Diamondbacks Prospects Review: Third Baseman
By Peter Smith
Buddy Kennedy
Scouting Report: Hit: 45, Game Power: 45, Raw Power: 50, Speed: 50, Fielding: 40, FV: 35+
ETA: 2022
Fangraphs Ranking: Diamondbacks 47th best prospect.
MLB Pipeline Ranking: Diamondbacks 22nd best prospect.
Venom Strikes Ranking: Diamondbacks 22nd best prospect
I personally think that Future Value sells him super short. I think he's substantially better than that. Kennedy came off an excellent AA season in 2021 where he slashed .278 / .384 / .536 in Amarillo. I was super impressed with his play and saw highlights of his all the time. He had a solid stint in the Arizona Fall League and earned a Hitter of the Week award there, getting a special shout-out from his good friend, Mike Trout. I thought there was a decent shot for him to make the opening day roster if his spring training performance was anything better than "fine." Unfortunately, Kennedy wound up going 2-13, struck out five times, and didn't walk. The bright point there is that both of those hits were for extra bases; one was a double and another was a home run. He started 2022 in Reno where he's got a triple slash of .189 / .286 / .270 at time of writing. I still like Buddy a lot, but it's clear he needs some more time to refine his game. I'd definitely expect to see him sometime this year.