High-Ranked Pitching Prospect Opens Up on Trade to D-backs

The Arizona Diamondbacks brought back a plethora of promising young pitching prospects at the 2025 Trade Deadline. One such arm was right-handed starter David Hagaman, who came over from the Texas Rangers in exchange for veteran Merrill Kelly.

Hagaman, 22, enjoyed an excellent season in High-A Hillsboro, pitching to a 3.15 ERA in jut five starts with the Hops. He's currently listed as the D-backs' No. 6 pitching prospect (No. 15 overall).

Hagaman made his first Fall League start on October 9, firing three impressive scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and punching out five batters.

On Tuesday, Hagaman spoke with Diamondbacks On SI Jack Sommers about his trade process from Texas to Arizona, among other topics.

Arizona Diamondbacks' David Hagaman Opens Up on Trade

Q: Were you shocked or surprised at all that you were included in the trade?

"Yeah. I mean, it's always pretty cool. When it first happened, I was freaking out a little bit because I just got to meet these people [in the Rangers' organization]. I just got to Low-A, getting a grasp on who everyone is and the org and everything.

"But it's been a blessing to be with the Rangers and now with the Diamondbacks. I've had a lot of fun here. The guys are super awesome and super open to all my ideas. And I'm open to their ideas."

Q: After the trade, the entry into the organization, how did that work?

"There's a lot of paperwork, a lot of forms, medical history, stuff that I needed to come through, so I didn't get a phone call until a few hours later.

"We were in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I was sitting in the locker room, and they told me. They said, 'Hey, take off your stuff. We'll take the jersey and the pants. You can keep everything else. Pack up your locker, and they'll talk to you soon.'

"So then I hopped on a call with them, got an Uber back from Fayetteville to Hickory. Flew out the next morning, met [the Hops] in Spokane, Washington, and we played the series there, finished out the series. And then my first start was in Vancouver."

Q: How did your parents take the news?

"They were a little upset. I'd been in Arizona for the past year at the time, and they were happy to have me on the East Coast. They came out and watched me throw one time, and then I got traded.

"They were upset about the distance at first, but then I told them, 'Hey, this is a good thing. A lot of good things could come from this.' And they're all happy and very supportive."

Q: What do you credit for the big leap forward on the command and control issue?

Note: Hagaman underwent a Tommy John Surgery procedure prior to being drafted by the Rangers.

"Going through the TJ process and kind of taking a step back. When the game's taken away from you for a while, you kind of appreciate the little things like catch play.

"So when I was finally able to play catch, I got really, really focused on commanding the fastball in catch play and trying to hit the face and trying to hit each shoulder and then getting a feel of the different velo ranges.

"A lot of the rehab process is done in different velo ranges. So that kind of helps me get a feeling of like, 'Alright, today I'm going to have to be 75 to 78 to 80 max.' And then you kind of get a feeling of like where your body needs to be to generate more."

Q: Was it the brace or was it actually the TJ reconstruction?

"It was an internal brace put in, so no reconstruction, no graft was needed or anything like that. They just went in and wrapped a brace around it.

"I just say TJ because a lot of people don't know that there's multiple different surgeries for it. So that's the reason why."

Q: They had you down for four-seamers, cutters, curveballs, changeup, and sinker. Did you throw all five of those?

"No sinkers. ... The others are correct. The cutter is more like a gyro slider, but it's like that weird range where the system will tag it wrong sometimes. For me personally, I signal cutter, but it's more like a gyro slider."