Diamondbacks Tommy Troy is Growing in Arizona Fall League

Learning how to shorten slumps and trust the process has been forefront in Tommy Troy's development process

Second baseman, Tommy Troy takes the field during batting practice at Arizona Fall League media day at Scottsdale Stadium on Oct. 4, 2024, in Scottsdale, Arizona. / Megan Mendoza/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Arizona Diamondbacks Tommy Troy stood in the box with a 1-2 count and knew what he had to do. Trust his quick hands, don't try to hit the ball to the pull side. The pitch that came next was a 95 MPH fastball on the inner half of the plate. Letting it travel, Troy smacked it 96 MPH up the middle for a ground ball base hit.

It was Troy's tenth hit in his last 15 at bats in the Arizona Fall League to that point. The stretch has been filled with hard contact and plenty of extra base hits. It's the kind of run that the Diamondbacks are hoping their 2023 first round draft pick, (12th overall) will get on more frequently going forward.

Battling injury and then poor performance at the plate during the minor league season this year, Troy was tested. His season batting line of .234/.319/.363, .681 OPS in just 72 games was surely disappointing. He missed two months with a hamstring injury and had a rough time finding a groove when he came back.

He did find it though. From August 10 to the end of the season, a span of 26 games and 114 PA he hit .299/.404/.485, .888 OPS. That included 11 extra base hits and 15 walks.

Troy started off the Fall League 1-for-25 with 11 strikeouts before getting on the current hot streak, pulling himself out of the mini slump. Learning how to come back from a slow start, and most importantly shortening that process has become an important part of Troy's learning process as he explained.

"I feel like it's probably one of the most important tools in baseball. Obviously baseball is mainly mental. So being able to handle failure, especially for a long period of time, how do you get yourself out of that. More importantly, every time you do struggle, finding a quicker way to bounce back, so the valleys aren't as low. Just keep working and you'll know you always come out the other side."

Of course being able to do so isn't easy. It takes a combination of talent, mental strength and hard work. Addressing that process, the articulate product of Stanford University stuck to basics in explaining the process.

"It's pretty cliche, like they always say, just trust the process. You have to buy into it. It's a tough game and there's a lot of failure in it, but the more you're able to accept it and just kind of stick with your plan, stick with your approach, make adjustments, not go crazy, it will all figure itself out. You've just got to trust it"

Trusting that process, and keeping it simple has been on display the last week against elite prospect competition in the Fall League.

"I feel like when I came back in the middle of the [regular] season, I was trying to probably hit the ball too hard to the pull side. That's just being a little bit jumpy."

Learning to trust his ability to turn on a ball quickly is coming though. The old adage of letting ball travel applies.

"Just kind of trusting my hands, you know, they're quick and I can wait a little bit longer for the ball to get there, just kind of trusting that. And I can start to see the results now and just keep going with it. It's honestly that simple."

Fans can see Troy and all the other prospects in the Arizona Fall League at Salt River Fields and other spring training venues throughout the valley. There are still three weeks of games on the schedule.

Single game tickets cost $13 for an adult and $11 for seniors 55+ or teens aged 11-17. KIDS 10 AND UNDER RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION (must be accompanied by an adult).