Andy Young

The Diamondbacks will give infielder Andy Young his first Major League promotion, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Young is already on Arizona’s 40-man roster, though the D’Backs will have to make another move to find space on the 30-man active roster.

Originally a 37th-round pick for the Cardinals in the 2016 draft, Young is now on the cusp of the majors after that rather unheralded start to his pro career.  The 26-year-old posted some strong hitting numbers during his time in the St. Louis farm system, and came to the D’Backs in the 2018-19 offseason as part of the trade package in the deal that sent Paul Goldschmidt to the Cards.  The production continued for Young in his first season as a Diamondback, as he hit .271/.368/.535 with 29 homers over 540 combined plate appearances, split almost evenly between Arizona’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

MLB Pipeline lists Young as the 15th-best Diamondbacks system, describing him as “a bat-first prospect” who “does enough damage from the right side of the plate to mitigate many of the concerns about his defense.”  Young has mostly played second base in the minors, though he has logged a substantial amount of time as both a third baseman and shortstop, plus a handful of games in the corner outfield.

There aren’t any immediate openings for Young at any of those positions on the Diamondbacks’ depth chart, though he can provide backup at multiple spots and also likely log some DH at-bats.  If nothing else, Young can add some pop to a D’Backs lineup that has been inconsistent at best over the team’s first eight games.