Cecconi Has a Learning Experience in Cactus League Start

The big right-hander strives to develop a changeup without losing identity as power pitcher

Slade Cecconi got the start against the Reds Friday night in Goodyear, in a game the Diamondbacks won 12-8.  The right-hander is part of a battle for the 5th starter's spot and his outing came on the heels of excellent outings from Tommy Henry and Ryne Nelson.

One could be forgiven for looking at Cecconi's pitching line (2IP, 5H. 2 ER, 1BB, 1 SO)  and think he had a bad outing. Spring training games can be very misleading at times though, and tonight was one such case.  Both runs came in the second inning that began with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. losing a ball in the twilight sky, resulting in a leadoff double. A popout was followed by three singles, following which Cecconi was removed due to pitch count. Taking advantage of spring training rules, Torey Lovullo sent him back out for the third inning. He got two quick outs before giving up a base hit and base on balls. With his pitch count now up above 45, and having gotten his third "up down," his night was done. 

Most importantly, this was night for Cecconi to work on his changeup and find ways to implement that pitch. He threw quite a few of them, especially to left hand batters.  That made his fastball more hittable though. It was a learning experience for the young pitcher, which he discussed after the game.  

"One of the things has been the changeup, developing that pitch, I think I overused it a little bit today and I lost a little bit of my identity out there as a power pitcher, and that's something to learn from. With this pitch being new, is don't lose my identity as a pitcher, being a powerful arm."

Cecconi began throwing the changeup late last year, with help from teammate Merrill Kelly, who taught him the grip. While his fastball might have gotten knocked around a bit today, there were some positive takeaways.  He got a lot of swing-and-miss with the changeup and felt he was able to keep hitters off balance. 

The key Cecconi said will be "learning how to refine the usage of it and the right times to throw it, because it's obviously a new pitch, I don't want to overexpose that and let guys sit on fastballs because they know it's going to come at some point."

Torey Lovullo said "I know that he's working on the changeup and he's got a really good feel for it, it's a good pitch for him. But there's a time to work on things and there's a time to go out and make pitches. I'd like to see him establish who he is on the mound and just get after it and then start to make pitches after that."

Big Offense 

The Diamondbacks starting lineup scored five runs in the first four innings and the minor league hitters tacked on seven more from the 6th inning onwards

Kyle Garlick was signed last week to a minor league contract. The right-handed batter smashed two homers tonight, driving in three runs. In 347 MLB at bats the 32 year old has 19 homers. 

Corbin Carroll had three opposite field hits, two singles and an RBI double into the left center field gap.  Carroll said that he was focusing on trying to hit the ball to left center field today, but he also got a splitter and some sliders breaking off that played into his chosen approach for the night. It speaks to both his ability and maturity that he can come into the game with that mindset and execute to it perfectly. His manager was aware and impressed with his approach.

"He's got some gifts and that was part of his game plan, that was what he wanted to do", Lovullo said. "I know how Corbin is. He broke it down to the granular where he's going to see the baseball, let it get deep and try to hit the ball the other way. Kudos to him for following his game plan and being very stubborn to his game plan. That describes him perfectly"

Blaze Alexander continued his assault on Cactus League pitching, smashing a triple to the base of the wall in right center in the 4th and singling in the 6th. He looked sharp on defense at second base as well. Alexander has been the breakout performer in camp so far, and is now batting .467 (7 for 15) with a 1.267 OPS.

Tim Tawa had three hits including a towering two-run homer in the 9th and scored three runs. 

Neyfi Castillo had a double, a triple and drove in two runs. 

The D-backs travel to Tempe Diablo Stadium to take on the Angels tomorrow afternoon, game time is 1:10 P.M.