Back in February and March, right before the MLB season kicked off, I took 30 days to highlight a different minor league prospect – one for each team. I had so much fun and unlocked a new passion within this vast sports atmosphere. I even recently posted two different articles about 2026 MLB Draft prospects. I WILL be doing this Prospect Spotlight thing again next February, but in the meantime, as we reach July, we’re roughly halfway through the season, so I want to take the next 30 days to provide updates on each prospect: How are they doing now? Where are they? Have they reached the Majors yet?

So, we’re going to kick off the Prospect Spotlight updates the same way we started the originals, with Arizona’s Ryan Waldschdt.

We’re going to start things on a positive note. Waldschmidt started his 2026 season on a hot note, beginning the year in Triple-A Reno by hitting .289 with 3 homers and 22 RBIs. He was promoted to the Major Leagues and made his debut on May 8th against the New York Mets. He notched his first career hit on the 10th with an RBI single in the 6th inning.

Over 33 games played with Arizona Waldschmidt collected 29 hits across 112 at-bats and drove in 8 runs. The best game of his big league career thus far came on May 18th when he went 3-3 with two doubles and an RBI.

Waldschmidt got off to a hot start, hitting .353 over his first 57 plate appearances, but then things cooled off. He was optioned back down to Reno in the middle of June, as a part of Arizona’s reshuffling amid their offensive struggles. The organization is confident that Waldschmidt will be back up, as he showed flashes of what made him the 31st overall pick in the 2024 Draft. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him back at Chase Field this season, but as the D-Backs find themselves just 2 games out of an NL Wild Card spot, they need to focus on getting right, and personally, I’d recommend that they address the outfield with a short-term rental and give Ryan Waldschmidt more time to get his confidence back in Triple-A. Give him the confidence of letting him know that you’re giving him a chance to make the team out of camp in 2027 and let him hit. I expect we’ll see him back when rosters expand on September 1st, though.