Yasmany Tomas # 24 of the Arizona Diamondbacks bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the MLB game at Chase Field on April 21, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks revealed on Monday the group of 60 players that will begin spring 2.0 training on July 3.
Selected players included several Diamondbacks prospects, including Bryce Jarvis, the first-round pick the D-backs took earlier this month. Nine of the top 10 D-back prospects ranked by the MLB Pipeline made it to the 60-man list, with the exception of best prospect Kristian Robinson, who is 19 years old.
Of those nine prospects in the top 10 to be part of the 60-player group, one of them, right-hander Corbin Martin, made the list of 40 players.
One of the omitted players from the 1960s group was Yasmany Tomas, the slugger who was once highly promoted in Cuba and who in recent years has been forgotten by the D-backs, who stayed in the minor leagues despite hitting once to 31 diners with an OPS of .820 in the majors. Now, even with the active rosters expanded to start the season and the introduction of a DH in the National League, Tomas still hasn’t gotten a chance.
“The only thing with the 60’s is that I imagine there will be a lot of maneuverability as the season progresses,” said general manager Mike Hazen. “Then there will be changes to our list that we will have the flexibility to make. And I’m not sure, once again, because I’m not sitting here saying that this 60-man list, there were many challenging pieces to put together the 60-man list. Where is our depth? In what positions are we covered? How many releases do we have? In what positions are we thinner or deeper? Those were many of the factors.
“There will be maneuverability. So I’m not going to come up with that answer. I am sure Yas is frustrated with this decision, as I imagine any competitor would be. ”
When asked, Hazen agreed that Kevin Cron, who made the group of 60 players, was a player similar to Thomas.
James Sherfy, who has a 2.98 ERA in 43 major league games, was not included in the 40-player roster, but was in the 60-player pool. Similarly, Jon Jay, a 10-year veteran outfielder in MLB was not in the 40-player group, but he was in the 60-player group. Meanwhile, Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen, who have never played major league games, were on the 40-player roster. The same is true for pitcher Riley Smith.
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