Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly to Face Royals in Cactus League Action

The veteran right-hander is making his third start of spring as the team enters the home stretch of spring training games in preparation for opening day

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly signs autographs during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick on Feb. 12, 2025, in Scottsdale. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Arizona Diamondbacks are back at Salt River Fields Tuesday afternoon to take on the Kansas City Royals. First pitch is 1:10 p.m. There is D-backs webcast audio of the game available through the Dbacks.com site.

Note: this article has been updated to reflect Jordan Lawlar replacing Garrett Hampson in the lineup

The Diamondbacks are 6-6 in official Cactus League contests. They've scored the third most runs among the teams in Arizona with 108 and allowed the fifth most at 100 even. That number is skewed by some early spring contests in which the innings were primarily given to minor league relievers who will not be on the team's Opening Day roster.

Lineups

Royals at D-backs Lineups March 11 | Jack Sommers

Merrill Kelly is making his third Cactus League start. He's face 19 batters so far, recording 13 outs and giving up five hits and three walks. Expect him to be shooting for at least four "up-downs" in this outing and to get his pitch count up to 60.

In his first outing he pitched with elevated velocity, hitting 94-95 MPH. In his second outing the velocity was lower, and he was working on his slider. It's a pitch that he's used with increasing frequency over the last couple of years and pitching coach Brian Kaplan would like to see more of to help set up the sinker.

Brandon Pfaadt is listed among the relievers for this game, which is interesting. He was only able to get in two up-downs in his previous outing. With the slate of split squad games plus a rainout behind them, manager Torey Lovullo is challenged to get enough innings now for all his seven rotation candidates.

Kevin Ginkel, Joe Mantiply, and Justin Martinez are also among the pitchers listed to appear in the game. A.J. Puk and Kendall Graveman are throwng live batting practice sessions on backfields.

Related Content: Diamondbacks Merrill Kelly Learning to Trust the Slider

Lefty Cole Ragans starts for the Royals. He has appeared in three games and thrown 7.1 innings so far this spring. He has an 8.59 ERA but has 12 strikeouts. Ragans was a workhorse for Kansas City last year, going 11-9 with a 3.14 ERA while making 32 starts and throwing 186 innings.

Randal Grichuk is in right field against the lefty, while Corbin Carroll gets the day off after playing in Glendale against the Dodgers on Monday. Adrian Del Castillo is behind the plate, and Jordan Lawlar will DH, replacing the initially-starting Garrett Hampson, per the Diamondbacks.

The rest of the lineup is all the regular starters. The key reserves for this game include Ildemaro Vargas, Trey Mancini, and Jorge Barrosa.

Opening day is just 16 days away on March 27 when they open against the Chicago Cubs. The Diamondbacks have yet to announce any decisions on a host of questions such as who will be the fifth starter and closer, and who will win the backup infielder and backup catcher roster spots.

Stay tuned to Arizona Diamondbacks ON SI as we continue our in-depth coverage of the team.