D-backs Top 40 Prospects in 2024: No. 37 Grayson Hitt

Grayson Hitt returned from Tommy John surgery to pitch in the Arizona Complex League in 2024

Alabama pitcher Grayson Hitt pitches at Sewell-Thomas Stadium Sunday, April 3, 2022. The Crimson Tide defeated Texas A&M 8-4. Gary Cosby Jr./Tuscaloosa News Alabama Vs Texas A M Sec Baseball / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.

Grayson Hitt LHP DOB 12/11/2001 6'3" 210

Acquired: 4th round 2023 amateur draft out of University of Alabama

Grayson Hitt appeared to be on the cusp of a breakout heading into the 2023 season for the University of Alabama. The big left-hander's fastball had been clocked at 95 MPH, and he utilized a four-pitch mix. But the stuff backed up on him as the velocity dropped.

Eight starts into that season he was shut down, and subsequently underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow. That caused him to fall in the draft, and the D-backs stepped in and took a shot in the fourth round, signing him for $1.2 million.

Hitt entered the 2024 season with the expectation of a mid-season return to competition and the perhaps lofty ranking of 19 in our preseason prospect rankings. The big left-hander did indeed return midseason.

His first appearance in the Arizona Complex League came on June 29. He appeared in six games overall, and struggled mightily with control, walking 11 of the 34 batters he faced, resulting in 10 earned runs in six innings.

Hitt was not assigned to an affiliated team following the end of the ACL season. He continued to pitch in "continuation camp" however, and is considered healthy and ready to compete in 2025.

2025 Outlook

It will be interesting to see how the D-backs handle Hitt in the spring. It seems likely they'll want him to start out back in rookie ball and begin to show some ability to command the strike zone before sending him to Class-A Visalia.

Hitt will be entering his age 23 season and his spot in our top 40 ranking is tenuous at best. But he will enter 2025 fully healthy for the first time since 2023. If his stuff can climb back to where he was entering 2023 and he can find the strike zone, Hitt could rocket up through the D-backs' system relatively quickly.