Meet the 2023 Road to The Show Ambassadors

The Nationwide Road to the Show™ Ambassadors series, which provides fans an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at four of the best prospects in Minor League Baseball, returns for a third season in 2023.

D-backs shortstop Jordan Lawlar, Pirates infielder Termarr Johnson, Rockies outfielder Zac Veen and Yankees outfielder Jasson Domínguez have ben tapped as this season’s Ambassadors. The four young prospects will be involved in creating original content that showcases their personalities on and off the field while highlighting their journey to the Major Leagues.

Nearly every Road to the Show Ambassador from previous years has reached the big leagues: the Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez, Orioles’ Adley Rutschman and Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. were Ambassadors in the inaugural 2021 class and finished first, second and fourth, respectively, in American League Rookie of the Year voting last year. The Yankees’ Anthony Volpe and Cardinals’ Jordan Walker, both members of the 2022 Ambassador class, each opened the 2023 season in the Majors.

This year’s class blends a mix of young sluggers who began their professional careers as teenagers. Each player will tell their own stories throughout the season. Until then, here’s some background on each prospect to help get fans up to speed.

Jordan Lawlar, Arizona Diamondbacks | MLB Pipeline rank: No. 8

Lawlar was considered among the top prospects in a loaded 2021 Draft class and has maintained his elite status in his second full season since being selected by Arizona with the No. 6 overall pick.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound shortstop has been on a tear as of late with Double-A Amarillo. He’s batting .368 with a 1.029 OPS during a current 16-game hitting streak, collecting 10 extra-base hits, including three homers, and scoring 18 times in that span.

The 20-year-old has moved quickly since the start of last season but had to overcome a major roadblock shortly after the Draft. Lawlar suffered a torn labrum -- which was ironically the same injury and same timing as the D-backs’ 2019 and 2022 first-rounders, Corbin Carroll and Dru Jones -- that shut him down for the remainder of the season.

He hit the ground running in 2022 and climbed three levels of the Minors before finishing the regular season with the Sod Poodles. Lawlar also played with Salt River in the Arizona Fall League but suffered a broken bone in his left shoulder and was limited to 11 games.

Lawlar often speaks about practicing baseball at a young age with his mother, Hope, in their backyard. That practice seems to have paid off, as he’s now the top prospect in an organization with one of the game’s best young cores.

Termarr Johnson, Pittsburgh Pirates | MLB Pipeline rank: No. 20

Hailed by MLB Pipeline as “the best pure prep hitter in decades,” Johnson drew lofty comparisons to Wade Boggs and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. coming into last year’s Draft.

The Atlanta native came up through the MLB Diversity Development programs and played in the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program, the DREAM Series, Breakthrough Series and Hank Aaron Invitational. The Pirates tabbed Johnson with the No. 4 overall pick and signed him away from his Arizona State commitment with a reported $7.2 million bonus.

It’s been an uneven start for the 5-foot-8, 175-pound infielder in a short sample with Single-A Bradenton, but he’s shown flashes of the elite bat-to-ball skills observed by scouts during his amateur days. Johnson is batting just .240 in 37 games, but he’s maintained a .406 on-base percentage, and his power is starting to peek through as he’s recorded five of his nine total extra-base hits in the past two weeks.

Coming into the Draft, there were questions about his defensive future. He’s listed as a shortstop but is likely ticketed to be a full-time second baseman, where he’s gotten the most playing time so far in the Minors.

Johnson soon may not be the only member of his family navigating the Minors. His brother Tervell is currently playing with the Frederick Keys in the MLB Draft League.

Zac Veen, Colorado Rockies | MLB Pipeline rank: 30

The central Florida native is following a path blazed by Brendan Rodgers, another Rockies first-rounder from the same baseball hotbed. Veen has enjoyed a steady climb up the organizational ladder to Double-A Hartford in the three seasons since he was selected with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 Draft.

The 21-year-old has had a difficult time in the Eastern League since debuting at the level at the end of last season. He’s currently batting .211/.307/.317 with 11 extra-base hits and 22 stolen bases in 43 games. But overall, Veen has proven to be one of the best power-speed threats in the Minors. He was one of only three players to have at least 12 homers and 35 stolen bases in each of the past two seasons. Since 2021, only nine players have more steals than Veen’s 113.

After a strong first half with High-A Spokane last year, Veen was selected to participate in the All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium. The lanky outfielder ( 6-foot-3, 190 pounds) had a strong performance in the prospect showcase, collecting a pair of hits, two stolen bases and a run scored.

Defensively, he's played exclusively in the corner outfield spots save for two games this season in which he played center for the Yard Goats.

Jasson Domínguez, New York Yankees | MLB Pipeline rank: 34

Before he signed a record $5.1 million deal in 2019, Domínguez earned notoriety as “El Marciano,” or “The Martian,” in Dominican scouting circles. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound, switch-hitting outfielder was viewed by some as the best July 2 prospect ever with each tool louder than the next.

He’s off to a slow start this season for Double-A Somerset, batting .210 with a .756 OPS, nine homers and 15 stolen bases in his first 52 games of the season. It’ll take a lot for Domínguez to live up to the otherworldly expectations with which he arrived in professional ball, but it would serve him well to replicate his breakout 2022 season.

After a difficult debut season in 2021, Domínguez climbed three levels of the Minors the following year and finished with the Patriots. He homered in the Futures Game and earned a pair of promotions down the stretch before helping Somerset to an Eastern League championship, mashing two homers in the series clincher.

Domínguez’s father, Felix, was a Yankees fan in the Dominican Republic and named his son after former New York slugger Jason Giambi. He’s gotten to spend plenty of time in the tri-state area with Somerset and High-A Hudson Valley over the past two seasons -- and the Bronx could be calling sooner rather than later.