To go with some photos of his batting practice session at Chase Field on Saturday, the Diamondbacks’ 2024 1st round pick, Slade Caldwell, shared a photo of himself repping a D-backs jersey at a young age to his Instagram.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Following hearing his name called on draft night, Caldwell was faced with the decision on whether to sign with the Diamondbacks, or play baseball at Ole Miss, where he was previously committed to. Caldwell made things official by signing a $3,087,000 deal with Arizona over the weekend.
The 2x Gatorade Arkansas Player of the Year admitted that this decision was not easy. Speaking on the deal with PHNX Sports after his batting practice session, Caldwell noted, “I had two good opportunities between school and here, and it finally came down to wanting to play pro baseball, and it was just really surreal.”
Caldwell was the last of the Diamondbacks draft haul to sign with Arizona, he commented that while he was excited, he “took some time off” to let his agent get to work.
On the final decision, he continued with, “It was pretty tough for me, I have a pretty good connection over there at Ole Miss. With all the coaches, and all the new teammates and former teammates that I’ve played with it at all miss. But ultimately I think I made the best decision coming to Arizona.”
Caldwell also spoke about the emergence of other young stars in the Diamondbacks organization, such as Corbin Carroll or Jordan Lawlar. He commented that seeing them play in the World Series last fall gives him hope that he can be that in that same spot sooner rather than later.
