For Slade Caldwell, hits are nice, but there’s nothing wrong with a walk—and he views a free pass as being just as much of a win against the pitcher.
“Definitely,” the 18-year-old center fielder said. “It’s definitely mano y mano in the box. If he grants me first base on a walk, I’ll take it, and he has to worry about me at first base or at second base.
“And he has to hope he doesn’t focus too much on me on the basepaths and serve something up to our three-hole or four-hole guy.”
In 48 games for Low-A Visalia, Caldwell hit .294/.460/.454 with three home runs and 13 stolen bases. He drew 44 walks to rank third in the California League.
That performance earned him a quick promotion to High-A Hillsboro on June 10, less than a year after the Diamondbacks made him their top pick at 29th overall in 2024.
“I like getting on base a lot,” Caldwell said. “I like seeing a lot of pitches, seeing what the pitcher has and not being uncomfortable in those two-strike counts.”
Still, there might be work to do when Caldwell gets to two strikes. He punched out 62 times and at a rate near 29%. Club officials said they are not overly concerned, noting that Caldwell’s in-zone whiff rate of 18% is not alarming.
“Young hitters who do what he does with the strike zone, generally as they get advanced in the minor leagues, the strikeouts will shrink,” D-backs assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye said. “Not that there’s not some swing-and-miss in there, but he’s starting to learn when to take his shots a little bit more.”
Caldwell said he set a preseason goal to try to reach Double-A Amarillo by the end of the season. At this rate, it is not out of the question that he could achieve it, especially since other parts of his game—he is a good defender and runs the bases well—likely won’t hold him back.