Ryne Nelson to Return to the Rotation Against Cubs

After four starts in Triple-A to work on his slider, the D-backs are calling him back up to fill a hole in the rotation.

Ryne Nelson will be making his return to the starting rotation tomorrow against the Chicago Cubs. When Slade Cecconi was sent down to Triple-A Reno yesterday, it opened up a hole in the rotation. The 25-year-old rookie right-hander will fill that open spot.

Nelson was sent down to Triple-A Reno on August 13th to work on the shape and consistency of his slider after struggling to a 5.47 ERA in 24 starts to begin the season. In four starts with Reno, he's pitched to a 3.74 ERA with nine strikeouts and seven walks, although the numbers can be misleading since he's working on honing a specific pitch to get back into the big league rotation.

"From the reports, it is a little bit harder, he's locating it more, hasn't made as many mistakes with it," said D-backs pitching coach Brent Strom. "I think Nelly is smart enough to realize what he has to do to be successful. Hopefully, much like Pfaadt, the second time around will be better. I'm looking forward to seeing him again, the reports have been pretty good."

Strom says he looks at a pitcher's peripherals and pitch sequencing as signs of progress, comparing it to the Zach Davies situation when he was rehabbing with Reno. In his first two MLB starts since being activated from the injured list, Davies allowed just two runs in 11 innings with 11 strikeouts. Although, he lost the wagon in his third start with five runs allowed in three innings as he developed command issues.

"It's not about the pure velocity, it's about what pitch precedes another pitch. Speeding people up, slowing people down, which is basically what my pitching coach in Cleveland, Warren Spahn, said pitching is all about. Upsetting the hitter's timing. I've heard hitters say they can put wood on a bullet if they know it's coming. This is the constant evolution of learning how to pitch, whether you've been successful in the past and have to reinvent yourself or if you're a newbie coming up."

Strom also noted that pitchers with big fastballs might not be as inclined to develop their secondary stuff in the minors. Like with Davies and Pfaadt, he expects to see a better version of Nelson when he comes up again.

As for the corresponding roster move, the D-backs have optioned right-handed reliever Bryce Jarvis to Triple-A Reno. Jarvis is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA, but advanced metrics aren't as bullish with his run prevention with a 5.51 FIP, 5.44 xFIP, and 7.45 xERA.