Ryne Nelson to Make First Cactus League Start vs Guardians

The Arizona Diamondbacks will travel to Goodyear to take on the Cleveland Guardians for the first of their two split-squad contests on Thursday. The other half of the team will face the Seattle Mariners at Salt River Fields.

It's also the first night game of the Cactus League for Arizona, as the game will commence at 6:05 p.m. Arizona time, 35 minutes prior to the game against Seattle in Scottsdale.

Though this won't be the first appearance of Spring Training for right-hander Ryne Nelson, it will be his first official start of the Cactus League, as he previously entered in relief and tossed two scoreless innings with one strikeout.

Nelson is in the midst of a battle for the final rotation spot, and is looking to build off a 2024 that saw him take a massive step towards becoming a high-end contributor to the D-backs' pitching staff.

The key for Nelson Thursday night will be keeping both his velocity and command consistent, as both fluctuated into some base traffic for him his last time out, but it is still somewhat early in Spring.

Also expected to pitch for the Diamondbacks include RHP Cristian Mena and RHP Christian Montes De Oca, with a slew of minor league arms behind them.

For the Guardians, it'll be major league starter Tanner Bibee on the mound. Bibee put forward a very solid 2024 campaign, pitching to a peripheral-backed 3.47 ERA over 173.1 innings.

He has a deep arsenal, with a 95 MPH fastball, mid-80s cutter and somewhat slow 82 MPH changeup. He also throws occasional sliders and curveballs from a relatively high arm angle.

Lineups

The Diamondbacks will run with a Vukovich-McCarthy-Pache outfield. McCarthy is the only expected starter to get a nod in the outfield. Vukovich had an impressive homer in the last start he was given, filling in for a minorly-injured Randal Grichuk.

Adrian Del Castillo will continue to get defensive reps at catcher as he works on improving his defense.

Utility infield candidates Grae Kessinger and Ildemaro Vargas will man second and third base, with the hot Vargas currently slashing .333/.400/.778 with two homers, two doubles and five RBI over 23 plate appearances.

The Guardians will send out a starter-heavy lineup, with a dangerous top of the order in Steven Kwan, José Ramirez and Carlos Santana. D-backs' first baseman Josh Naylor's brother, Bo, will catch for Cleveland.

The Guardians' lineup features four switch-hitters and four left-hand bats, which could present a tough challenge for Nelson and other D-backs' right-handers.