Spring Training is a chance at a fresh start, and Arizona is a team that desperately needs one after a dismal 2020 season. The Diamondbacks, who had many struggles, highlighted by their pitching woes, finished the season 5th in the NL West Division, and a 25-35 record. Their starting rotation was never 100% healthy. With Merrill Kelly suffering a season-ending injury after making just five starts, Luke Weaver still working his way back from a serious arm injury that kept him out of the rotation for most of the 2019 season, and Madison Bumgarner also battling injuries throughout the year, the rotation was very weak. The only two pitchers that were at full strength were Robbie Ray and Zac Gallen. Ray struggled in a Diamondbacks uniform last year, as he went 1-4 with a 7.84 ERA and allowed 31 walks before being traded to the Blue Jays mid-season.
Gallen ended up becoming the ace of the staff in 2020 as he pitched in 72 innings, strukout 82 batters, and finished with a 2.75 ERA and a 3-2 record. After an uneventful offseason, the rotation will be very similar to last year, and hopefully at full strength.
While there’s still two more weeks before opening day, I feel like four pitchers are already locked into the rotation. It really comes down to what order they will pitch in.
In no particular order, here’s what the Diamondbacks rotation will look like:
- Merril Kelly
- Since making his Dbacks debut on April 1, 2019, Kelly has been a solid fixture in the Dbacks rotation.
- He’s 16-16 overall, with a 4.15 ERA, and 187 strikeouts
- As mentioned earlier, Kelly was injured after just 5 starts in 2020, but it looks very promising that he will be at full strength by opening day.
- Luke Weaver
- Weaver joined the Dbacks in December 2018, and played 12 games in 2019 before being shut down due to injury. In those 12 games, he posted a 2.94 ERA, with 69 strikeouts, and 64⅓ innings pitched.
- Weaver struggled in 2020, having finished 1-9 and with a 6.58 ERA. the long pause between spring training and the start of the season, as well as the shortened length of the season, may have contributed to his inability to hit mid-season form.
- I expect Weaver to be in the rotation this year, and hopefully with a full spring training, and a full 162 game season, Weaver can reach his full potential.
- Madison Bumgarner
- Bumgarner, who had signed a five-year $85 million deal with the Diamondbacks in December 2019, had a very lackluster 2020 season. He finished 1-4 with a 6.48 ERA, and 41⅔ innings pitched.
- Bumgarner will be a member of the Dbacks rotation this year, and if he stays healthy over the course of a 162 game season, he will be a strong force in the rotation.
- Zac Gallen
- Zac Gallen will likely end up towards the top of the rotation this year, but not necessarily the opening day starter. That all depends on how he performs for the rest of Spring Training.
- 5th unknown
- Though we don’t know 100% who the 5th man in the rotation will be right now, Caleb Smith is looking real good in Spring Training and could lock up that 5th spot.
Opening Day isn’t until April 1, so we’ll probably have a better idea as to the order of the rotation sometime next week.
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