How Brent Strom Helped Brandon Pfaadt Get Back to the Majors
Brandon Pfaadt was relaxing with family back in Kentucky during the MLB All-Star Break in July when his phone rang late one night. His initial reaction was one of surprise when he saw the caller ID indicate it was Brent Strom on the line. "It might have been 11:00 p.m. I was, like, what does he want?" Pfaadt said.
The pitcher and the coach had developed a rapport already however, and there was no doubt in Pfaadt's mind that his coach was there for him. "He's been great. He knows what he's talking about. He knows how to communicate, how to connect with his players. He's been doing it for a while, so having him by our side has been huge, especially going up and down and having that guidance going forward.I think Strom's been amazing. He's always been on my side and I'm grateful to have him....he's always there. He's always ready to talk no matter what. He's been great."
At the time of the call, Pfaadt had been sent out to Triple-A Reno to work on adjustments. He had already been called up twice and made six mostly disastrous starts, giving up 38 hits and nine homers in 26 innings, while posting a 9.82 ERA. It was not what anyone expected from the Diamondbacks Minor League Pitcher of the Year from 2022.
Known for his meticulous and tireless efforts to help his pitcher's improve, Strom had an idea late that night to help Pfaadt make adjustments and get back to the major leagues. "It was moving to the first base side of the rubber. And he had a whole diagram of every single pitch on every side of the plate." When asked how long the call was, Pfaadt responded "Probably longer than it should have been".
There was much knowing laughter from the media in attendance. Strom's work ethic and intensity about helping young pitchers is well known throughout the industry and within the press corps.
But Strom knew, and told the young rookie that there was a good chance he was going to be needed later in the season and help the team in the postseason' ""It was kind of reassuring, going home for All-Star break, being in Triple-A, he was, like, hey, we need you in big games in the postseason, later on in the season. So that's kind of what the call was about, too, and giving that reassurance. It was good."
Pfaadt did make it make it back. He was promoted again on July 22nd and from that point forward he was much more playable in the major leagues. There will still some ups and downs, but over his final 13 games he posted a 4.22 ERA across 70+ innings of work. The long ball continues to be somewhat of a problem, as he allowed 13 of them over the second half. But he also had a stellar 73 to 16 strikeout to walk ratio. His personal record was 3-6 and the team record was 5-8 during his 3rd stint in the majors.
Pfaadt had a big game against the Cubs on September 15th throwing 5.1 scoreless innings and getting the victory, helping in the push to overtake the Northsiders. Then 12 days later he threw 5.2 scoreless innings against the Southsiders, beating the White Sox. Both game were critical and exactly what Strom was looking for. Pfaadt had bought in, and it all paid off.
"I believed him and I had confidence in myself to get back up as soon as possible and help the D-Backs win big games because we knew it would come down to a few games in the end. And I think that's shown. And hopefully we can help him get one more win and get to the [NLCS]."
Pfaadt has already pitched once this post season against the Brewers in Milwaukee. While his line wasn't great, and Torey Lovullo pulled him after just 2.2 innings, he showed a lot of guts, striking out the side in the first after allowing a run and limiting the damage. He left that game with runners on second and third and two outs, but Joe Mantiply came in and shut the door, helping set up the D-backs comeback from being down 3-0 in the game.
Pfaadt said that getting that first postseason start under his belt should help him with any nerves heading into tonight's game in front of a sold out Chase Field crowd. "I think for anytime or the first time, it's a little -- almost overwhelming. But getting that under my belt and being able to know what it's like, and it's a good thing, I think something to look forward to."
Pfaadt will be facing a Dodgers lineup hungry to erase the embarrassment of losing the first two games of the series at home and facing elimination tonight.
"This is a good Dodgers lineup. I think mixing is going to be the major key, especially early on. In Milwaukee, it was mainly fastball, slider. And I think there's some adjustments that need to be made. And that's kind of been the learning point going forward is being able to not show your strengths first time through and then adjust."
Lovullo spoke about the sequencing as well. "I think what happened in Milwaukee was maybe some sequencing. There were several fastballs in a row. He didn't get into his mixture of pitches. That's what hurt him". It will be up to Pfaadt to make those adjustments and hit is location spots to keep the Dodgers at bay and keep his manager from pulling him early if he gets in trouble. Lovullo made no bones about his approach prior to the start of the post season and it hasn't changed.
"I'll read and react. I think I've been telling you guys that each time. And I've been fairly consistent with that statement....I'll read and react. If it's one time through, two times through, I don't know. I'm just going to try to make the best decision I can to help this team win a baseball game."
