Tommy Troy has been on the Arizona Diamondbacks’ radar since his playing days at Los Gatos High, where he graduated from in 2020.
So it was no surprise then when the D-backs selected Troy 12th overall in the MLB Draft on July 9. Troy, who recently completed his junior year at Stanford, is the first Cardinal player to be drafted in the first round since Nico Hoerner was selected 24th overall by the Chicago Cubs in 2018.
The 5-foot-10, 197-pound infielder had a stellar career at Stanford, including a 2023 season in which he hit a team-best .394 with 17 home runs, 58 RBIs and 76 runs scored. Troy earned ABCA and Perfect Game All-America honors, producing at least one hit in 47 of his 58 games played this season.
Stanford advanced to the College World Series for the third straight season and Troy was one of the catalysts, affecting the game with his bat, glove and speed on the basepaths. Arizona Scouting Director Ian Rebhan said out of the many qualities Troy possesses, it’s the right-hander’s potent bat that stands out.
“We’re excited about the bat,” Rebhan said in a Zoom interview provided by the Arizona media relations department. “Obviously, being a three-year performer at Stanford, he’s had a lot of success in Cape wood bat leagues. We think he profiles really well as a hit and power defending up the middle player. He’s super athletic, we think he’s a plus runner, and there’s just a lot of conviction from both our scouting group and analyst group on that bat. So really excited to get him at the first pick.”
When asked to elaborate on what makes Troy’s bat stand out, Rebhan gave a detailed breakdown.
“Bat track record and history is probably the first thing,” he said. “Our area scout in Northern California, he scouted [Troy] in high school and got to scout him at Stanford as well. I think our whole group remembers watching him at Area Codes and he was a hitter there, and I think we always say hitters hit.
“It started there and then watching him evolve as a hitter, a guy who always hit at Cape Cod, a guy who always hit at Stanford and really saw his power grow this year. I think all those things, the history, the way he controls the zone, the way the ball comes off his bat, there’s a lot of pluses there to love about that bat.”
Troy has a compact, fast swing, and “top of the skills contact skills,” Rebhan said. Although Troy spent a lot of time at third base this season, he’s played shortstop throughout his career and that’s where Arizona sees him playing.
Troy met members of the D-backs organization at some point before the Draft and left an indelible impression.
“We always say we’re trying to draft really good players, but we’re trying to draft really good people as well,” Rebhan said. “And players that not only produce on the field, but be really good teammates and be leaders.
“He checked a lot of those boxes. I think you come out of those meetings and it’s a gut feel of how you feel about the person that you’ve got the chance to select. I think you start talking about those character traits that you like from the work ethic and the leadership ability, the character really shone through with him, and right after that he was one of our favorites.”
Troy led the Wildcats to the 2018 Central Coast Section Open Division championship game, where they lost to a powerhouse Valley Christian team, 4-3. He was the Los Gatos High Male Athlete of the Year for his 2019-2020 senior season.Â
