PHNX Arizona Diamondbacks Podcast - Can No. 1 Prospect Ryan Waldschmidt IMPACT D-backs in 2026?

Episode Date: November 15, 2025

JOIN THE SUPPORTERS CLUB ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yc6km2r4Diamondbacks No. 1 overall prospect Ryan Waldschmidt joins the show to talk about growing up around the game, how his father helped shape his love for baseball, and the teammate who showed him what true support looks like. We also dive into his comeback from a torn ACL, what he learned during his time away from the field, and why grabbing a meal out is one of his favorite ways to build real connections with friends and loved ones.An ALLCITY Network ProductionSUBSCRIBE to our YouTube: https://bit.ly/phnx_youtubeALL THINGS PHNX: http://linktr.ee/phnxsportsMERCH https://store.allcitynetwork.com/collections/phnx-lockerALLCITY Network, Inc. aka PHNX and PHNX Sports is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the City of PhoenixPHNX Events: Get your tickets to PHNX events and takeovers here: https://gophnx.com/events/ALLCITY — including us here at PHNX — is teaming up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for an exciting three-year partnership. To learn more, visit https://www.bbbs.org/allcity/APS:  Find instant rebates, discounts and special offers on smart thermostats, energy-efficient appliances and more at https://marketplace.aps.com/default/heating-cooling/smart-thermostatsBranded Bills: Use code BBPHNX at https://www.brandedbills.com/ for 15% off your first order!Husband & Wife Law Team: If you’ve had a serious injury, Call The Husband & Wife Law Team first at 602-783-8841 or visithttps://husbandandwifelawteam.com/?utm_source=allcity-padcasts&utm_medium=digital-phx&utm_campaign=allcityShowNotesChicken N’ Pickle: Family friendly fun awaits! Visit chickennpickle.com to plan your visit today!Access Auto Insurance Agency of Arizona, LLC (Access Auto) is a renowned agency offering personal and commercial auto insurance options to Arizona residents. If you’re on the hunt for a new policy, call Access Auto today at 1-480-400-0546 or get a free insurance quote by visiting our website www.access-insurance.com.Visit https://www.macu.com/accounts/checking/mystyle-checking?cid=ea-PHNX-AZ-mystyleAugust2025-checking to learn more about their MyStyle Checking Accounts!bet365: https://www.bet365.com/hub/en-us/app-hero-banner-1?utm_source=affiliate&utm_campaign=usapp&utm_medium=affiliate&affiliate=365_03485317 Use the code PHNX365 to sign up, deposit $10 and bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets!Disclaimer: Must be 21+ and physically located in AZ.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-NEXT-STEP, text NEXTSTEP to 53342 or visit https://problemgambling.az.gov/Gametime: Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code PHNX for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.Shady Rays: Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: PHNX for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.Circle K: Join Inner Circle for free by downloading the Circle K app today! Head to https://www.circlek.com/store-locator to find Circle Ks near you!Monarch: Use Monarch to get control of your overall finances with 50% off your first year at https://www.monarchmoney.com/phnxWhen you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, we are thrilled today to be joined by Arizona Diamondbacks number one overall prospect, Ryan Walschmidt. Ryan, thank you so much for taking the time to join us. We appreciate you. I know you're getting ready throughout the offseason for a big 2026, but again, we are thrilled to have you here. Yeah, of course. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Yeah, no problem, man. Hey, so I always got to start off just because baseball kind of is the way it is. Was there a moment that made you choose baseball? moment that you remember that maybe a game, maybe a player, maybe something that specifically made you go, that's what I want to do for the rest of my life? You know, I think honestly, my dad was a big part of it. He played a little bit growing up. He played some college ball.

And I mean, from what I've heard, it's what I just jumped right into. I mean, when I was a little kid, I love picking up the little baseball bat and he tossed me a little foam ball. Yeah. And I'd hit that. And ever since from day one, it's always been like that. And, you know, I grew up a raised fan. So, you know, when I was younger, it was always, like, B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria were, like, the two guys for the raise back in the day when I was a little kid.

So I remember walking around with, like, a BJ Upton jersey on. So I think ever since I was little, I was always just drawn to baseball. Did you, did you ever, did you emulate either one of those guys' batting stances at all? Or was it someone else? Who did you copy? I didn't really do too much with other players. Like I love watching them and doing it, but I never really had much going out with my swing.

I've always kind of kept it simple. You know, like when I was a little kid, I probably emulated Evan Longoria a little bit when I was in like Little League and stuff like that. But as I got older, you know, I kind of figured out what worked for me and being simple. And, you know, I think it was early in like college or even late in high school.

I realized, like, I was watching, like, Shohei Otani and just how simple his setup is and how he gets to his load really early. And, you know, that's kind of where I was like, man, one of the best hitters in the world doesn't do much with his stance. Like, he's in a loaded position practically before the pitcher even releases the ball. So in my head is like, man, like, if he's doing that, like, that's something I should be doing.

And so, like, you know, it kind of started off with a stride and getting to that position early. And, you know, there was some troubles with that. And I eventually just went to the no stride and just kind of worked on just being loaded by the time the pitcher releases the ball. So I'd say maybe in recent history, probably Otani is someone I really looked at just because of how simple his setup is and how early he gets loaded. That's probably the biggest thing I think about when I'm hitting. Well, I mean, the changes, the little modifications to your swing, all of that can become very complicated with time, very complex. Or in general, I'm sure the amount of advice you've been giving.

and can be very complex. So I bet I could see how like seeing somebody that has a success that Otani has do do a simple swing like that is is a little refreshing, especially considering that this is still, it's still just a game, right? It's still a game. And at times like we have all this analytics and all this other stuff that can make it very complicated. Yeah, definitely.

I mean, that's, I think that's the biggest thing to remember. It's just, it's still just a game and you're supposed to have fun with it. And I think that the more, especially, especially as a hitter, the more you think about it and the more complex you make everything, the harder you make it. When it comes to hitting the ball or facing a good pitcher, you know, I think that's why I just always go back to that thought of just being simple because the game is so hard.

It's hard to find success all the time. So I think the more you add on to yourself and the more checkpoints you try and see throughout your swing, the harder it's going to be to be successful, especially with how good the pitchers are becoming nowadays too. I mean, they're just picking up. So I think as they're going up and their stuff's getting better, the hitters got to resort back to being more simple and simplify things. Right. I agree with that.

So hearing a little bit here about your dad, was your dad your biggest support going through this journey? I know that being a minor leaguer can be difficult at times, and I was just curious about your support system from your family and your dad. Yeah, my mom and dad are there every step of the way. I mean, every weekend they were flying up to Kentucky to see my week. weekend series and they missed midweeks for work but I mean all the weekends they were there and even as a little kid all the travel ball tournaments they were always both there so yeah they've they both been my biggest my biggest support system through this whole thing same thing with my younger brother

he plays at a university in new orleans now but I mean high school we were teammates but when we weren't I mean every chance he gets to see me play he's out here so I'm super excited for what he's got going on there I hope to get to see him a couple times play this year But yeah, they've been there every step away for me. That's awesome, man. What was it like the first time you saw yourself on an actual baseball trading card? Like, not to diminish what we all get in little leagues, right? We all get the little leagues card.

But like when you saw yourself on a real baseball card, what was that like for you? It was super cool. You know, it's kind of like surreal feeling of like making it to a certain extent. Yeah, right. Not the big leagues, but like you. you as a little kid, I mean, I collected baseball cards as a young kid, and it's just that full circle moment where you're like, dang, like, there's a little kid out there collecting my card now, and he's got a little blitz with those sleeves, and he's got my face in there.

And it's a cool thing to realize. And, you know, that's part of the reason why whenever anyone asked me to sign cards or I come across someone who wants an autograph on a card or anything. Anyone ask me for a card friends or people I come across if I have any, I mean, I just, you do whatever I can to sign them or give them to them because, you know, it means a lot to people. And it's something that can be very overlooked as a player, you know. You just went through a five-hour day at the field or you played nine innings or it's a Sunday. You're trying to go home after a game, but it's the least I can do. It's something that they really, it's a prized possession to them.

And it's just something as simple as me putting initials on the card. So I think it's a thing for me, especially for the younger kids and the little kids come to the game because a lot of the time they're not there to watch the baseball game like that's not what they're doing they're going having fun with their friends playing bets but they're like dang like Ryan Walshman signed my card after the game and which which autographs can I get right like that's that's that's a fun game to play well speaking of that we do we do have one of your sign cards actually right here and uh this is uh this is this is this is one of our prize possessions around the office but like these were the cards where you you know go around and sign them I mean

I mean, did you have a day, you obviously had a day like that where they brought you a bunch of cards. I mean, I know seeing your own cards is cool, but when they start bringing you stuff like relic cards to sign that they're going to put out there, I imagine that's like kind of another level of your journey. Yeah, definitely. And there's a lot of times fans will be like, hey, like, I got a couple. Like, do you want one? And I'm like, sure. Yeah.

The guy who made one, I think it was like our last game in the season. And he had like a jersey and he cropped like the logo off one of a jerseys. And he put it under the card. And he like created it himself. And he was like, wow, for me to sign it. And I was like, yeah, of course I'll sign it. And he's like, I have two of them. Like, would you like one?

And I was like, they have that thing sick. I'd love it. So he gave one to me and I thought that was super cool. But yeah, I've seen a lot of cool stuff made by people and just, it's pretty cool to just come across, you know? You think like you're just a player playing in a small town? and Emerill, Texas in the minor leagues. But there's people out there that really, really support you and are looking for your success. And I think that's just super cool.

Yeah, you're not wrong, man. And yeah, you have a lot of supporters here in Arizona. There's a lot of people that are big fans of yours here. So it's great to have you be a part of the organization. And I know that, you know, like you, you are currently the number one ranked prospect in the DeBax Farm system. How do you handle something like that? How do you, is there pressure there? Do you handle the pressure?

Do you block out the noise? How do you kind of handle, you know, like basically, and I don't mean to undermine it, but like a website dictating that you're the top prospect in a team's organization. Yeah, you know, it's obviously an honor to be named the top prospect. But I think the biggest thing for me is kind of just treating it like I'm any other, any other ranking, unranked. Yeah. It doesn't matter.

I mean, I think for me, it's just to kind of be the same guy. I was when I first stepped in there, and I don't think it should change based off of what other people are saying and the performance that you've had. I think trying to continue to be the same person every day. Successful or not, I think that's just the biggest thing as a player and just as a person in general. You can't be swayed by success or fame, and I think that's what kind of gets a lot of people is when you get caught up in that idea of just feeling like you're just the king of the hill and you're on top. And that's when you start seeing yourself go downward, is when you start switching up because all of a sudden you're getting this recognition.

So I think it's just kind of continuing to keep that mindset of just continuing to get better every day and just not being satisfied with where you're at, whether you're unranked, whether you're ranked first. There's always things you can get better at. I think that's the biggest thing for me is just kind of blocking out that, like, obviously taking it and using it to be a positive influence on other people.

I think that's a big thing for me right now two being here at this camp, this strength camp. It's a lot of younger guys, and they asked me to come out here and I'm here. And I think it says a lot to not only the development, but just the entire team itself. Like, I'm out here. I'm doing the same thing everyone else is doing. We're trying to get better. And it doesn't matter whether you're the number one prospect or you're an unranked prospect or you're a guy who just got drafted. We're all in this together. We're all a team and we're all working towards the same goal. So I think as long as we keep that same mindset, I mean, all of us should find good success with that.

Absolutely, absolutely. Everyone should eat, right? But, like, yeah, you're right. I mean, I feel like that's kind of something that major leaguers deal with all the time, is that they're out there. They're doing the most fundamental drills to get better and stay sharp every single day. But then they also have younger players looking up to them similar to you in the strength camp. And, yes, I know you're out there doing your thing.

But, yeah, I mean, now you're getting to a point now with your years of playing baseball all that I imagine a lot of people, you know, that are younger, then you look up to you for advice or just look up to you in general to kind of pick your brain on, you know, you getting to this level and, you know, being considered a top prospect in a team's organization like this. Yeah, for sure. And, you know, we've done stuff here with, like, baseball IQ and scouting reports and looking at pitcher's stuff. And, you know, I think I take pride in the intelligence I have with this game.

and just the knowledge that I've able to come across throughout my career. And, you know, if I'm able to come out here and I can influence other people around me and my other teammates, and if I see something that someone else might not, for me to be here and be able to express those ideas, and even myself, I'm learning different things every day from other people that I might not notice. And I think that's just the biggest thing is to just be, like, a student of the game and just learning from your teammates. I think it's a lot of people who have, like, this ego or this pride that there's something,

someone who's younger than you or someone who might be your teammate is trying to teach you something or show you something and they don't believe that they know more than the other guy and they don't want to hear it. But I think that's the biggest thing. That's the most, the best way to learn is to learn from your teammates. I mean, coaches and other people can express so many different ideas, but for you to learn from each other is the biggest way. And I think that's the big thing at this camp that we're really running into is we're getting information fed by the coaches. but it's really the players talking to each other. I think that's the biggest thing is sharing your experiences with each other and learning from those. Did you have a player that kind of impacted your development at all?

Maybe a guy that either moved on or maybe you still working, you're still playing with, that kind of had that moment for you? Yeah, you know, as I was my freshman year in college, I had a couple guys who were just older, not necessarily baseball rated, but just kind of just how to go about your business and how to go through college. There was a guy I remember his name was Connor Aldrich. He was a third baseman.

I was at infielder at the time at Charleston Southern for my first year. And I was a young kid, and I mean, I was nervous. You know, it was your first year of college. I was trying to earn a spot. And he ended up being the backup third baseman behind me. But he was a senior. And, you know, just the way he went about just playing the game,

You know, he was always having a good time. He was always had a smile on his face. He was always joking. And it's easy to be a guy who's not starting. A freshman just came in, is playing in front of him. But he was the one who gave most support. He was the one who was my biggest best teammate on the team was him. He would always support me, always tried to get me better.

And I was the guy who was in front of him. And I think that just speaks volumes about just who he was as a person. But then for me, that's the exact way I thought about being a teammate. It was just pouring into the other guys around you, and I think he was a big impact on me. And when I ended up transferring to Kentucky, I made that one of my goals. I came in as a transfer, who knows if I was going to play or not.

But my goal when I stepped in there was to be the best teammate I could possibly be, pouring to other people. And then from that, I think it bettered me as a person and me as a player as well. Because once you do that, then your teammates are reciprocating the same stuff. They're treating you the same way that you're treating you. them and that just makes you a better player as a whole is when you have that confidence and you know your teammates have your back and you're not in this alone you have not other guys on the field that are pulling for you just as much as you're pulling for yourself so i think that was a big

thing that i learned from him my first year of college that's so incredibly rare to considering how competitive it is at that level and like you said kind of losing your spot essentially to a younger you know younger classmen right like a lot of people would have a hard time uh a hard time dealing with that and it's amazing like i i completely agree with you the the the amount of people i've had in my life that i've emulated because of the way that they went about their business like really did have a huge impact and can have a huge impact i i know you went through a pretty significant injury right with a torn ACL what was what was that like what was i guess what did you do with your time while you were off to kind of still stay ready to play baseball and and uh you know how difficult was that

to come back from Yeah, you know, through my time off, recovering, I really just tried to learn from a different perspective about the game. At Kentucky, we had a lot of trackman stuff, and I would run the trackman for games. I'd run the scorebook. And I just really tried to watch from there. Like, I learned how to read the trackman when it comes to your induced vertical, your horizontal, the spin rate, stuff like that, how pitches move. I knew the zone. I was watching the zone the whole time.

So I was working on just kind of pitch selection if I wasn't necessarily in the box, but just trying to work on that and seeing and trying to learn the zone as good as I could. I would help the outfitter's with groundball drills. Like just being involved was really the biggest thing. You know, because it's really easy to just isolate yourself in the training room and just worry about rehabbing. But that's a lonely place where you really don't get anything from it. You're just all negative. Everything's negativity around you.

And I think the biggest thing for me, when it came to recovering from that injury was just kind of flipping that switch and kind of getting out of that negative zone where it's like, oh, why me? Like, why did this happen to me? Especially in the time that it did as I went to the Cape to really kind of make a name for myself

for the next season and for the draft coming up that next year. And it could have been very easy just to be just down to myself the entire time because, you know, I was playing well. I was in a good spot. I was a good place to just kind of boost myself. And it kind of got taken away for me. but I realized pretty quick that you couldn't do anything about it and you have to move on from there.

And to get your mind in a positive space, it was really important for rehab and just to come back in the time that I did. And I think just learning just mental strength through that, I think it's honestly one of the biggest positives in my career was probably the injury. I think that is what set me up to be the player I am today. And without it, I don't know if I would be in the same spot I would be in

because mentally I feel like I'm a very strong, player right now when it comes to mentality and being able to stay constant every day and being able to stay just the same person every day and not getting too high not getting too low when it comes to your streaks and your slumps and because baseball is all about that and I think that's the biggest thing when it comes to being a baseball player and being a top tier baseball player and what the separators are between everyone because we're all good at baseball now like everyone has the skill set to be an MLB player where we're all standing today right I think the separator when it comes to it is how mentally strong you are and how you're able to just bounce back from adversity

or be able to bounce back after a bad game or be able to just continue to put together good performances because you're not getting too high and you're not going too low so i think that's the separator when it comes to being an elite player and being just a good baseball player i love that and i i not to put more pressure on you but uh you sound you sound a lot like another guy that went through something like that and corbin carroll uh when we spoke to him used his time to sit with scouts and just do everything he could to absorb and learn more about the game that you don't typically get to learn or focus on when you are healthy and playing the game. So again, that experience absolutely could be invaluable for you. And it's a great way of

looking at it, man. Your perspective is spot on there. I have the most important questions here of our entire interview. And of course, those are the ridiculous ones. And that is, I have to first ask, are you a meal or a snacks guy? Do you sit down for big meals or do you just snack in between? No, I'm a big meals guy. Are you? Yeah, I usually don't really snack too often. I like to just eat. Yeah, I mean, I'm good to eat. I mean, sometimes it might be four meals, but sometimes it's three, it's mostly three, but I love going out to eat with people. Like, you made anyone. I would go to dinner and lunch every day with someone like that. I mean, I love just going out, and especially when there's football on now, like Thursday.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Go eat somewhere and watch a football game and hang out. I'm big on just quality time with people, you know, because you only get to hang out with these guys for so long. And it's nice to be able to just spend your time with them because, I mean, you know, everyone loves their video games or everyone loves Netflix. But the memories you make and all that stuff comes off the field. So I think it's really big to eat with people. So I love meals.

I'm a huge meal guy. I love that. Do you have a favorite place here in Arizona? I know you haven't been here very long, but have you found a spot yet? I mean, for just sit down with the guys, we love going to Goldies. Goldies by the, it's perfect for football. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Got a lot of tables for us to sit out.

I love going there with the guys. That's probably one of my favorites. Sweet. Well, last question for you. and I'll get out of here. Let's, again, most important question of the day. What is your walk-up song, and is it permanent? Is your walk-up song ever changing, or is it something that you stick with?

And I don't even, I mean, do you have walk-up music right now? What's your walk-up situation? Yeah, we do. So this past year, my walk-up song was the way I are by Tim. Okay. So I like something that gets kind of like the crowd involved. Like, I'm not a huge, like, rap guy or, like, I'm honestly just trying to get it to pump up the stadium and, like, the fans. So I like that.

I don't know what I'm going to do yet for next year. I don't know if I'm going to stick with the same one. But we'll see. It's definitely going to be something upbeat. All right. Probably, probably pretty catchy. I'm trying not to stick and get something that someone else has because, you know, there's a lot of people out there. Like Gunner Henderson's got one that has.

has the crowd all involved. It's incredible. But you got to get away from other ones that people have. Right, right. Originality is key. It absolutely is. Or underground, but then it hopefully blows up at some point.

All right. We'll figure something out. I'll send you the theme song for our podcast and we can get. Yeah, love it for you. Hey, man, Ryan,

we appreciate you so much for joining us, man. We look forward to seeing you make your debut here soon. And, of course, we wish you the best there, not only in Amarillo, but on the rest of your journey.

Awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.