A.J. Vukovich Talks About His Growth in the Fall League

Vukovich talks baserunning, playing outfield, attending the World Series, and the longest season of his professional career.

A.J. Vukovich is one of many prospects who could see his name called for a stint in the big leagues in the 2024 season. The former fourth rounder from the 2020 Draft continues to make progress, hitting .263 with 24 home runs, a franchise record 96 RBI, and an .818 OPS over 115 games in his second stint in Double-A Amarillo. Now a step closer to the big leagues, the Diamondbacks sent him to the Arizona Fall League. In the fall league, he's hit .276 with five doubles, 13 steals, and a .671 OPS.

With the fall league in its final week, Vukovich had a chance to talk about the entire experience. 

"It's been really good to see the best players that are around my age with other organizations and play with them. It's been a really good experience being around high level guys and seeing how they go about their business, learning about stuff not just on the field but off the field, getting ready to play at a high level everyday."

Competing with and against players in different organizations, it's an opportunity to learn about the journey those players have gone through. Vukovich describes that as a cool experience to compare his own experience to theirs, helping each other when they can.

Vukovich has always been an aggressive basestealer in his career, with 85 steals in 106 attempts since the start of the 2021 season. He's amongst the leaders of the fall league, with his 13 steals tied for sixth place. The D-backs were one of the most aggressive basestealing teams in 2023, with their 166 steals ranking second in Major League Baseball. Should Vukovich make the big league roster, his aggressive baserunning will fit right in with the style of baseball the team wants to play.

"I don't want to go out and say I'll be a really good basestealer at the highest level, but I will be confident and say I can adjust to certain things with my athleticism. Hopefully learning some things here in the fall league about stealing, especially with good catchers and infielders. I'm sure up there it's even crazier, there will be a learning curve with that too, just like there is with everything else. [Dave] McKay, he's one of the best at basestealing, what he's done with a lot of guys that are up there and what their identity is now. I like to use my athleticism as well, it'll be fun to be a part of that hopefully."

In Spring Training, Vukovich has had the chance to work with the D-backs coaching staff. When he started out as an infielder, he worked with Tony Perezchica and has worked with McKay after his position change to the outfield last season. Once drafted as a third baseman, he is now an outfielder with 109 starts out there compared to 22 on the infield between Double-A and the fall. Between the three outfield positions, he prefers center field as he's "in the center of everything". It was also the position he got the most starts in, with 69 of his 108 outfield starts in center.

During the fall, the D-backs contingent of players and coaches closely followed along the team's postseason run. The coaching staff for Salt River called the D-backs front office to get tickets to the World Series. Vukovich attended World Series games with Ivan Melendez and Caleb Roberts.

"Each of us got to go a couple times just to see what it was like. Seeing all of the guys that you play out there with on that stage, it's really cool to see and it's pretty crazy. You try to do the best you can at envisioning yourself out there, because that's what you're out here working for. It was cool to get away from this and check that out, just to see it live since it's been a while since we got to see a baseball game. Following it real close, it was really cool how they came together as a team at the end of the season."

From the start of the minor league season in April to the end of the Arizona Fall League, he's played in 134 games. That is comparable to the length of an MLB season, where everyday players will start 140 or more games. That should serve as sufficient preparation for handling the 162-game seasons in the major leagues.

"Me and Caleb Roberts, we've been talking about that a lot since we've been here. It's crazy to think we haven't really stopped since January. This is by far the longest I've played. If I can get through this season, I feel confident that I can keep going through full seasons moving forward. It is a grind and that's the challenge of being out here. It's not to see how much you can light it up, it's can you withstand the grind of being able to be competitive even when you're tired. It's a long season no doubt. Learning when you don't feel your best, having competitive at-bats and good defense, helping the team."

That was a mantra that D-backs manager Torey Lovullo ran with at the end of the season, saying that players who really want it will fight through the fatigue and find a way to execute in critical moments.

For the offseason and 2024, Vukovich is looking to continue to get better. He feels confident his swing will play in the major leagues and trusting the process. Former farm director Josh Barfield told him that the minors is for rounding his game out. When he has a full grasp on his game, he feels that will be the time for his first callup.