just because they aren’t yet a sure thing. While I would love to see Geno extended, I doubt that happens to make Lawlar expendable. Similarly, he’s not going to give up a prospect who’s value in Phoenix is higher than it is elsewhere just to make a move. I don’t expect this deadline to be a happy one for Arizona fans. Selling seems the most realistic approach with the main alternate tepid buying of castoff bullpen arms that inspire little confidence for the MLB team and cost nothing but lottery tickets.
I see your point, if this team goes in the next nine games, they go 7-2, or 8-1 which would be 12-2 the last 14 games Hazen is going to really have a tough decision to make, if they do go for it, I will think they would be looking for a 50/50 mix in a sell/buy mode. Which would mean trading only Gallen, and adding maybe having to deal Del Castillo, and McCarthy as a throw in to get a strong bullpen arm and a mid-tier prospect and keep the other three in chances they are a better chance to re-sign them. If Hazen goes into the total sell mode for Suarez, Kelly, Gallen, and Naylor. Then you may have to trade a prospect(s) to really get a strong return. Remember these four players are only two month and maybe a playoff run for a team then they are FA’s. These team will want to buy on the idea of not giving up much for a rental.
I think you’re aiming too high on all fronts. Deadline deals rarely bring back impact talent unless it’s years away from MLB. Suarez maybe brings back a “Top 100” guy who is in low A ball currently. Or he brings in a swingman arm with 4+ years of control. The others won’t bring that kind of return back without additional pieces like ADC/McCarthy. Which doesn’t make sense for the team. I expect the players dealt away will either be guys like Torin or JLuis (great lottery tickets, but far from sure things to even make MLB) or just the rental pieces.
With all the longterm pitching injuries, competing in 2026 is nothing more than a hope. Best case, the offense keeps the team around .500 and Burnes/Puk/Martinez come back at minimum time off throwing full strength. That is extrememly unlikely and very anti-Hazen (see Jameson’s TJS recovery). Most likely, 2026 becomes a money saving season for ownership and a development/prove-it season for some of the youth that isn’t part of core yet (Alek, McCarthy, Lawlar, Groover). That opens 2027 for a free agent splash and another real run at a playoff berth. With the new CBA agreed to at that point, we may even have a new division to look forward to with expansion!
I don’t know about Suarez, with 6 to 7 teams having strong interest, some team may say we really have to have him may be willing to overpay, not saying going crazy. but the D”backs could get a solid prospect(s) ML ready. But it may cost having to add another as a Gallen/Suarez package or prospect. What I am saying is why settle for what a team wants to give you, go for what you want. There is a team out of these 6 or 7 that is playing above their pre-season ratings. Talking about the Cubs, Mariners, Brewers. Especially Brewers and Cubs being in same division and the rivalry they have, neither team wants the other to end up with Suarez so there is an opening there to have one of these two team to overpay if Hazen decided to pit these two team against each other in negotiations. Hazen just need to play the hand he has been dealt, and put it all in.
I was accounting for the bidding war and overpay that will happen. In my mind, the theoretical best package they could get would be headlined by Ryan Sloan from Seattle. He’s years away, well regarded and expendable in a system flush with high end guys. Just settling for some overhyped middling arm from a team like NYY or CHC because their names are in headlines more often and they have control is the other option. But Arizona has plenty of that type of pitcher at AA/AAA already. If nothing changes the 2026 rotation could include Nelson, Jameson, Lin, Diaz, Mena, etc. All of which are basically the same as the names being thrown around as “MLB-ready” guys for Suarez…. I think they should aim higher and try to compete with LAD in 2027, not MIL.