The D-backs handed out their organizational Player and Pitcher of the Year Awards this past week, with the honors going to outfielder Corbin Carroll and right-hander Brandon Pfaadt.
Carroll was called up by the D-backs on Aug. 29 and made his big league debut that night and his story is known by most team fans by now.
Pfaadt, the D-backs' No. 4 prospect, has yet to pitch in the Majors, but his time is coming. If not for the fact that he doesn't need to be added to the 40-man roster this winter in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft, he likely would have already made his Major League debut.
The 23-year-old pitched at both Double-A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno this year. Neither ballpark (or league) is friendly to pitchers, which makes the numbers he put up all the more impressive.
In 167 innings over a combined 29 starts, Pfaadt had a 3.83 ERA and struck out 218 batters, becoming the first Minor League pitcher to reach the 200-strikeout mark since 2011. The 218 punchouts are the most in the Minors since Brandon Claussen fanned 220 in 2001.
"He had a tremendous year," D-backs farm director Josh Barfield said. "Especially if you consider where he pitched in Amarillo and Reno. Just the numbers and consistency he showed. It was really, really impressive."
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Pitching in environments like that sometimes intimidates younger pitchers into avoiding the strike zone. Not Pfaadt, though.
"He's just so unfazed by who's in the box, where he's pitching, what's going on," Barfield said. "He goes out there and he just attacks hitters from the first pitch and it's fun to watch. He just is constantly 1-2, 0-2 on every hitter. And he gives up a solo home run, that's all right, here's another strike coming right at you."
In fact Pfaadt, who was a fifth-round pick out of Bellarmine University in 2020, actually felt like one of the reasons why he got so many strikeouts this year was because he threw fewer strikes.
"Part of it was just racing to two strikes and then expanding the zone," Pfaadt said. "For a little bit, I was throwing too many strikes. It seems like a good thing, but at higher levels it’s not a good thing, especially with two strikes. We tried to keep honing in [during] bullpens on leaving the zone with two strikes. I think that helped get more strikeouts.”
Pfaadt should be a candidate to make the D-backs' rotation next spring.
"I feel comfortable," Pfaadt said. "I feel like this is a good organization for me. Like everyone else is, I’m just taking the opportunities that I’m given and taking it one step at a time."
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DON'T PANIC ABOUT ALEK THOMAS
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Yes, the D-backs optioned rookie center fielder Alek Thomas to Triple-A Reno with eight games left to go in the season, but they are still bullish on the future of one of their top prospects.
Thomas was called up on May 8 and had an initial run of success. But, as happens with almost every young hitter, the league's pitchers eventually made an adjustment to him.
The 22-year-old struggled to adjust back and as September wore on, the D-backs' brain trust started talking about sending him to Reno.
"That was tough one," Barfield said. "One, you love the kid and two, with the defense that he plays, you know he's still going out in the field and playing at an elite level. But he'd been struggling for a few months in the big leagues and [we're] just letting him go down to Reno and get some at-bats where he can kind of clear his mind a little bit and get back to doing the things that made him really successful."
One of the things that made Thomas successful throughout his Minor League career was his ability to control the strike zone and not chase pitches outside of it.
At the big league level, though, that was hard for him to do. The more he chased, the fewer strikes he saw and the worse things got.
"He was sent down with some specific instructions," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "Look on one side of the plate and hit on that side. And just shrink the [strike] zone. I think he was getting pitched to -- everybody saw what was happening -- and he just could not make a quality adjustment. We felt like the best chance for him to do that would be in Reno.”
In his first three games back with Reno, Thomas was 9-for-14 with three doubles.
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TRIVIA
Jake McCarthy has 21 stolen bases, which is the second-highest total for a rookie in franchise history. Who holds the record?
A.) David Peralta
B.) A.J. Pollock
C.) Justin Upton
D.) Chris Young
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• The D-backs decided not to pitch Madison Bumgarner in the final 10 days of the season and the veteran told MLB.com he understood the decision.
• It was an emotional return to Houston for former Astros and current D-backs pitching coach Brent Strom.
It was amazing to watch not just the number of players and coaches, but also broadcasters, security guards and stadium workers who made their way over to the D-backs' side of the field to say hi to Strom.
He clearly made an impact in Houston and Astros manager Dusty Baker presented him with his 2021 American League Championship ring prior to the first game of the series.
• Zac Gallen vs. Justin Verlander, as expected, turned out to be an outstanding pitching matchup. A quote from Verlander in this story shows how much respect Gallen is now getting throughout baseball.
• Josh Rojas is the D-backs' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. You can help Rojas win by voting here.
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Sept. 28, 2022: Gallen vs. Verlander
We mentioned the Gallen-Verlander matchup earlier, so here's a look at the six strikeouts that Gallen had in the game, which the D-backs won, 5-2, in 10 innings.
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TRIVIA ANSWER
D.) Chris Young
Young holds the D-backs' rookie record for stolen bases with 27. He accomplished the feat for the 2007 NL West championship team.
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