PROSPECT: Brandon Pfaadt, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
ANALYSIS: The Diamondbacks drafted Pfaadt in the fifth (and final) round of the 2020 draft out of Bellarmine University (total student enrollment of just under 3,000). From the moment he got on the mound, he’s shown he was more than a small-school talent, however, showing four pitches that at least flash plus and command and control that could both be graded as plus as well.
Pfaadt gained plenty of note in 2022 when he struck out 218 batters over 167 innings to lead the minors in strikeouts. His first two starts have been “rough”, as he holds a 6.48 ERA, but he’s allowed just eight hits over 8 1/3 innings, with five of those hits leaving the ballpark. In fact, all of the runs that he has allowed have been via home run.
In the Pacific Coast League, that’s not terribly surprising. What is of note is that he’s been generating plenty of swing and miss, striking out 12 already this year. The Diamondbacks recently had an injury open a spot in their rotation and Pfaadt was not called on, but he was part of a three-way race for the fifth spot in spring, and the other two that were fighting for that spot are now in the Arizona rotation, so he’s now the “next up.”
VERDICT: Don’t be scared away by PCL home run numbers. Buy in as Pfaadt will be up sooner rather than later.
Brandon Pfaadt is HIM 💯 pic.twitter.com/kZRfXpGHTW
— Reno Aces (@Aces) April 9, 2023
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