Arizona Diamondbacks promote infielder Andy Young, Josh Rojas sent down

The Diamondbacks have promoted their prospects to the big leagues recently, and Saturday was no exception.

Arizona called up infielder Andy Young to its 30-man active roster, as reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. In a corresponding move, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reported the D-backs will option Josh Rojas to their alternate training site at Salt River Fields.

Young, 26, joined pitcher Luke Weaver and catcher Carson Kelly as the three players involved in the Paul Goldschmidt trade to the St. Louis Cardinals on Dec. 5, 2018. He was added to Arizona’s 40-man roster after batting .271 with a career-best 29 home runs and 81 RBIs in 133 games between Double-A Jackson and Triple-A Reno last season.

He is the 15th ranked prospect in Arizona’s farm system according to MLB Pipeline.

Young added a small leg kick in his right-handed stance to tap into some raw power, and it paid dividends over the last two seasons. He launched 21 homers in 2018 with the St. Louis Cardinals’ Advanced-A and Double-A affiliates.

He followed it up with a career year in the D-backs’ system highlighted by 21 homers in 68 games with the Reno Aces.

Defensively, Young has bounced all over the infield. He made 67 starts at second base, 28 at shortstop and 25 at third base last season, though his quickness and 6-foot, 200-pound frame may translate to second base at the next level.

A West Fargo, North Dakota native, Young had to wait three days to hear his name called in the 2016 MLB Draft. More than 1,000 players were taken before he was selected by St. Louis in the 37th round out of Indiana State University.

Young has stayed under-the-radar and risen amongst the minor league ranks. He makes his MLB debut during an unprecedented 2020 season. Young can contribute as a bench bat with some pop at the plate, but he’s another name to keep an eye on as the year progresses.