Kayson Cunningham aims to solidify his status as baseball’s next elite shortstop when the Arizona Diamondbacks' top infield prospect takes the stage for the National League.
Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Kayson Cunningham is set to be one of seven infielders representing the National League in the 2026 All-Star Futures Game.
Cunningham, 20, will be joined alongside Ryan Clifford, Charlie Condon, Gavin Kilen, Jésus Made, Luis Peña, and Eli Willits as the NL looks for league supremacy against the American League.
Of course, this is a harmless game to get the top prospects in all of baseball on a bigger stage, and it certainly has done that in the past.
Currently, Cunningham is the Diamondbacks' No. 2 overall prospect and the No. 73 prospect in all of baseball. There are plenty of players ranked higher than him in this game, so he'll have a chance to prove everyone he's the future of not just this organization, but baseball's next great shortstop.
Diamondbacks Lone Futures Game Representation
Every team has at least one player make the roster, but there are quite a few organizations out there who had more than one sneak their way in.
Seeing as the Diamondbacks' top prospect, outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt, is already in Triple-A and has a 2026 ETA in the major leagues, he's not exactly the type of player that fits the build for this game. So, that's where 2025 first round pick Cunningham comes into play.
The Diamondbacks selected the Arizona native No. 18 overall in 2025. Cunningham may have been born in Tucson, Ariz., but he played high school baseball at Johnson in San Antonio, Texas.
Cunningham stands 5-foot-10, 182 pounds. He made his High-A debut here in 2026 and has gone on to appear in 16 games.
After scorching the ball for a .977 OPS in Single-A, the team had no choice but to promote him. In his first 62 at-bats in A+ ball, he's slashing .226/.286/.339. His OPS has fallen to .625, so there's certainly some work to be done, but it's an adjustment period, to say the least.
The Future is Bright
According to MLB.com, "86.8 percent of Futures Game participants have played at least one MLB game since the showcase started in 1999, and 21.3 percent (or 259 total) have been named Major League All-Stars."
Cunningham is the team's No. 2 prospect for a reason, and while his ETA isn't until 2029, that gives the team plenty of time to figure things out in the majors. Soon enough, the Diamondbacks could be contenders again, and Cunningham will be right there riding the highs with them.
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