Diamondbacks' Mitch Bratt is Struggling in the Majors So Far

The transition to the major leagues has been a bit ofg a bumpy ride for one of the Arizona Diamondbacks' young pitching prospects, at least, so far.

On Saturday, left-hander Mitch Bratt made his fourth start in the majors for the Diamondbacks. He tossed his season-high of five innings, but was roughed up for five earned runs — also a season high — by the Washington Nationals and their potent offense.

He allowed 12 baserunners and needed 92 pitches to complete the fifth inning. The Diamondbacks would go on to lose, 5-3. Granted, the Nationals are known to hammer left-handed pitching, but it wasn't exactly the base hits themselves that were the primary concern with Bratt's rough start.

Diamondbacks' Mitch Bratt struggling with command

Jul 12, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Mitch Bratt (60) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Beyond the seven base hits, however, Bratt's most concerning issue on Saturday was his command. The left-hander does not throw hard, and has made built an impressive body of work in the minor leagues by way of fine-tuned command and finesse.

But he landed just 55 of his 92 pitches for strikes, and walked five batters during Saturday's game. He seemed to lose a feel for his stuff as the outing progressed. Manager Torey Lovullo said something might have been a bit off with his mechanics.

"We talked about being able to make some adjustments, and it looked like, mechanically, something was a little bit off," Lovullo said, speaking to D-backs.TV's Todd Walsh postgame. "He had trouble making that overall adjustment to get the ball where he needed to."

So far, Bratt's plus-command calling-card has simply not been on display at the major league level. He's thrown just under 62% of his pitches for strikes, and has issued 11 walks against 10 strikeouts in his first 15.2 innings. He's surrendered 32 baserunners in total for a WHIP just under 2.00.

This is not to overreact to a small sample size of a 23-year-old rookie still finding his footing in the majors. He's been forced into the rotation out of necessity — alongside fellow rookies Kohl Drake and Jose Cabrera — following the various rotational injuries to Zac Gallen, Ryne Nelson, Michael Soroka and Corbin Burnes.

He's still ranked No. 9 among all D-backs prospects and No. 4 among organizational pitching prospects. And there's no denying his Triple-A numbers. He has a 2.41 ERA and 3.63 expected ERA in Reno, which goes well beyond above-average and into the realm of borderline unbelievable, given the extreme offensive environment of both Reno and the Pacific Coast League.

To expect dominant starts out of a young prospect like Bratt on a consistent basis is not a realistic ask. But his 6.32 ERA in the majors has about matched the eye test of what he's been able to do against major league hitting.

It's quite possible a minor mechanical fix could be all Bratt needs to hit his rhythm at this level. He may just need more reps. But for now, the Diamondbacks have not quite seen him translate his well-known strengths into tangible success. When rotational reinforcements arrive, a bit more time in Triple-A might allow Bratt to come back stronger than ever.

Add us as a preferred source on Google