Corbin Carroll reaches the majors + D-backs Game Preview #127: 8/29 vs. Phillies

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Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

• Selected OF Corbin Carroll (No. 7) from Triple-A Reno.
• Reinstated LHP Caleb Smith off the 15-day injured list (fractured right hand).
• Optioned OF Jordan Luplow to Reno following yesterday’s game.
• Optioned LHP Tyler Holton to Triple-A Reno following yesterday’s game.
• The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

I’m trying to think of the last time a prospect arrived at Chase Field, and provoked as much excited expectation as Corbin Carroll has today. It has certainly been a while. Most obviously, Justin Upton was the franchise’s only #1 pick, and his progress through the minor leagues was certainly followed with interest until his arrival, a little more than two years later in August 2007. Though it appears the actual event itself was something of an anti-climax, going by my recap of the game:

Perhaps not quite what was expected for the debut of perhaps the most-eagerly anticipated prospect in Diamondbacks history. I was thinking, perhaps, Upton would make his entrance on a palanquin, with Scottsdale hotties strewing the ground in front of him with rose petals, before a packed Chase Field crowd for a one-game playoff to decide the NL West champion. Instead, it was as a defensive replacement, during the late innings of an utter blowout, not even televised in Arizona. If you make your debut, and nobody notices, does it count?

I suppose a close comparison might be the arrival of Stephen Drew. Like Carroll, Drew was considered by some as a potential high overall pick, but dropped to the D-backs in the middle of the round (15th overall for Drew, 16th for Carroll). Looking at the SnakePit report on Drew’s 2006 debut though, there does not seem to have been a particular buzz surrounding him. Though with the comments still being AWOL, it’s hard to be sure of the general feeling around fandom at the time. What stands out from the report is the note Tony Gwynn Jr. made his debut the same day, causing me to write “Future All-Stars?” about the pair. Neither player ever made it, through Drew’s career (15.9 bWAR) was much better than Gwynn’s (5.1).

In terms of the most recent prospect about whom there was such buzz, I’m thinking it was probably Trevor Bauer, our third overall pick in 2011, who reached the major leagues barely a year later. His promotion did prompt a string of articles on the site, e.g. Trevor Bauer Debuts Thursday: What Should We Expect? The debut was a bit underwhelming, but did give us this pastiche of Shakespeare by Clefo:

Today is call’d the feast of Trevor.
He that reaches base this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the plate is reach’d
And rouse him at the name of Trevor.
He that shall not K this day, and see a 4th AB,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say “To-morrow is Saint Trevor.”
Then will he strip his B-R page and show his OBP,
And say “These wounds I had on Trevor’s day.”

On Trevor’s Day itself, I seem to recall being there early with Jack, in order to witness Bauer’s pre-game ritual, famously including tossing from foul-pole to foul-pole. However, he’d make only three further appearances for Arizona, before being dealt to Cleveland. His post-Diamondback life would include a Cy Young and... all that [gestures vaguely off-stage left] A salutary lesson: you never know what you’ll get from a prospect. Here’s to more from Carroll.

Corbin Carroll audio

Corbin Carroll comments

It feels surreal to finally get here after all the hard work

He tried to “appreciate where his feet were” at each stop along the way to the majors and make the most out of all those experiences.

Very funny description of the moments calling his mom and later his dad and grandparents about getting the call up, and they all already knew.

Seeing so many familiar faces and guys he’s already played with makes it a lot easier to walk in the clubhouse. He’s played with everyone in the starting lineup tonight except Emmanuel Rivera.

[Corbin is a very soft spoken, thoughtful young man. He was clearly nervous but got through the media session fine]

Mike Hazen Bullet Points

· They felt fortunate that Carroll fell to them on draft day

· Callup timing mostly aimed to coincide with coming back home from road trip

· He’s been the same player since he signed, and played at the same high level right out of the chute in the lower levels of the minors.

· Expectations should be realistic for young players going from minors to majors. Don’t get too worked up over the first 40 or so games.

· They felt strongly about calling him up now and ripping the band aid off.

· There should be plenty of at bats to go around in the OF, and with the DH

· They specifically wanted to give him a little more time in Reno to acclimate to LF and most of his time right now will be in either RF or LF, with Thomas remaining in CF most of the time. Everyone will move around

· If 50/50 call would still choose the the better arm for right field, but their view is not as traditional as years past when the strongest arm played RF by default

Torey Lovullo audio

Torey Lovullo Notes:

Corbin Carroll can play all three outfield positions, but on days Alek Thomas plays he be the centerfielder.

Much of the conversation from Torey today revolved around providing opportunity for players to acclimate and learn about the big leagues before they actually get her. He also emphasized they want Carroll to keep to his same routines he used before getting here.

Daulton Varsho will only play catcher in an emergency situation or occasionally as a late inning replacement. While Torey wouldn’t go so far as to say they organization has closed the door on him catching next year, he made clear they don’t want to disrupt his outfield play. His future as a catcher is something they will discuss further during the off season.

Cooper Hummel: The move to have him come back and catch was out of necessity but he has been a pleasant surprise behind the plate.

Emmanuel Rivera is the backup first baseman.

Kyle Nelson went to the ACL to get in one more outing he felt he needed. He will likely return in a couple of days when rosters expand.