These Five Diamondbacks Pitchers Are Dominating Spring Training

The Arizona Diamondbacks have played just 11 Cactus League games, and while spring final scores are anything but noteworthy, it's important to get some good looks out of both major and minor league players.

There's been plenty of offense to write about, but Arizona's pitching staff (particularly the major leaguers) has seen some excellent starts to Spring Training.

Here are five Diamondbacks pitchers who have looked sharp on the mound so far this spring:

RHP Corbin Burnes

The numbers: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K

If not for a fluke of a groundball single by Cubs' infielder Gage Workman, Burnes might still have a perfect 0.00 ERA. Still, that number is a mere 1.69 over his first three starts of the Cactus League, with an impressive eight punchouts to go with it.

Burnes' stuff and velocity look excellent, and while he did struggle a bit with command his last time out, the right-hander looks every bit of the dominant ace Arizona signed to a six-year, $210 million deal.

In fact, out of the D-backs' entire major league rotation, only two total earned runs have been surrendered by Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryne Nelson.

(Jordan Montgomery has yet to make his first Spring start, as he's been dealing with an index finger strain. Manager Torey Lovullo indicated that Montgomery is very close to his debut.

LHP A.J. Puk

The numbers: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

Perhaps the de facto closer of the Diamondbacks for the time being, Puk has looked excellent this spring. He's tossed three scoreless innings while allowing just a single hit, and it appears that both his velocity and movement are ramping up to regular season form.

He struggled a bit with command on Monday, but it's simply so tough to rack up hits against the lefty that it didn't matter. Puk has also been working on developing his changeup, in hopes of deepening his already-diverse arsenal of pitches.

The key to Puk's role going forward will be whether manager Torey Lovullo wants to lock him in to a specific inning or allow him to be used based on matchups, which would be arguably more valuable.

RHP Justin Martinez

The numbers: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Young flamethrower Justin Martinez figures to be another big name to watch in the closer competition due to his electric stuff. The righty looks to be fired up for 2025, as he registered a fastball of nearly 104 MPH this week, and is consistently hitting triple digits.

He was able to record six whiffs while striking out the side on Monday, also due in part to his devastating breaking arsenal.

Granted, he's mostly faced minor league hitters, but if Martinez's command continues to improve (and his mental game goes along with it) he could become one of the most dangerous closers in the game as early as this coming season.

RHP Drey Jameson

The numbers: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K

Jameson is making his first handful of appearances since undergoing Tommy John surgery. Prior to his first appearance, he hadn't seen game action in over 600 days.

While his numbers might be a very small sample size, Jameson looks like a new arm. The command has been back-and-forth, but the righty has made some exceptional pitches, and has topped out his fastball at over 100 MPH on multiple occasions.

He's struck out two, hasn't allowed a run and has given up just one hit and no walks in his first two innings. A healthy Jameson with a newly-energized arsenal could be a deadly weapon out of Arizona's bullpen.

RHP John Curtiss

The numbers: 3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Curtiss isn't a name anyone was likely watching out for, and it's fair to assume he's mostly faced minor league hitting in his appearances, but the veteran right-hander has yet to allow a single baserunner, despite making one start and facing the top of the opposing order while striking out four.

Curtiss isn't necessarily on the short list to come up and contribute to the major league bullpen, but his Spring numbers have been excellent, and relief depth is something that will almost always be necessary to a ball club looking to make the postseason.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable mentions include Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt, who have yet to allow a run and each looked sharp in their debut. However, they each have yet to make more than one start.

On the relief side, the D-backs have seen solid results out of RHPs Ryne Nelson, Kyle Amendt, Jeff Brigham, Kevin Ginkel and Listher Sosa, as well as LHP Joe Mantiply.