Get to Know D-backs Top-10 Prospect AJ Vukovich

Vukovich, the D-backs #10 prospect is looking to be consistent, grow, and more while at the Arizona Fall League.

AJ Vukovich is the 10th-ranked prospect for the Arizona Diamondbacks on MLB Pipeline. He's a player that can play multiple positions whether it is third base or the outfield corners. The 22-year-old is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League with the Salt River Rafters after playing all of the 2023 season in Double-A with the Amarillo Sod Poodles where he won the Double-A Texas League Championship. The former high school basketball player now uses his great athleticism in the outfield and on the base paths, something that fits in well with the D-backs' focus on speed, base-running, and athleticism. Plus, he has 55 power on the 20-80 scale with the potential for more if he can tap into and make more contact.

He hit .263/.321/.485/.818 with 19 doubles, five triples, 24 home runs, 96 RBI, 20 stolen bases, 47 walks, and 144 strikeouts. While the strikeout and walk rate are an issue, he struck out in 28.63% of plate appearances while walking just 9.34% of his appearances, both of those numbers aren't going to stop his climb toward the MLB. With a bit more patience at the plate and contact in his swing, he will be a regular MLB outfielder capable of playing left or right field with a strong arm for either. One thing to note is that his walk rate more than doubled from his High-A rate of 4.10%. It's exciting to see another young Diamondbacks outfielder progress to the MLB sooner than not. 

Vukovich spoke about his power outburst, had seven more home runs and three more triples in 23' than 22', and said "It was really cool. Last offseason, I had a lot of things that I felt like I wanted to clean up in order to be successful at the Double-A level and higher levels. I feel like I made some strides this year and gave me some direction for next season."

As mentioned above, the Sod Poodles won the championship, one that Vukovich was directly a part of and played in every game as they pursued the win in the postseason. He mentioned how it was "a really fun season" and how awesome it was to be around guys like "Jordan Lawlar, Ryan Bliss, [Devyson] De Los Santo, [Ivan] Melendez." He also has never been a part of a team with so many "good players on it."

After winning that championship and seeing how far the Arizona Diamondbacks are going in the playoffs this year, it's really motivated Vukovich to get to the big leagues as soon as possible in order to help the team continue this success and achieve more wins. He spoke on it and said "It's crazy for how it worked out because I could tell there was an extra emphasis in Spring Training this year on winning at all levels and guys are going to be held more accountable over the little things and it really carried into the season... All of us in the minors are looking at them and got the games on in the clubhouse, following along. We played with a lot of those guys and we want to join them. It definitely gives us more motivation because it wasn't like this a couple of years ago. You grow up watching playoff baseball and you want to be a part of that."

Vukovich was sent to the Arizona Fall League by the D-backs in order to work on some parts of his game, mainly his "consistency and overall game." He continued explaining saying that it goes back to when he got drafted back in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft stating that "I was just a little bit inconsistent [from the draft until now]. Just really hot, really cold. I just want to make it no matter how I'm doing at the plate, I can affect the game. Guys are going to struggle at the plate, but I'm always confident when I go up there. It's taking all my other aspects of the game and making an impact that way. Like if I'm not swinging well, I know I can be an impact outfielder, baserunner, or teammate. I am learning how to bring a winning mentality every day."

He spoke about how he looks up to Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas and how they play. He said "I look at guys like Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and they're crazy athletes. They're not crazy big guys but they got it up here [referring to their mentality], they've got the mental side down. They're the same age as me and what they're doing in the Major Leagues is impressive."

He's figuring out what will get him ready every day for game time and how to be a professional athlete who is striving to win and compete every single way regardless of how he is doing in any one aspect of the game.

One part of Vukovich's game that does tend to go unnoticed because of his great power is the fact that he's a fast baserunner and base-stealer. He stole 16 bags in 2021 and then 36 in 2022. Last year, he stole 22 bases. The Diamondbacks stole the second-most bases in the MLB this past season. They are huge proponents of excellent base-running and taking the extra base beyond just stealing. Vukovich recognized that and said "I think it fits my game perfectly. I've always been the type of player that wants to impact the game. I want to hit the ball in the gap and show off my speed... I want to get in scoring position... We work on it all the time... It's something I want to keep improving on. I like having the advantage of being a big guy but able to move so well."

While he was brought up as a third baseman through "A" levels and played some third in Double-A, he's mainly been used as an outfielder during this past season. He's solely playing outfield in the Arizona Fall League. AJ Vukovich is confident in his ability to be able to play any outfield spot. It would appear that his future home will be in the outfield, like a corner spot where his right-hand bat and arm play well. 

Digging a little deeper than just baseball shows that Vukovich is a family-first guy. His family and friends are what drives him to be a better player and person. "Everything I do, I think about how I want to represent my family, all the coaches, family friends who have gotten me here." He grew up in Wisconsin as a Brewers fan with his family being die-hard baseball fans. "We'd go watch big-league batting practice and have the Brewers game on every night. We're a baseball family." When the D-backs played the Brewers in the NL Wild Card Series, he did say that he was rooting for the D-backs but that it was so cool to see them both play against each other in the playoffs.

He played basketball in Wisconsin during his high school years before being drafted. AJ Vukovich was so good that he was a finalist for Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball award. He's also a huge Green Bay Packers fan of the NFL. In his spare time, he plays the PS5 often, usually playing NBA2K, MLB The Show, Madden, or Call of Duty. It will be exciting to see how one of the D-backs' top prospects continues to develop as he gets closer to the MLB level.