Pitching depth is something no team can have enough of. Whether it’s on the big league roster, or in the minor leagues, good pitching is hard to come by.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are fortunate enough to have some quality arms at their disposal, and the results will be soon be seen at a major league ballpark. Arizona features three top pitching prospects in Aaron Blair, Braden Shipley, and Archie Bradley. All three are ranked within the top 65 of the MLB prospect rankings, and all have the potential to be elite pitchers at the major league level.
The Diamondbacks have an extensive history with pitchers. The team was represented by both Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson on its Franchise Four. They have also had success with former CY Young candidate, Ian Kennedy, and current Diamondback, Patrick Corbin, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.
However, aside from Corbin, they haven’t had much luck with pitchers coming through their minor league ranks. With this current crop of pitchers, Arizona is hoping they can strike gold, and produce a foundation of success.
The trio of Bradley, Blair, and Shipley posses immense potential, and have the Diamondbacks faithful excited for the teams future. Of the three, only one has played on a major league roster, Archie Bradley. While he hasn’t been extremely productive during his eight starts with the team (He is currently on a rehab assignment ) there is still a lot of hope for him. He features a deadly fastball that ranks as a 70 on the scouting scale, and a devastating curveball.
The Diamondbacks top minor league pitchers, Shipley and Blair, have yet to crack the major leagues, but it’s highly likely one, if not both, see time with the team during September call-ups. Although, it seems as if Blair has the inside track, as he was just promoted to AAA Reno.
The pitching depth is so extensive that Arizona traded it’s first round draft pick, Toukki Toussaint to the Atlanta Braves. The move was done to rid Arizona of the hefty contract of Bronson Arroyo, and the price of trading away a top pitching prospect to accomplish the task wasn’t a factor for the Diamondbacks, given the promising arms they feature in the organization.
Arizona isn’t the most successful team in baseball, but the future looks extremely bright due to a superior trio of pitchers, and you can never have enough of those.