D-backs Top 40 Prospects in 2024: No. 26 Caden Grice

Grice showed plenty of potential as a starting pitcher before injury wiped out his season

Clemson junior Caden Grice (31) pitches to University of North Carolina during the top of the first inning at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson Saturday, May 20, 2023. / Ken Ruinard / staff / 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.

Caden Grice, LHP, Starter, DOB 6/15/2002, 6'6, 250

Caden Grice was drafted out of Clemson in the Competitive Balance Round B with pick 64 in the 2023 MLB Draft. He was signed to a $1,250,000 bonus. After playing as a two-way player with Clemson, Grice played four games in the Arizona Complex League as a hitter.

The former first baseman and outfielder with plenty of power was transferred to full-time starting pitching by the D-backs rather than have him attempt to learn both at the same time. His pitching was deemed to be further ahead and better than his offense.

He has much more potential as a starting pitcher than as a hitter which is why he moved full-time to pitching despite hitting 18 homers in his final season in college.

Grice started the 2024 season with the Single-A Visalia Rawhide where he started 11 games and pitched in 12 games. He threw 50.1 innings and went 3-3 with a 3.75 ERA, 4.61 FIP, and xFIP of 4.31. The BABIP against was .303.

Against his first 21 batters faced, Grice struck out 12 of them over two different outings. That exemplified how strong his strikeout ability is.

He allowed 37 hits, 21 earned runs, 29 walks, and struck out an eye-popping 68 batters. His control was the issue all season as he walked far too many batters despite inducing quite a lot of swing and misses. 5.2 walks per nine innings will need to be lowered in the future.

However, his 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings was terrific and so was his ground ball rate of 48.7%. Both of those numbers point to plenty of future success for Grice.

Over his final three starts of the season, Grice was starting to come into his own with three starts in a row of just one run allowed. Over those 15.1 innings, Grice had a 1.76 ERA and allowed just 10 hits, three earned runs, 12 walks, and struck out 19. Opponents hit just .189 as his pitches were electric and consistently missed the barrel of bats.

Unfortunately for him and the Diamondbacks, Grice was placed on the 7-day IL on June 24th. On June 28th, it was announced that Grice required Tommy John Surgery and would be out for the rest of the season while he recovered from it. It's a 10-12 month recovery for anyone who gets the surgery.

2025 Outlook

Caden Grice will spend this offseason and the first half of the 2025 season recovering from the surgery and rehabbing. The Arizona Diamondbacks will surely take it slow to ensure he fully recovers and gets back to 100% before having him get into any games.

Thus, it will be a surprise if he returns to game play before June. Expect a mid to late June return at best and should there be any issues as he recovers, the whole season could be lost. After all, Drey Jameson tore his UCL in mid-2023 and missed all of the following season.

Should he get back into games, Grice will likely do a rehab game or two at the Arizona Complex League before returning to Single-A Visalia to start the climb back up to the Major Leagues.