Ryan Waldschmidt reached the majors on Friday, and Alek Thomas lost his roster spot in the same move. The Diamondbacks selected Waldschmidt’s contract and designated Thomas for assignment, a swap that pushes Arizona’s top prospect into the outfield mix right away.
Waldschmidt’s Reno line
Waldschmidt, 23, earned the call after posting a.289/.400/.477 line in 156 plate appearances at Triple-A Reno. He added three homers, nine doubles, three triples and six steals while drawing walks at a 12.2% clip and striking out 24.4% of the time.
The left side of the roster shuffle was just as clear. Thomas, 26, was designated for assignment after batting.181/.222/.340 this season, and he is out of minor league options.
Thomas loses his spot
That decision closes the door on a former top prospect who once carried far more heat in the industry. Thomas was a second-round pick out of high school in 2018 and was considered a consensus top prospect from 2020-22, but the major league offense never moved enough to secure the job long term.
His first extended look came in 2022, when he hit.231/.275/.344 with eight homers in 411 plate appearances. Last season, he struck out at a 26% clip in a career-high 469 plate appearances, and this year that rate sat at 23% without enough production to offset it.
Arizona’s outfield choice
Waldschmidt enters with a different offensive profile. He was the game’s No. 41 prospect on Baseball America’s recent top-100 update, was the former No. 31 overall draft pick, and hit 18 homers last year. At 6-foot and 205 pounds, he bats right-handed, has played all three outfield spots and has spent most of this season in center field, though most scouting reports project him as a corner outfielder.
Arizona also needs the bat help. The club ranks 19th in runs scored and 22nd in home runs, and Waldschmidt figures to get regular work in the outfield moving forward. Tyler Locklear was activated from the injured list and optioned to Triple-A Reno in the same roster move, with Corbin Carroll remaining the most obvious center-field alternative if Arizona wants to shift the alignment again.
For now, the change is simple: Waldschmidt is up, Thomas is off the 40-man roster path, and the Diamondbacks are betting on a prospect who produced in Reno rather than a former prospect who never turned the tools into enough offense in the majors.
