Tommy Henry, Ryne Nelson Make D-backs Opening Day Rotation

Henry and Nelson originally competed for the final spot in the rotation, but an injury opened the door for both players to make the team.

Colorado Rockies v Arizona Diamondbacks / John E. Moore III/GettyImages

Before the Diamondbacks' final Spring Training game against the Cleveland Guardians, manager Torey Lovullo announced his Opening Day rotation. Zac Gallen will start Opening Day, with Merrill Kelly, Tommy Henry, and Brandon Pfaadt starting against the Colorado Rockies. Ryne Nelson, who has won the fifth starter competition, will start April 1st against the New York Yankees. Three of their starting five are relatively inexperienced, but Lovullo is confident in them after what they showed last season.

"These guys have cut their teeth. They're not first-year guys, they've gotten some really valuable experience, and I think they're ready for this next challenge. I know they're really excited for this opportunity."

Nelson and Henry entered camp as the top two candidates in the competition for the fifth and final spot in the Opening Day rotation. Nelson put together an impressive spring, pitching to a 2.66 ERA and putting up an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 26/7. Those 26 strikeouts ranked second behind Spencer Strider for all major league pitchers this spring. He continued to push the bar high in the competition, something Lovullo commented on last week, and likely would have beaten out Henry. An opportunity opened up when Eduardo Rodriguez suffered a left lat strain last week. Henry seized that opportunity, pitching 9.1 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in his last two appearances, and will have a chance to showcase himself while Rodriguez is on the mend.

As a result of Henry making the rotation, pitching prospect Bryce Jarvis will start the season as the team's long reliever. Jarvis has been working on a cutter, a pitch that has improved his overall repertoire. Like Henry, Jarvis had a strong finish to camp with just one run allowed in his last 6.2 innings. He competed for the final rotation spot until the end and impressed the coaches enough to make the team. Lovullo expressed confidence in the rookie being able to fill some gaps if they get a short start to begin the season.

"If something were to happen with one of our guys, they get banged up early and we've got to take them out of a game, we feel like Jarvis can give us 50 to 60 pitches and push it to the next day."

The pitching staff is very much in flux, as the Rodriguez and bullpen situations will both determine how long Jarvis occupies the long reliever role. If they want to keep him stretched out, they will need to use him as a starter. If the plan is to keep him in the bullpen, they will need to shorten his outings to increase his availability during season. Jarvis has yet to pitch back-to-back days in his career, should they choose the latter option.