Affiliates lost every series this week, and there were injuries to key players. But there are positive stories down on the farm as well
The Journey Back
Diamondbacks fans almost certainly remember the top of the 2015 draft, as the Diamondbacks took Dansby Swanson with the first overall pick. Since it’s been nearly nine years, you may need your memory jogged as to some of the other players taken in that draft. Here’s the SnakePit post-draft tracker. It wasn’t a good draft; just four players picked and signed have made it to the bigs. Of those, only two (Alex Young and Taylor Clarke) appeared for the Diamondbacks. And the three not named Dansby Swanson have combined for 1.5 bWAR in their respective careers.
However, this is not a look back at the players the Diamondbacks selected.
Heading into that draft, MLB Pipeline ranked Swanson 2nd among the draft eligible players, Alex Young (the second pick by the D-backs) 37th, and Clarke 144th. Some other names in the top-200: Walker Buehler (11th), Kevin Newman (29th), Ke’Bryan Hayes (44th), Austin Riley (106th), and Jake Cronenworth (164th). That prospect list also featured ten high school pitchers in the top 50: Kolby Allard, Beau Burrows, Jacob Nix, and Peter Lambert are the only ones to reach the majors, and none of them have a positive bWAR (they combine to be worth -3.3 bWAR.) Most of the ten are out of baseball. One, tragically, died in his freshman year of college.
And one, 33rd ranked draft-eligible prospect Dakota Chalmers, is currently pitching in the Diamondbacks system.
It’s been quite the journey for Chalmers. Drafted by the A’s, he found himself the 11th ranked prospect in a stacked system; also appearing on the prospect list in 2016? Matt Olson and Matt Chapman. 2017 saw Chalmers ranked above Olson and Sean Murphy, as well as Paul Blackburn. 2018 saw him traded to the Twins for Fernando Rodney, as well as Tommy John surgery that led to his falling off of the top prospect lists. But after a successful comeback in 2019 that saw him finish the season as a teammate of Jake McCarthy and Geraldo Perdomo with the Salt River Rafters, he was added to the 40-man roster and found himself back on the Twins’ top-30 list, at #23. This, despite never making an appearance above A ball.
That, unfortunately, was the high point. After struggling at AA in his 2021 return, the Twins designated him for assignment. He caught on with the Cubs, who later passed him through waivers. Opting for free agency after the 2021 season, he signed with the Dodgers, but found himself released after struggling in 13 innings with Oklahoma City. He caught on with the independent Gastonia Honey Hunters, but it was more of the same.
At the end of the 2022 season, seven years after his journey in professional baseball began, it was over. “I wanted to keep playing,” Chalmers recalls, “but I knew that I had had such little success, and it only kept getting worse.” It was a Sisyphean undertaking, working hard, but not getting anywhere. “I kind of lost my joy for the game, honestly.” He tried to get a contract after 2022, and had some teams come to watch him throw bullpens, and had some invitations to come to spring training, but he realized that he’d have to pitch better than he ever had before to catch on with another organization.
And so Chalmers returned home to spend time with family and reconnect with his roots in Georgia. It looked like the end, but as often happens, there was more to the story. Returning home proved an opportunity to build on the relationships and support structures that had made Chalmers a successful pitcher in the first place. It was a chance to rediscover the joy and love of the game, to refresh the mental side.
It was around May of 2023 before Chalmers started working on pitching again, first at Pinnacle Athletics in Norcross, Georgia, and, starting in September, with Tread Athletics. Tread Athletics, based in North Carolina, bills itself as a “remote-first” pitching training company. Co-founded by Ben Brewster, Tread has worked with multiple pitchers, including Mitch Keller of the Pirates and Jack Friedman, son of the “Pitching Ninja” Rob Friedman. Other names that have used Tread’s systems that would be familiar to Diamondbacks fans are Chase Anderson, Anthony Banda, and Slade Cecconi. From September, Chalmers went up to Tread’s North Carolina facility about once a month, but put in his work in Georgia.
Around four months later, Chalmers took the mound at Tread in front of scouts from almost every team. The results:
Two weeks later he signed with the Diamondbacks on a minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training.
His work with Tread (and previously with Pinnacle) is one part of the story, but it is not the entire story. Velocity is the name of the game; it is what gets you noticed by teams and gets you opportunities, as Chalmers acknowledges. But command is also important, and the aim of the program is to move your body more efficiently, something which enables you both to reach higher velocity and to pitch more accurately. But the physical is only one part of the story. “Most of my ability to throw strikes and repeat it came down to the mental side of the game. I had physically thrown strikes in the past, so I knew that I could throw a strike, I just needed to do it more often.” This doesn’t come through set mental drills or a particular prescribed system, but has more to do with mental maturity, a reliance on a support system, becoming comfortable, and focusing on the game.
This brings up an important and often overlooked point. In the discussion about velocity and pitcher health, a great deal of focus is placed on arm injuries, particularly elbow injuries. Chalmers has been there, having experienced Tommy John surgery and the recovery process from that in 2018 and 2019 (complete with being traded in the middle of the recovery process) but it is clear that, within the discussion on pitcher health, the mental aspect should not be overlooked. He credits the year off from the game with helping this mental aspect. “I just got really tuned in…I got to rekindle those relationships with the support system that I had, which got me able to free up some space in my head to understand how to pitch a little bit better.”
His return to the game has also come with a shift in routine because of how he is being used. In his previous professional experience, Chalmers was almost always a starter. Now, he works as a reliever. This required a mental adjustment as well; needing to be ready every day. This provided the opportunity for a simplified routine, “two or three things that you know are going to get you ready to go, no matter what” as opposed to the multi-day, complex routine of the starter. Still, he admits that (as with many pitchers) he did not like relieving at first, but now he is happy to be able to pitch and get paid for it.
“Baseball has brought me so much, and given me so much in terms of perspective…baseball as a whole has been positive for me.” Chalmers is able to look back even on the times when he wasn’t performing as well as he would like with appreciation for what the game is. After a year away, the love of the game is back. And it is that mental outlook, that appreciation, that love, that fire, that has enabled him to return to professional baseball and perform at a higher level than ever before. In 15 innings at AAA in 2021 and 2022, Chalmers’ WHIP stood at 2.467. He had just one clean outing. He’s had three clean outings in his five appearances in Reno. Being comfortable mentally on the mound has already borne fruit in terms of improved results.
And now, on to the action on the diamond.
Affiliates went 0-4-0 on the week, with only the Amarillo Sod Poodles winning multiple games. It was rough.
Tuesday
Tacoma 4, Reno 0
Pitching dominated the day in Tacoma, as the two teams combined for just five hits. Only two of those belonged to the Aces, with Jorge Barrosa and Albert Almora Jr. picking up singles. Kyle Garlick drew a walk, and the Rainiers committed three errors, but that was it for Reno baserunners. Unfortunately, Reno pitching walked eight. Slade Cecconi got the start and worked 4.2 innings, giving up three of the four runs. Former friend Ryan Bliss walked twice, stole two bases, and scored a run. Only Dakota Chalmers was perfect on the evening, as he set down the side in order in his inning, striking out two.
Midland 4, Amarillo 3
The Soddies out-hit the Rock Hounds, but failed to outscore them. Ivan Melendez hit his first home run of the year, a wind-aided fly ball to right-center. Wilderd Patiño picked up another hit, but also was caught stealing again. Sheng-Ping Chen also hit a home run, and Logan Warmoth picked up his first two hits of the season. However, Amarillo batters struck out an astounding eighteen times! Warmoth, Melendez, and Neyfy Castillo all struck out three times apiece, and every batter struck out at least once. Pitching wise, Dylan File, a minor league free agent signing over the offseason, got the start and pitched four solid innings. Zach Barnes struggled in his 1.2 innings and took the loss.
Vancouver 5, Hillsboro 4
Gino Groover and David Martin both had three hits. The Hops drew eight walks. Unfortunately, there was just one hit that wasn’t by Groover or Martin, and the Hops left 11 on base. Billy Corcoran got the start and gave up three runs, and Eli Saul gave up two further runs and took the loss. The Hops also committed three errors. On the bright side, Alec Baker pitched three innings, allowed just one hit, and struck out five. Last year’s 18th round draft pick has now pitched 25 innings in professional ball and struck out 35 while walking just six.
Making matters worse, Groover injured his wrist in a collision at first base and has been placed on the injured list. Jack Hurley also left the game with a leg injury.
San Jose 7, Visalia 4
The Rawhide had their home opener spoiled and finished off a winless Tuesday for the system thanks largely to Junior Cerda, who was moved down from Hillsboro due to visa issues, with the Hops being in Canada this week. After Rio Britton tossed two scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks, Cerda took over and gave up five runs (three earned) on four hits, getting just one out. The Giants would add runs in the seventh and ninth innings, and carried a 7-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. But the Rawhide bats, which had been sleeping most of the day, got as many hits in the ninth (three) as they had in the previous eight innings. Junior Franco and Kenny Castillo singled, and Cristofer Torin hit his first home run of the season, a line drive over the left field wall. All hope for a dramatic and improbable comeback ended when Druw Jones struck out for the third time to end the ballgame.
Wednesday
Tacoma 6, Reno 1
Logan Allen had an excellent start for the Aces, but the bats were again cold. Allen worked five innings and allowed two runs, just one of which was earned, but took the loss. Chris Rodriguez allowed a run, and Andrew Saalfrank allowed three runs in the eighth inning to put the game essentially out of reach. Andrés Chaparro and Jancarlos Cintron both committed errors. New acquisition Kolten Wong picked up one of the hits, but got picked off. Kyle Garlick hit his sixth home run of the young season.
Amarillo 7, Midland 4
The Sod Poodles picked up their first win of the season against the AA affiliate of the A’s. It got off to a great start, with Wilderd Patiño knocking the second pitch of the game over the right field fence for his first AA home run. The Soddies added five runs in the third, with doubles from Ivan Melendez and A. J. Vukovich being key (in addition to Logan Warmoth reaching on an error.) Neyfy Castillo picked up his first hit of the year, as Amarillo knocked out 13 hits.
On the pitching side, Jamison Hill made his season debut, and the results were mixed. He had to work hard, but struck out seven and walked just one in 4.1 innings. Emailin Montilla, Will Mabrey, Mitchell Stumpo, Taylor Rashi, and Christian Montes De Oca all contributed scoreless appearances, striking out six and walking three between them. Montilla got the win and Montes De Oca the save.
Vancouver 2, Hillsboro 0
It was another day with poor batting but good pitching. The Hops managed just three hits and five baserunners. Hits belonged to Andrew Pintar, Gavin Conticello, and Brett Johnson. Spencer Giesting got the start and worked four innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits and two walks while striking out five. Dillon Larsen struck out three in his two innings, but gave up the other run. All in all, Hops pitching record twelve strikeouts against just two walks.
Visalia 8, San Jose 3
I don’t know that there is enough to say about how Caden Grice has started the season. He followed up his lights-out opening day performance by working 3.2 innings in this one, allowing just a hit by pitch and striking out five. As a professional pitcher, Grice has worked 6.1 innings, struck out twelve, and still has a WHIP of 0.000. (He also has an OPS of .974, but all of that was last season, and as of now there is no plan to develop him as a two-way player.) Prior to Grice entering the game, Visalia pitching had struggled; Landon Sims got off to an OK start, but after committing a throwing error, lost the plot almost entirely. He walked three, and Jake Fitzgibbons walked three more.
Offensively, Visalia is the bizarro-Diamondbacks, in that they can’t score in the early innings but pile on late. The Rawhide entered the game having scored 29 runs in four games, all of them in the fifth inning or later. The trend continued as they were shut out through five innings, but scored five in the sixth, and added three in the eighth. They have now scored just four runs in innings 1-5, and 33 runs in innings 6-9. (At the same time, they have allowed twelve runs in innings 1-5, and three runs in innings 6-9.) On this day, every Visalia batter got exactly one hit. Junior Franco doubled, Cristofer Torin tripled, and everyone else singled. Eight players scored one run, and only Torin drove in multiple runs. The offensive production was spread out nicely throughout the lineup, if not throughout the game.
Thursday
Tacoma 11, Reno 7
For the second time in two weeks, the Aces lost the first three games of a series. This was a much more traditional PCL game, with seven home runs hit, three of them by the Aces.
Cristian Mena got the start and struggled, going just four innings and allowing five runs. He surrendered three home runs and walked five, but he did strike out six. Francisco Morales allowed one run in two innings and took the loss, the recently re-signed Tyler Chatwood allowed two runs in his inning, and Justin Martinez allowed two runs in his inning. So there was plenty of blame to go around on the pitching front.
Offensively, Adrian Del Castillo was the star, going 3-for-4 with a three-run home run. Pavin Smith hit a solo shot for his first of the year, and Kyle Garlick hit his seventh. Garlick led all professionals in home runs as of the end of day on Thursday. Unfortunately, by the end of the week, he had been surpassed.
Midland 8, Amarillo 5
Caleb Roberts drove in two runs with a triple, and Kevin Graham drove in two runs with a pair of doubles, as the Sod Poodles held a 5-4 lead midway through the eighth inning. Unfortunately, Taylor Rashi gave up four runs in the bottom of the frame as the RockHounds came back. Yu-Min Lin once again ran into some difficulties, but he pitched through them better than last time, as he struck out ten in his five innings, but allowed four runs on seven hits. The RockHounds stole seven bases on the evening, not a good sign for J. J. D’Orazio.
San Jose 3, Visalia 0
Jacob Steinmetz turned in what was likely the best start of his young career, and for only the second time in any sort of appearance, worked at least five innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out four, walked one, and gave up two hits. He also committed the error that led to the first San Jose run and caused him to be tagged with the loss. The Rawhide offense picked up just three hits, two of them belonging to Anderdson Rojas. Cristofer Torin also walked twice. Torin and Rojas are the only Rawhide regulars with an OPS over .900, while there are four regulars with an OPS below .400 (three of whom are top prospects, unfortunately.) Druw Jones continued his struggles at the plate, striking out three more times. This brings his season total to 13 strikeouts in 24 plate appearances. On the bright side, his struggles at the plate haven’t thus far made a negative impact on his defense; he contributed to Steinmetz’s success with a fine sliding catch in the left-center gap.
Friday
Tacoma 5, Reno 2
Former Diamondbacks handled much of the pitching for the Rainiers, with Dallas Keuchel starting and Carlos Vargas and Joey Krehbiel appearing in relief. The Aces struggled with the bats regardless of who was on the mound. Tristin English doubled, and Jorge Barrosa, Pavin Smith, and Kolten Wong singled. The pitching was better; while Humberto Castellanos and Konnor Pilkington allowed five runs across the four innings they worked, but they struck out seven. Brandon Hughes, Dakota Chalmers, and Ricky Karcher combined to strike out eight and walk two across four hitless innings.
Amarillo 7, Midland 6
Deyvison De Los Santos clubbed his second home run, a two-run shot in the seventh that put the Sod Poodles in front. Along with Tim Tawa and Caleb Roberts, he formed a 3-4-5 group in the lineup that dominated; those three went 8-for-14 and scored all seven runs, while striking out just twice. The rest of the lineup combined to go 3-for-22 with nine strikeouts. Pitching wise, Luke Albright got the start and performed better than in his first outing, going 3.2 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks. Jake Rice, John Matthews, Will Mabrey, Zach Barnes, and Christian Montes De Oca pitched well in relief. Notably, Mabrey, Barnes, and Montes De Oca were throwing strikes. Matthews got the win, and Montes De Oca the save.
Vancouver 2, Hillsboro 0
The Hops were one of two teams to play a doubleheader on Friday, as they made up a rain out from Thursday. Doubleheaders in the minor leagues are still seven innings, and the first seven innings saw very few highlights from a Hops perspective. Tommy Troy, David Martin, and Gavin Conticello all singled. Avery Short struggled to throw strikes, walking four and allowing four hits in 2.1 innings, and he was lucky to allow just two runs. Geraldo Gutierrez and Armando Vazquez were scoreless in relief.
Hillsboro 5, Vancouver 2
Ricardo Yan got the start and was mostly unhittable, but he also struggled to hit the strike zone. He worked 3.2 innings and walked five, allowing just one hit. It flew into the bullpen in left field. After the third inning was completed, the Hops had been shut out in 19 consecutive innings. Gavin Conticello ended that with a home run to center. The Canadians helped the Hops to two further runs in the fifth, thanks to an obstruction call at second base, followed by a balk, and then a wild pitch and a throwing error. Kevin Sim singled in Christian Cerda in the sixth to cap the scoring.
San Jose 2, Visalia 1, 8 innings
There was also a doubleheader in Visalia, this one in the hopes of preventing a rainout on Sunday. Cristofer Torin, Anderdson Rojas, and Druw Jones all had a pair of singles. The Rawhide scored their run in the second inning, with Rojas walking, advancing to second on a stolen base, and scoring on the first of Jones’s singles. (Jones has been moved down in the order, now batting sixth instead of the leadoff spot he was occupying for a while.) Roman Angelo struck out eight in 3.2 innings of work, and Jhosmer Alvarez and Rio Britton pitched well in relief. Sam Knowlton also did not pitch badly, but was stuck with the loss thanks to a run of poor luck. The bad luck started in the bottom of the seventh, when Rojas singled leading off the inning, and Jones followed with a bunt single, on which a throwing error allowed Rojas to advance to third with no outs. With the winning run on third, Jakey Josepha, Adrian De Leon, and Jefferson Pena all struck out. The zombie runner scored in the top of the eighth, but Torin, Jansel Luis, and Ruben Santana were unable to hold serve in the bottom of the frame.
San Jose 4, Visalia 3
It was another close game, with both teams getting five hits and committing one error. However, Rawhide pitching surrendered nine walks, while Rawhide batters walked just twice, and struck out twelve times. Denny Larrondo worked four innings and struck out seven. He also walked four and saw four baserunners steal bases on him. Jansel Luis and Cristofer Torin stole bases for the Rawhide, and they also scored all three runs. Visalia’s offense struggled largely because the top three batters in their order (Luis, Torin, and Ruben Santana) went 5-for-9, as well as drawing a walk and only striking out twice. Batters 4-9 went 0-for-17 with one walk and ten strikeouts. On the bright side, the Rawhide managed to score in the early innings; all three of their four runs in the doubleheader were scored in innings 1-4, where the Rawhide had not scored prior to the day.
Saturday
Reno 8, Tacoma 7
Jordan Montgomery made his second start in Reno as he ramps up in preparation for his planned Diamondbacks debut on the 19th, and it didn’t go particularly well from a results perspective. Consider this your reminder that spring results and rehab assignment results don’t really matter, and while his time in Reno is not technically either of those things, it realistically is. The fact that Monty gave up seven runs in 3.2 innings looks bad. It shouldn’t be a concern, though. However, his velocity is still down from last year, and he’s not getting the swing and miss that you’d want. It hasn’t reached a point of alarm, yet, but perhaps the Diamondbacks and Monty would be better served for him to have another start in Reno to knock off the rust.
Offensively, Andrés Chaparro hit a three-run home run in the fourth to tie the game, before Montgomery surrendered four more runs in the bottom half of the frame. Now trailing 7-3, the Reno offense continued chipping away. Tristin English hit his first home run of the year in the sixth, Adrian Del Castillo singled in a run in the seventh, and the bottom of the order came through in a big way in the eighth, as Kolten Wong hit a sacrifice fly and Jancarlos Cintron singled in the tying and go-ahead runs. Justin Martinez struck out the side in the ninth to seal the win.
One further note on velocity: Martinez also appeared to be experiencing a velocity drop, hitting three figures just once. This makes me wonder if something was not calibrated properly yesterday in Tacoma.
Midland 2, Amarillo 0
The Sod Poodles managed just two hits, wasting a pretty good pitching performance from the trio of Yilber Diaz, Emailin Montilla, and Conor Grammes. That trio combined to strike out twelve (although they did walk five) and neither Montilla nor Grammes allowed a run. Tim Tawa doubled and A.J. Vukovich singled for the only hits.
Vancouver 6, Hillsboro 5
Gavin Conticello’s slow start to 2024 is officially over. After a two-run home run on Friday, he picked up two two-run home runs on Saturday. He also walked twice, and despite his struggles in the first week or so, he’s now close to an OPS of 1.000. Christian Cerda and Tommy Troy were the other offensive stars of the day; Cerda singled and walked twice, Troy singled and doubled.
Pitching-wise, Cole Percival got the start and was unspectacular. Dillon Larsen and Alec Baker both walked more than they struck out in relief. For Baker, that is particularly unusual and possibly concerning, as he had struck out 35 and walked just six prior to Saturday’s game. This one appearance featured as many walks as Baker surrendered in eight appearances for Visalia last year.
Sunday
Tacoma 13, Reno 7
Pavin Smith drove in five runs, four of them on a grand slam as the Aces built a 6-2 lead. But the pitching was subpar. Blake Walston managed to allow just five runs (four earned) despite allowing 11 hits in his 4.2 innings. The relievers were generally not as lucky. Tyler Chatwood, in particular, struggled. He faced four batters: he hit the first, allowed a single to the second, and walked the next two before. Brandon Hughes allowed two of the three runners Chatwood left on base to score, but he was the only pitcher on the day who did not allow any of his own runs.
The Aces are now off to Salt Lake City, as they play consecutive road series.
Midland 11, Amarillo 1
The Amarillo offense was slightly better than on Saturday, picking up seven hits, but scoring just one run. Three of the hits belonged to A.J. Vukovich, who has been one of the more consistent bats so far. He ends the week slashing .323/.333/.548. On the other hand, despite a single, Ivan Melendez is hitting just .148, although he is leading the team with six walks. Neyfy Castillo is batting .074 and has struck out thirteen times.
Dylan File got the start and gave up six runs in three innings, and then Logan Clayton came in and gave up five runs in two innings. The trio of Meza, Stumpo, and Rice worked scoreless innings. The Sod Poodles will try to get the season back on track at home against Springfield.
Vancouver 8, Hillsboro 7
Through the first game of the doubleheader on Friday, Gavin Conticello was 3-for-21 on the year, with each of the hits being singles. After picking up two singles and a double, he’s now batting .333, and the three home runs and two walks he’s gotten has taken his OPS to 1.079. Yet again, however, the rest of the offense struggled. (It doesn’t help that Gino Groover and Jack Hurley are both injured. Hurley has yet to be added to the injured list, but Groover will require surgery and be out for months.) Anyway, the Canadians helped out the Hops by walking eight batters. Oh, and the Hops scored five of their seven runs in an incredibly strange segment of play in the sixth inning. The Hops had the bases loaded, but there were two outs and the bottom of the order up. Cole Roberts and Brett Johnson both had 2-2 counts and wound up drawing walks. Josh Mollerus came in to pitch for the Canadians, with Andrew Pintar at the plate for the Hops. Pintar worked the count full, which proved important, because as he swung and missed at a breaking pitch that almost certainly would have been ball four, all three baserunners were already well on their way. The ball bounced towards the dugout, where catcher Jommer Hernandez picked it up and threw to first, although he had little chance at getting Pintar out. The throw wasn’t that bad, but it was off target, and bounced off the first baseman’s glove towards second base. By the time the second baseman picked it up and threw home, all three runners had scored on a strikeout in which the ball never left the infield.
Unfortunately, the Hops would more than return the favor. Eli Saul set down the first two batters in the ninth, trying to protect a 7-3 lead. He then hit Dylan Rock, bringing Hernandez to the plate. With this chance at redemption, he hit a routine ground ball to Manny Pena at second base, and Pena entirely flubbed it. Saul hit the next batter as well, loading the bases. Dasan Brown singled in two, and Saul was pulled in favor of Zane Russell. A double tied the game, and a walk and a single ended it in walk-off fashion, with five unearned runs being scored with two outs in the ninth.
The Hops picked up just the one win in Vancouver, and lost far more than just games. They return home to host the Tri-City Dust Devils.
Visalia—rained out
Visalia was unable to play either Saturday or Sunday; the game has been cancelled. They are now off to Lake Elsinore.
Batter of the Week: A.J. Vukovich, OF, Amarillo
Vukovich went 6-for-18 on the week, getting hits in five of six games and driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the game where he didn’t get a hit. It was between him and Deyvison De Los Santos for this spot; both got results at the plate, but Vukovich didn’t strike out as much. A.J. could stand to take more walks; he has just one walk on the year so far. But he’s started out looking to build on last year’s 20-20 campaign and successful stint in the Arizona Fall League, and could find himself up in Reno sooner rather than later, depending on the health of various players and potential opt-outs. (Neither Garlick nor Almora qualify for the automatic opt-outs, so it depends on whether or not they received opt-outs as part of their contracts.)
Pitcher of the Week: Caden Grice, LHP, Visalia
I wrote about Grice’s outing above, and it also could have been Jacob Steinmetz here. But the most impressive thing about Grice is the fact that, despite being taller than most pitchers and not having a lot of pitching experience, he’s shown good control. Prior to 2023, he had thrown just 16 innings at Clemson. The Diamondbacks can and will bring him along slowly; there is no sense in straining his arm by having him throw a large inning load, and I’d guess he’ll be capped around 90-100 innings this year. But everyone knew he had the stuff; whether he could command it was the only question. So far, the results are good, and he’s shown his top-of-rotation upside. It’s too early to declare him the top pitching prospect in the system, but he should be in the conversation for second best, behind Yu-Min Lin.