Ryne Nelson to Face Rockies in Critical Spring Start

Is a rotation spot on the line today?

Ryne Nelson will get the start today for the Diamondbacks against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at 1:10 P.M. MST in a critical outing for the young right hander.  Nelson is in competition with Brandon Pfaadt, Drey Jameson, and Tommy Henry for the fifth spot in the D-backs rotation.  Jose Urena will get the start for Colorado.

Nelson has had a rough spring for the most part. Considered one of the favorites heading into camp to win the last spot in the rotation, his performances so far may have caused him to fall back. He was excellent during his brief call up in September of last year, throwing seven scoreless innings in his major league debut. In three starts, 18.1 innings he posted a 1.47 ERA while giving up just nine hits and striking out 16. 

But so far in three official Cactus League games he's posted just 5.1 innings, facing 34 batters, giving up eight runs on 12 hits while walking five.  His command of both breaking stuff and fastball have been spotty, leading to hard hit balls when he comes into the zone. 

Meanwhile Brandon Pfaadt is coming off another very good outing, striking out seven in four innings of work yesterday and may have taken control of the competition. 

Lineups & Injury Notes

Jack Sommers

The Rockies are the home team for today's tilt.  Kyle Lewis is making his long awaited first appearance in the outfield. He's been relegated to DH after a late start to spring training games due to leg issues. He's it extremely well in his limited action, going 6-14 with two homers and a double thus far. 

It will come as a relief to see Geraldo Perdomo and Diego Castillo back in the lineup today. Both players were knocked out of the game after a nasty collision in a rain shortened game on Wednesday night. 

Jake McCarthy was originally in the lineup, but was a late scratch due to flu like symptoms. He is resting back at home today. 

Christian Walker is still being held out of the lineup due to being hit on the hip with a pitch early in the week.  He's still feeling some tightness when he swings and is still day to day.

Evan Longoria is out of the lineup again and is nursing bumps and bruises per Torey Lovullo. He is just 1-15 with eight strikeouts in Cactus League action.