Zac

Gallen

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.

Along with the three baseballs that flew over the wall, gone tonight was Gallen’s spring velocity boost. He averaged 94.7 mph in his first three outings this spring, but he was right back at his 2025 average of 93.5 mph tonight. One of the surest signs of a truly poor outing is finishing with more hard-hit balls against than called strikes+whiffs, which is something Gallen did tonight (11 hard-hit balls, 10 CSW in 66 pitches). Hopefully, it’s just a blip. Gallen will face the Dodgers on Opening Day, making him a subpar play in mixed leagues.

Gallen was pulled after giving up three hits in the third. He returned for the fourth, only to immediately surrender a homer to Daniel Susac and get yanked again. Gallen’s velocity has been great this spring; his 94.8-mph average on his fastball today was a gain of 1.3 mph from last year. His career-high average fastball velocity was 94.1 mph in 2022, and he’s been above that all three outings this spring. In spite of the results today, his stock is up a bit.

Gallen will make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start when he takes the ball against the defending World Series champion Dodgers on March 26. He gets the nod with Merrill Kelly (back) unable to ramp up in time for the assignment. The 30-year-old’s underlying metrics have been trending in the wrong direction for a couple years and he languished on the open market for most of the offseason before ultimately returning to Arizona on a one-year deal. He’s a top-75 range starter for fantasy purposes entering the regular season.

Gallen mowed through a lineup of mostly big league hitters with complete ease on Monday, with his strikeouts coming courtesy of Brendan Donovan, Luke Raley and Mitch Garver. He got seven whiffs on 41 pitches on the afternoon — four on his slider — while registering a strong CSW of 37 percent. Gallen has now hurled four scoreless innings over his two Cactus League appearances and also pitched two shutout frames against Team Mexico last week. His velocity was up in this one as well, with his fastball averaging 94.4 mph (+0.9 mph). Perhaps a rebound is in the cards after a disappointing 2025 season.

Gallen threw first-pitch strikes to just three of seven batters and had five hard-hit balls against him, including one from Jonathan Aranda that one would have been a homer in 16 MLB ballparks, but he got through the outing unscathed, throwing just 22 pitches in the process.

Gallen is a bit behind the rest of Arizona’s rotation after re-signing late in the offseason. The 30-year-old is the favorite to start on Opening Day with Merrill Kelly (back) unlikely to get the nod following his recent shutdown.

The 30-year-old hurler will wind up getting the same guarantee that he turned down when declining the qualifying offer that the Diamondbacks made to him in November, though $14 million of that will be deferred as Gallen will receive $2.8 million per year starting in 2031. His return helps to solidify the Diamondbacks’ rotation. Gallen is more of a flier in mixed leagues than someone you’ll really want to target coming off a dismal 2025 season that helped deflate his free-agency market. There is some win-chasing upside and he should also provide strikeout help.

It’s a tad early for such declarations but fantasy managers will take it. Kelly ostensibly gets the nod for next month’s lid-lifter against the Dodgers over Zac Gallen, who agreed to return to the desert on a one-year pact earlier this weekend. The 37-year-old veteran posted a sparkling 3.52 ERA — 4.15 xERA — 1.11 WHIP and 167/48 K/BB ratio across 184 innings last year between the Diamondbacks and Rangers.

The deal is pending a physical and will reportedly pay him north of $15 million. It was reported Thursday that the Diamondbacks were exploring “creative” ways to get Gallen back, and they appear to have found the way. The right-hander was linked to a deal with the Cubs, but the 30-year-old will ultimately return to pitch near the top of the Arizona rotation again. Gallen’s 2025 season was mostly disappointing, but he’s an excellent bounceback candidate in familiar surroundings.