Diamondbacks Gauntlet Continues as Braves Roll into Chase Field

Chris Sale is finally healthy and back to being a leading Cy Young candidate. From 2013-2018 Sale Finished in the top 5 of the CY voting every year. But from 2019 thru 2023 he made just 56 starts with a mediocre 4.16 ERA.

Now fully healthy, the 35 year old Sale is second in the league in ERA and first in FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching). His 11 wins also lead the league. His 4-seam and 2-seam fastballs are still averaging in the mid 90's range and his Slider ranks first in all of MLB in run value. Oh, and his changeup ranks 3rd. Good luck.

Yilber Diaz is making his major league debut. (Stats in table above are from AA- & AAA combined) He began the year in Amarillo, and was promoted to Reno a month ago, In his most recent outing he threw six scoreless, hitless innings while striking out 13. You can read more about that outing and his season here

Tuesday, 6:40 P.M. MST

40 year old Charlie Morton just keeps rolling along. With 16 starts he's on track to reach 30 games started in each of the last six full major league seasons. Since his age 33 season he's 89-47, .654 W% and has a 3.58 ERA. This year however his 3.96 ERA is hovering right around league average due to some inconsistency.

Morton has nine outings allowing two runs or fewer but seven starts allowing four runs or more. His fastball velocity is down slightly, but still averages 94. It's the big bender however that remains his calling card. He throws the curveball 40% and it generates a ton of swing and miss and soft contact.

Zac Gallen struggled with command in his July 4th outing in LA, walking three batters in just four innings of work. While he set career bests for fastball velocity, reaching 98 several times and averaging 96, he was having trouble commanding the increased stuff.

Gallen missed a month with a hamstring injury, but seems primed for a big second half. He threw a career high 242 innings last year, including the postseason. Throwing just 68 innings so far this year may be a blessing in disguise. If he maintains even a 95+ MPH fastball average and locates it, he will be near impossible for hiters to deal with.

Wednesday, 6:40 P.M. MST

Max Fried is having another very good season. 38 pitchers have made at least 100 starts since 2020. Fried's 2.75 ERA in that span is the lowest of all of them. (Corbin Burnes is second at 2.78, Zac Gallen is 6th with 3.24)

He was knocked around by the Phillies in his last outing however, giving up 11 hits and five runs in six innings. That inflated his ERA from 2.91 to 3.18. His fastball velocity is about 94 and he is another Brave pitcher with a big curveball, which garners a 33% WHIFF rate.

The Wednesday starter is currently listed as TBD for Arizona. This would be Slade Cecconi's turn, but it's unclear if he will make this start or if the team will opt to go with some sort of a bullpen game. Cecconi last pitched against the Padres on July 5th.

Typically dominant in the first and second innings, it was yet another outing in which Cecconi could not get past the 4th inning without getting touched up. Still just 25 years old and with just 89 innings under his belt, it's far from too late to solve this issue. But the team may be hesitant to start him right now in the middle of the Wild Card hunt.

Thursday, 6:40 P.M.

Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach was a second round pick for the Braves in the 2021 draft. Don't be fooled by his 5.02 ERA. Every ERA indicator such as FIP, xFIP, and xERA point towards a sub 4.00 ERA.

His 96 MPH four seamer is probably the least effective of his six pitches, as it has below average movement, and thus has been hit hard. But he has a slider, cutter, curve, split finger, and even a two-seamer. The curve and split finger have been his most effective pitches in terms of WHIFF rates and batting against.

Brandon Pfaadt was hit on the ankle on a 98 MPH comebacker off the bat of Luis Arraez in the fifth innng of his Saturday start in San Diego. X-rays were negative and the Diamondbacks said it was a contusion.

Both Torey Lovullo and Pfaadt said they were very confident he would be able to make his next start, but as of this writing, it's still denoted as TBD by the team.