/snorts decisively in Scottish
Recaps
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks’ Sunday starter makes a major case for spot in pitching rotation – Pfaadt pitched five scoreless innings in his fourth appearance of spring training, allowing just two hits and striking out seven against what was essentially the San Diego Padres’ major league lineup… “Feel good about it,” Pfaadt said. “I like starting, let’s stick with that. That’s going to make me fight to be a starter for the rest of my career. … I want them to have the hardest decision.” Manager Torey Lovullo said Montgomery is playing “catch-up” because he was injured at the outset of spring training, but Nelson and Pfaadt battling for the rotation has “been a lot of fun to watch them.”
[SI] Brandon Pfaadt Makes Strong Case for Rotation as D-backs Down Padres – Arizona’s offense wasn’t exactly explosive but did just enough to grab hold of and maintain a lead for nine innings. The D-backs out-hit the Padres 11-4. In the third inning, star outfielder Corbin Carroll was able to push a slider way inside over the left field wall with an impressive feat of opposite-field strength despite catching the pitch in an extremely undesirable location. Top prospect Jordan Lawlar went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, and Garrett Hampson delivered a base hit and two RBI, including one scored by a hit-by-pitch. Rising prospect Demetrio Crisantes managed a single, starting at second base among a lineup quite full of major leaguers and veteran minor leaguers.
Team news
[Dbacks.com] Let’s zoom in on the D-backs’ 3 biggest decisions left – With just over a week to go in Spring Training, some of the biggest competitions in Diamondbacks camp are still ongoing. That’s just the way manager Torey Lovullo likes it. “I agonize over these decisions,” Lovullo said. “And I know [GM Mike Hazen] will allow me to make the final decision, but there’s a group of evaluators that are going to give me really good insights as to which direction will help us as fast as possible win baseball games. So I want it to be tough. I want it to be very difficult. I don’t want somebody to win by default.”
[Venom Strikes] How is the Diamondbacks’ pitching depth affected by Blake Walston’s injury? – Both general manager Mike Hazen and top assistant Amiel Sawdaye have stated it will take eight to nine starters to get through the 162-game season. The natural question to ask is who would be their eighth and ninth starter to begin the season. Going down to Triple-A, the answer is between Yilber Díaz, Cristian Mena, and Tommy Henry. Henry has the most experience of the three, with 32 career starts at the major league level compared to the four and one start that Díaz and Mena have. However, you can argue the two younger pitchers offer more future upside. Further down the system includes top prospects trying to make an impact. Yu-Min Lin, Dylan Ray, and Spencer Giesting are all prospects who will be added to the 40-man roster by November
[SI] Diamondbacks Sign Former Dodgers Reliever – The Arizona Diamondbacks signed right-handed reliever J.P. Feyereisen to a minor league contract, according to an announcement from the Reno Aces on X/Twitter on Saturday… Feyereisen throws a relatively chalk arsenal of four pitches. His four-seam fastball sits in the low-90s, with a changeup and slider serving as his put-away secondary weapons. He also throws a very rare sinker that profiles around the same speed as his four-seam.
[Foul Territory] D’Backs catcher Gabriel Moreno speaks about his expectations for the 2025 season as well as growing up idolizing Miguel Cabrera.
And, elsewhere…
[ESPN] Hanshin Tigers shut out Cubs, Dodgers for back-to-back wins – In another sign that Japanese baseball has never been better, the Tigers capped a two-game sweep over MLB clubs with a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome. Even more impressive, the Tigers didn’t give up a run in either game. Daichi Ishii recorded the final out, freezing James Outman for strike three on a 95 mph fastball to cap 18 scoreless innings in a row.”These two days were priceless,” Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa said through an interpreter. Hanshin tagged two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell for three runs in the fourth inning when the first two batters reached base before Teruaki Sato smoked a three-run homer into the right-field seats, where a jubilant Tigers fan club erupted in celebration.
[CBS Sports] Savannah Bananas sell out game at 65,000-seat Raymond James Stadium – In a testament to the growing popularity of the team, the Savannah Bananas sold out Raymond James Stadium for a Saturday night game against their touring partner, the Savannah Party Animals. The Bananas commemorated their first game in an NFL stadium in style, as they played in front of a sold-out crowd of 65,000 at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers… The sellout for the Bananas makes for an interesting juxtaposition compared to Tampa Bay’s professional baseball counterpart. The Tampa Bay Rays have struggled enormously with attendance, and their woes as a franchise continued this week as they backed out of a proposed $1.3 billion deal to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg.
