The Diamondbacks' Tuesday Starter is No Longer a Secret

It's been one of the Arizona Diamondbacks' worst-kept secrets for several days.

Tuesday's starting pitcher for Arizona's game two matchup against the San Francisco Giants had been officially listed as "TBA" for several days — but it was mostly known who it was going to be, barring an unexpected turn of events.

Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who has been down with the Triple-A Reno Aces working his way back up to full starting length, is on the Diamondbacks' taxi squad, and lines up to pitch on Tuesday night against the Giants.

Without confirming it officially, manager Torey Lovullo essentially revealed his expected starter in his pregame press conference Monday night.

"I know that it's not a mystery. We have a spot that's available tomorrow. [Pfaadt is] on the taxi squad today. So yeah, if an alien comes and picks him up and takes him away, things might change. For right now, we can we can assume that he's going to be ready to fire here very, very soon for us."

Lovullo did, eventually, confirm that the D-backs would be turning back to Pfaadt following their 5-4 win over the San Francisco Giants.

Diamondbacks' Brandon Pfaadt to make first start since option

Brandon Pfaadt will start Tuesday said Torey Lovullo
— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) June 30, 2026

It's been a rough season for the Diamondbacks' righty. He did not begin his season on a positive note as a member of the starting rotation, getting knocked around for a 5.94 ERA in his first three starts.

When Merrill Kelly came back from his early stint on the IL, Arizona made the decision to send Pfaadt to the bullpen and retain Michael Soroka as a starting pitcher. That transition did not exactly go much more smoothly for Pfaadt, who posted a near-identical 5.91 ERA as a reliever, of both the short- and long-outing variety.

So the Diamondbacks instead opted to send Pfaadt to Triple-A to stretch back out as a starter. He posted a 1.80 ERA in three Reno starts, but did not complete four innings in any of them. He will likely be on a relatively strict pitch count on Tuesday as a result.

Jun 3, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"We sent him out with the idea of getting him stretched out and getting him back into the position that he's had the most success with," Lovullo said.

"And he accepted that responsibility. He was accountable. And we knew that it was a matter of time before he started to get on a little bit of a run and get the reps that he needed and find himself back here in the big leagues."

Add us as a preferred source on Google