Diamondbacks call up top prospect Ryan Waldschmidt, designate Alek Thomas for assignment

The Arizona Diamondbacks are calling up their top minor-league prospect. Outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt will join the team for Friday’s matchup with the New York Mets, the team announced.

Waldschmidt, 23, came into the season ranked as Arizona’s No. 1 prospect by MLB.com, Baseball America and The Athletic. He was also ranked among baseball’s top 50 prospects by all three outlets. The center fielder was Arizona’s 2024 first-round pick (No. 31 overall) out of Kentucky,

This season for Triple-A Reno, Waldschmidt has a .289/.400/.477 slash average with three home runs, nine doubles, 22 RBI and six stolen bases in 156 plate appearances. Last season, he split time between high Single-A and Double-A, hitting a combined .289/.419/.483 with 18 homers, 27 doubles, 78 RBI and 29 steals.

Waldschmidt getting called up to the majors changed this weekend’s plans for his family, as well. His parents had previously planned to watch younger son Logan pitch for the University of New Orleans, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. But now the three of them are in Arizona waiting for Ryan to take the field for the D-Backs.

However, Waldschmidt is not in Friday’s starting lineup. Jorge Barrosa will start in center field and bat ninth.

To make room for Waldschmidt on the major-league roster, Arizona designated center fielder Alek Thomas for assignment. Thomas, 26, was the D-Backs’ Opening Day starter in center but started the season poorly. After batting 1-for-7 in the team’s past three games, he had a .181/.222/.340 slash average with two homers and 10 RBI in 100 PAs.

Thomas was a postseason star during Arizona’s 2023 run to the World Series, slugging four homers with six RBI. That included a two-run shot off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS versus the Philadelphia Phillies that the D-Backs eventually won in seven games.