Arizona Diamondbacks No. 10 prospect LuJames Groover notched two hits in the MLB All-Star Futures Game, as the National League squad defeated the American League 4-2 in Atlanta on Saturday.
Groover, a current member of the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles, got the nod to be the NL Futures starting third baseman and batted eighth.
He tacked on the team’s fourth and final run of the game in the fourth inning after Chicago Cubs No. 1 prospect Owen Caissie ripped a double to left field.
ATL just got GROOVED 🔥
Congratulations to the National League & LuJames Groover on today’s 4-2 win in the All-Star Futures game! Groover went 2 for 2 with 2 hits and 1 run! pic.twitter.com/IyH8ZwEFwI
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) July 12, 2025
The NL Futures scored all four of their runs in the fourth frame, the first three all at once on a home run by top Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Josue De Paula. The starting left fielder was named MVP for his 108.5-mph bomb over the right field wall.
D-backs’ LuJames Groover not only one with shining moment
Outfielder Slade Caldwell, Arizona’s No. 2 overall prospect, secured the game’s final out by laying out for a ball falling fast in left center.
AL Futures’ George Lombard Jr., a Double-A shortstop in the New York Yankees’ farm system, on a 3-1 pitch count appeared to have himself a base-hit but Caldwell got just enough of his glove underneath to make the catch.
The grab also earned the NL Futures their third straight victory, which has been played under the current team names since 2021.
“What a play!”
Slade Caldwell (@Dbacks) went and got that 😤
That’s just one of many standout plays from the 2025 Futures Game: https://t.co/4VErWf6Pit pic.twitter.com/3jzqzoWJpT
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 12, 2025
The 19-year-old was the D-backs’ No. 29 overall pick in 2024 and worked his way up from Single A to High-A this season.
Round 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft begins Sunday at 3 p.m. MST and can be seen on MLB Network, ESPN and MLB.com. Arizona has two first round picks — No. 18 and No. 29 — and three baseball experts have the franchise taking the same player with their first selection.
