D-backs Top 40 Prospects in 2024: No. 10 Jansel Luis

A mid season breakout marked a successful campaign for the young shortstop

Aerial drone view of Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Cactus League home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, in Scottsdale, Arizona January 8, 2019. Cactus League Venue / Emmanuel Lozano, Michael Chow/The Republic

This article is part of a series reviewing the seasons of the top 40 prospects still in the Arizona Diamondbacks system as of the end of 2024.

Jansel Luis, Switch Hitter, SS/2B/3B, DOB 3/6/2005, 6'0", 170

Acquired: International Free Agent class of 2022, signing bonus $525,000

Jansel Luis is a switch hitting shortstop who also plays second and third base. He impressed in 2023 in the Arizona Complex league, earning a promotion to Class-A Visalia to finish out that season. Playing in his age 18 season, he held his own both on defense and at the plate, making just three errors and slashing .257/.310/.417, .727 OPS in 36 games.

Sent back to repeat Class A for 2024, Luis is a perfect example of why it's important to look for growth within the season with such a young prospect. Playing the full season in Visalia, his numbers were just fine, batting .265/.337/.414, .751 OPS. That worked out to a 101 wRC+.

But his growth at the plate is evidenced by looking at his walk to strikeout ratio in the first and second half. In the first three months of the season Luis came to the plate 300 times. He drew just 14 walks while striking out 72 times. That is a 4.7% walk rate, and 24% strikeout rate. He managed to hit .261 with a .709 OPS, but clearly the plate discipline issues were holding him back.

And then, it's like something started to click. Over his final 223 PA, he walked 26 times and struck out just 37. He more than doubled his walk rate to 11.7% while reducing the strikeout rate to 16.6%. His slash line jumped to .272/.363/.446, .809 OPS as a result. Luis also won the D-backs minor league player of the month award for July.

This is exactly the kind of growth and maturation you hope to see from a player, and why full season numbers don't always tell the whole story, especially with prospects that are so young and still learning.

Luis had 46 extra base hits, including 29 doubles, 10 triples, and seven homers. He's considered to have a projectable body that could fill out and add muscle. It would not be a surprise to see some of those doubles and triples turn into homers going forward.

On defense Luis split time at shortstop with Cristofer Torin. Overall he logged 415 innings at short, 216 at second base, and 203 at third. He made 11 errors and posted a .965 fielding percentage. His arm is considered strong and accurate.

2025 Outlook

Expect Luis to be promoted to High-A Hillsboro. He'll remain two years younger than the average postion player in his league next year. Age for level is a critical distinction when evaluating prospects, especially one that has shown the capacity for improvement that Luis exhibited this past season.

Luis has actually dropped in our rankings from No. six to 10 this year. But that wasn't due to any fault of his own. Rather it was mostly due to an influx of good prospects and a couple that made leaps forward this past season.

An interesting point to pay attention to in 2025 is whether or not the time share with Torin at shortstop continues, or if one of them starts to gain the upper hand at the position.

Luis is not likely to see his first call up to the majors before midseason 2027, but there is always the possibility for a breakout that could advance his timeline. Stay tuned to prospect coverage at Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI to track this exciting young player.

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