Arizona Diamondbacks Recall Brandon Hughes, Option Slade Cecconi

The Arizona Diamondbacks made a roster move ahead of Wednesday's night game with Hughes slated to start.

Apr 30, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Hughes in the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks made a roster move before Wednesday's game. They recalled Brandon Hughes, a left-handed reliever from Triple-A Reno to start tonight's game. He is expected to pitch just one inning tonight before giving way to Ryne Nelson. Nelson will be the bulk reliever.

Slade Cecconi, Monday's bulk reliever, has been optioned to Triple-A. While there, he will work on his location mistakes and being able to pitch deeper into games. Plus, he will strive to maintain his mental composure when runners get on base against him.

The D-backs decided to attempt to help Ryne Nelson pitch better and deeper into games by having an opener start for him for tonight's game. This was confirmed by John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports.

Nelson has struggled lately and the team is hoping that if he can avoid facing the top of the lineup one fewer times that he will have more success than he's had lately.

They tried this recently with Slade Cecconi and it worked to a varying level of success. Cecconi had a six-run inning but that might've been due to tipping, versus any mechanical or pitching error. It's yet to be revealed if that's the case.

Nelson is having an even worse season than his rookie year last year. In just 29.1 innings, Nelson has a 7.06 ERA despite going 2-3. His FIP is 4.16, indicating a lot of bad luck, but he's been extremely hitter prone. He's allowed 48 hits and 23 runs with seven walks and 23 strikeouts. His WHIP is sky-high at 1.875.

His strikeout and swinging strike, or WHIFF rates, are well below league average, ranking in the bottom 15% and 10% the last two years. Nelson has been a major victim of loud contact and unluckiness with BABIP as hitters have a BABIP of .415 against him.

His last start was a disaster, as he gave up 11 hits and eight runs against the Tigers in just four innings. Now, the D-backs will hope he can find better luck working as a bulk reliever behind an opening pitcher.

Nelson will have to locate his fastball in better spots and utilize his changeup and slider to better effects. All four of his main pitches have been hit better than .340 and each of them have an xBA higher than .329 except his four-seamer that has an xBA of .256. The key to success is location, location, and location for Nelson in tonight's game against the vaunted Dodgers.

Brandon Hughes pitched for Arizona recently this season. His first outing came against these very Dodgers during the infamous "Bee Game." He started the contest and set down the Dodgers in order, including Ohtani and Freeman in the first inning.

He struggled over his next 1.2 innings, in which he gave up six hits and for runs with a walk and four strikeouts. This was over a span of two different games.

In the minors, with Reno Aces, Hughes has been dominant. He has a 1.83 ERA over 14 games and 19.2 innings. During that time, he has allowed 14 hits, 12 walks, and has struck out 15.

The D-backs will need Hughes to replicate what he did the first time against the Dodgers in order to win tonight.