How Ryan Waldschmidt Became One of the Diamondbacks' Top Draft Picks

The D-backs' new outfielder grew through significant injury to become a top college hitter and high draft pick.

Jun 8, 2024; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt (21) hits a pitch during the sixth inning against the Oregon State Beavers at Kentucky Proud Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports / Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

There's a new Schmidt in the Arizona Diamondbacks' organization.

With the 31st pick in the MLB Draft, received as a result of Corbin Carroll's Rookie of the Year campaign, the D-backs selected outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt out of the University of Kentucky.

At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Waldschmidt is a potential power hitter, with 55-grade hit and power tools. But he also boasts supreme plate vision and discipline. He's a solid contact hitter who rarely chases or expands the zone, and yet, his exit velocity and bat speed are among the upper tier of draft prospects.

Waldschmidt had a killer year at Kentucky prior to his selection, slashing .333/.469/.610 with 17 doubles, 14 home runs and 46 RBI over 59 games. But, perhaps even more notably, he had 41 walks against 46 strikeouts.

But his road to success at the plate has been paved with hardship. Over his high school and college careers, Waldschmidt experienced two significant injuries.

While season-altering injuries can often be a knock on a player's draft grade and raise questions, the young outfielder's ability to handle and work through these trials, while making productive use of his down time stand out.

Waldschmidt relayed the story to reporters of his first major injury, a broken elbow, in his freshman year of high school. He'd been playing catcher as a means to make the varsity squad, and a non-slide by an opposing runner at home plate broke Waldschmidt's elbow and gave him a concussion.

Waldschmidt said it took six to eight months for the elbow to fully heal. But when his sophomore year came around, he was mindful of the long-term effects of the injury.

Rather than push the issue, he made the mature decision to play DH his sophomore year, and avoid putting the toll of throwing on his developing arm.

“I was a young kid… So I didn’t really want to rush that one, especially with your arm and your elbow, there’s a lot of growth plates and stuff going on there," said Waldschmidt, “I didn’t want to push that too quick and just kind of permanently hurt that, so kind of took my time there.”

He was back in full capacity his junior year. It can be rare to see that high of a level of self-awareness at the major league level, let alone in a 15-year-old high schooler. But that wouldn't be the last opportunity for Waldschmidt to grow from a setback.

In a Cape Cod League game, in the summer between his junior and senior year of college, Waldschmidt suffered a torn ACL.

With bases loaded, a single dropped in left field, and Waldschmidt went to try and throw out his third runner of the game.

“I’m always playing hard, so I was going 100%, I wanted to throw another guy out," said Waldschmidt, "Went to make the throw and I stepped in a hole, and I got caught there… something had to give, and it ended up being my ACL.”

“I was actually hoping it was just a broken leg… I asked [my teammate] if my leg was pointing the right direction, hoping he was going to say no.”

Unfortunately, he'd be sidelined for eight months. However, those months would be put to good use. During intrasquad games, the young outfielder took on TrackMan duties.

TrackMan is a program that assists in monitoring the location, velocity and total details of a pitch, and Waldschmidt took full advantage of the opportunity to learn and log mental reps.

“Since I was out with that injury, I just had to make something with my time that I had, just hanging out… When you really lock in and you focus on watching the pitch and then tracking the pitch… You just have more of a focus when you’re watching the game,” Waldschmidt said.

“For me, I was seeing 400-500 pitches in intersquad, whereas a batter was only seeing maybe 10-15 because they were playing,” said Waldschmidt, "in my case, I was watching all 500 of those pitches, tracking where they were, the movement, I was reading it out of the pitcher’s hand.

"It may not have been the rep from inside the box, but I was really locked in for probably 400-500 pitches.”

It's easy to speculate what might have happened, and if Waldschmidt would have been available to the D-backs at 31 overall had he not suffered the injury. But rather than dwell on the questions of the past, Waldschmidt approaches the thought with maturity and thoughtful positivity.

"I think possibly if I was able to play last summer… then yeah there’s a possibility that I may have been taken earlier, but I honestly wouldn’t change anything that happened, and I wouldn’t change where I was selected, and I think that everything happens for a reason, so last night was supposed to happen,” he said.

Clearly, the chance for extra visual reps helped him develop his exceptional eye and plate discipline, but the implications of his work ethic and maturity go beyond tangible results.

D-backs scouting director Ian Rebhan praised Waldschmidt, and noted the organization's dedication to finding good people to add in the draft process.

“Ryan is, he’s incredible. He’s an amazing human being. I say it all the time, we’re looking for good players and good human beings. It starts with our area scouts, and we do a lot of work on that," Rebhan said.

"Our area scouts do such a good job of getting to know these players, getting to know their families, talking to their coaches.

“You want to understand who you’re getting… They do a great job of finding these clubhouse guys that are incredible people. I think it turns them into really good players too," Rebhan said.

Finding the right cultural fit is important, especially for the D-backs. The connected D-backs were dangerous in their 2023 World Series run, largely due in part to their clubhouse culture, especially among their home-grown players.

Waldschmidt made the same observation about last year's Diamondbacks club.

“I loved it. It’s everything that I’ve done my entire life, being on a team. And they weren’t supposed to be there at the beginning of the year. [Those are] the best stories, the ones that aren’t supposed to happen," he said.

"Just seeing a team like that just show that they were really a team, and the culture pushed them to where they made it. Being the best team on paper isn’t always the best thing. I think showing that they could do it, and they made it all the way shows a lot about the team and the culture itself.” 

He's no stranger to playoff success himself, as Kentucky notched their first-ever win in the College World Series in this year's tournament.

But, as has been the trend with Waldschmidt's career mindset, he seems to view Kentucky's run in an unselfish, team-centric manner.

“We had a really special team at Kentucky, I know that’s probably pretty cliché to say… But I feel like we did truly care more about each other than we did ourselves,” he said, “for the older guys, who may not play baseball anymore, just being able to get them there, and for them to see it and be a part of it, that was just super special.”

The Diamondbacks have an intelligent, mature young player on their hands, with the potential to turn him into a franchise outfielder, and his team-first mindset is certainly encouraging to be a potential great fit in Arizona's clubhouse.

The outfielder speaks eloquently and thoughtfully, with great attention to detail--a trait that seems to be mirrored in his work ethic and playstyle, and will likely meld strongly with the culture in the D-backs' organization.

Waldschmidt will need to sign with the organization soon. He said he expects to head out to Arizona to go through the signing process at the end of the week, before getting to work in the D-backs' minor league system.