Struggling Diamondbacks Prospect Gets Start vs Giants

The Arizona Diamondbacks will take on their NL West Rival San Francisco Giants at Salt River Fields on Saturday afternoon, with a 1:10 p.m. scheduled first pitch.

Taking the mound for the D-backs will be left-handed prospect Kohl Drake, who has had a bit of a difficult start to Cactus League play.

Arizona Diamondbacks Take On San Francisco Giants

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields on Feb. 16, 2026 in Scottsdale — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields on Feb. 16, 2026, in Scottsdale. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Drake, who came over from the Texas Rangers' system in exchange for right-handed veteran Merrill Kelly at the 2025 deadline, ended the year as Arizona's top pitching prospect.

Drake has since sunk to No. 12 in the D-backs' system and the No. 5 pitching prospect in the organization.

Drake has given up four runs in 3.2 innings over his first two starts. He's had a difficult time landing his pitches for strikes, walking four and allowing three base hits in that span. It is, however, still quite early, and he'll have an opportunity to tune up his command against the Giants on Saturday.

Drake isn't the only intriguing pitcher expected to throw in Saturday's game, however.

Left-hander Brandyn Garcia — who left his debut outing with an illness — had an excellent bounce-back performance in his most recent appearance. Garcia is expected to pitch in this game.

In addition to Garcia will be left-hander Philip Abner, right-handers Isaiah Campbell, Kade Strowd, and two potential back-end options in Jonathan Loaisiga and Paul Sewald.

Sewald, who is back on a one-year deal after seeing a decline in his final season with Arizona, has given up runs in both of his outings thus far in the Cactus League. With that said, his velocity has climbed all the way up to the 92-93 MPH range — well up from the 90.4 he averaged in an injury-riddled 2025 season.

"It gives me a ton of confidence," Sewald told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. "One, that the work I put in this offseason, you see results. It's really tough to continually put in the work if you're not seeing results. That's the same for people on a diet, people trying to do anything. You want to see the results of the hard work you're doing.

"I'm never going to be a hard thrower, but 92 versus 90 is a gigantic difference. I had been one of the best pitchers in baseball when I averaged 92."

As of this writing, the D-backs have not released their expected lineup for this game.