It's Hard Not to Overreact to Ryne Nelson's Spring Debut

It's important to remember spring training results do not offer the full picture of what a player's season might be. Often, they do not even come close. But it's difficult to not be impressed with Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson's debut on Friday night.

Nelson pitched two innings, and looked as sharp as he did in the 2025 regular season where he threw to a 3.16 ERA over 23 starts.

He finished his night with two perfect innings. He did not give up a baserunner, needing just 25 pitches to set down six straight batters. He struck out three, climbed up as high as 97.3 MPH on his deadly four-seam fastball, and induced four whiffs (and one foul tip).

He mixed in his cutter, curveball and slider, as well. Three of his whiffs came on the cutter, which registered in the low 90s. If the cutter can emerge as a serious secondary pitch, Nelson's fastball may just become that much more powerful.

Arizona Diamondbacks Ryne Nelson Looked Sharp vs Mariners

Sep 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson against the Boston Red Sox at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Nelson's emergence as one of the D-backs' best arms was a major development for an organization that had struggled to produce homegrown pitching talent. His premier fastball has been a serious weapon ever since his mid-2024 breakout.

The 28-year-old right-hander is in a unique situation this spring, knowing (barring an injury or severe underperformance) that his rotation spot is safe. In fact, he may be pitching to earn the opening day start after Merrill Kelly was unfortunately knocked off schedule by his back injury.

Nelson had been on the same schedule as Kelly, and would therefore line up nearly identically to take the mound on opening day against the Los Angeles Dodgers. If Friday's outing is any indication of where the right-hander is at in his ramp-up process, he may be the most game-ready member of the rotation as it currently stands.

Obviously, spring results are not to be taken too seriously. Nelson has plenty of work ahead. But it was quite encouraging to see results of this nature, alongside the velocity and command looking as sharp as ever.

Nelson isn't taking anything for granted, however.

"I feel the exact same coming into camp this year as I did last year," Nelson told MLB's Steve Gilbert. "I think the second you get comfortable, and you think that things are going to be easy or whatnot, you start to let what got you here slip."