Brandon

Pfaadt

Pfaadt will need to get stretched out as a starter to rejoin the rotation, and this figures to be a somewhat lengthy assignment in light of that news. Pfaadt wasn’t exactly helping the team in the bullpen anyway, as he had just two holds while allowing four home runs and 13 earned runs in 15 innings.

Kelly, who was supposed to be Arizona’s Opening Day starter this season, will take the ball on Tuesday night against the Orioles for his season debut. His return pushes Brandon Pfaadt to the bullpen until further notice. The 37-year-old veteran right-hander offers some appeal as a back-end rotation stabilizer in deeper fantasy formats after registering a strong pristine 3.52 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 167/48 K/BB ratio across 184 innings last year between the Diamondbacks and Rangers

Pfaadt loses his spot in Arizona’s rotation with Kelly back from the injured list while Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka remain. The 27-year-old righty has posted an inflated 5.94 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 11/6 K/BB ratio across 16 2/3 innings over three starts. His stuff should play up in shorter bursts out of the bullpen, but he’s a non-factor for fantasy purposes at this point in his career. It’s surprising considering he was an elite pitching prospect just a few years ago.

All of the runs came in the third on back-to-back homers from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. One was unearned because Alec Bohm started the inning with a grounder that ate up Geraldo Perdomo (based on the current standards, we were a little surprised it was ruled an error). Pfaadt’s velocity today was down about one mph from his season average. The cutter he added last year and his increased ability to generate grounders have kept him viable for the Diamondbacks, but his rotation spot is in jeopardy now with Merrill Kelly coming back. There’s a decent chance he’ll be sent down.

That’s expected to be the final tuneup before the 37-year-old hurler rejoins the Diamondbacks’ rotation next week. It remains unclear who he’ll supplant from the club’s rotation though Brandon Pfaadt could be on the chopping block after struggling through his first two starts.

Pfaadt settled down after giving up a solo homer to Drake Baldwin in the first. He unsettled in the fifth, however, giving up a pair of runs with one of them coming on a wild pitch. Pfaadt shows flashes of being a solid fantasy option, but there are just too many mediocre efforts like this one to suggest he’s a set-it-and-forget-it option.

Pfaadt worked two clean innings, retiring his first seven batters, before falling apart in the third. The Tigers tagged him for five runs on six hits before he could escape the frame. Pfaadt bounced back with three more scoreless innings, giving up just one more walk. It seems to be the typical Pfaadt experience as he struggles to avoid the blowup inning. The 27-year-old right-hander will take the mound against the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday. His spot in the rotation could be in jeopardy once Merrill Kelly (back) is ready to return from the injured list.

Kelly will begin the season on the IL, but he returned to the mound for the final spring training game on Tuesday and pitched two innings against the Guardians. He’s still working his way back from nerve issues with his back, but his velocity was close to normal in that outing, which is good news. He will likely need more than one rehab start to build up to a pitch count that will allow him to go five innings in an MLB game. He should return in mid-April, which would push either Michael Soroka or Brandon Pfaadt out of the rotation.

Nelson will follow Opening Day starter Zac Gallen with Eduardo Rodriguez closing out a three-game series against the Dodgers. It’ll be Michael Soroka and Brandon Pfaadt kicking off their ensuing series against the Tigers. Lovullo confirmed that veteran Merrill Kelly (back) will open the season on the injured list but could return at some point in early April.

Pfaadt continues to look dialed in this spring, allowing just one run with an 11/3 K/BB ratio across 10 innings over three starts. The 27-year-old righty hasn’t done anything dramatic to overhaul his pitch mix besides leaning on his changeup and curveball more frequently against left-handed batters. There’s enough history to suggest not reading too much into the small sample size this spring but it certainly makes it easier to believe in Pfaadt as a late-round option in mixed leagues.