Brandon Pfaadt to Start Thursday Against Rays

The Diamondbacks top pitching prospect will get another opportunity to showcase his talents at the big league level.

The Diamondbacks starting rotation took a major blow when Merrill Kelly was placed on the 15-day injured list with a blood clot in his right calf. Despite a rotation that hasn't performed well collectively, ranking 22nd in ERA and 23rd in WHIP, they've been able to rely on Zac Gallen and Kelly to continue to provide wins. Arizona has a 22-11 record behind when either of their All-Star duo takes the mound. 

Kelly's injury, which will keep him out through the All-Star break at a minimum, combined with a shuffling of the rotation this week could open up an opportunity for rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. Pfaadt already has a locker inside the clubhouse, and manager Torey Lovullo confirmed that the rookie right-hander will start tomorrow afternoon's game.

"It'll be a great opportunity for him, he's throwing the ball extremely well" said Lovullo. "He took everything he learned here, brought it down there, understands some of the improvements that needed to be made and was executing at a high level. We were very pleased with the progressed he was making. This came out of necessity, but he's ready for this opportunity."

Pfaadt made his widely anticipated major league debut on May 3rd. In his first five MLB starts he got shelled, going 0-2 with an 8.37 ERA and allowed eight home runs in 23 2/3 innings. The biggest issues that plagued Pfaadt in his first MLB stint was the inability to locate his fastball and sweeper. Too often he left those pitches over the heart of the plate, which got punished by MLB hitters. 

In five starts since being optioned back to Triple-A Reno, Pfaadt has shown better results. In 25 2/3 innings, he has pitched to a 3.16 ERA with 27 strikeouts and eight walks. The home run rate is a bit elevated, with a rate of 1.75 per nine innings in that stretch, but three of them came in a six-inning start at Las Vegas where the wind was blowing 20 MPH out to center field. In those starts, we've seen him utilize the curveball and changeup a bit more often, something he stated he was working on in a previous interview.

The D-backs are currently in a situation where they need one of their young starters to step up for them. They began the season eight pitchers deep for the rotation, but has been thinned down to five healthy starters on the 40-man roster. The team was already planning on targeting starting pitching help at the deadline to make a playoff run, but recent events have increased that urgency. A strong second stint by Pfaadt would alleviate that issue somewhat in the interim.

Arizona would need to make a corresponding roster move for Pfaadt before starting him. They are currently operating with a nine-man bullpen after yesterday's moves, so they will likely send one of them down.