Brandon Pfaadt's Quest for 5th Starter Spot Continues Tonight

The Diamondbacks will play a Cactus League night game in Goodyear against the Cincinnati Reds. Game time is 6:05 P.M. MST. Brandon Pfaadt is making his third start of spring in pursuit of the 5th starter spot in the Diamondbacks rotation.

Pfaadt is in competition with Drey Jameson, Ryne Nelson and Tommy Henry. Having already pitched five scoreless innings and striking out six while allowing just four baserunners, another strong outing could potentially complicate the decision. The two favorites to win the slot, Jameson and Nelson pitched extremely well when first called up last year and came into camp with an edge in the competition. Nelson struggled with command in his first two starts, but was better in his third. Jameson was very good in his first two starts but struggled in his third. While Pfaadt probably needs to continue to dominate while both of the other two falter, as a top 100 prospect the Diamondbacks have every incentive to promote him opening day if he's proven worthy.

Also if note is that Pdaadt will be throwing to a different catcher for the first time this spring. Most of his bullpens and both his previous starts were caught by Carson Kelly. But Jose Herrera is behind the dish for this one. Kelly sang Pfaadts praises after his last outing, and is impressed with his four pitch mix.

Left hander Nick Lodolo gets the ball for the Reds. He had a good rookie season last year, posting a 3.66 ERA in 19 starts, 103 innings. Strangely Lodolo lead MLB with 19 hit batters despite walking just 39. Left hand batters could not touch him last year, hitting just .109 and striking out 21 times in 53 PA. Facing such a tough lefty will be a good test for Jake McCarthy, Dominic Canzone and Seth Beer.

Lineups

Corbin Carroll was originally in tonight's lineup, but was removed due to "Manager's Decision". No injury has been reported as of this update.

Other than the aforementioned left handed hitters, D-backs fans in attendance will get to see Lourdes Gurriel Jr's hot right hand bat. He is 6-18 so far this spring with a two doubles, a homer, and a slew of high exit velocities. Gurriel is a proven hitter, but saw his power numbers dip last year due to a hamate bone injury. But he's looked great in spring and optimism is high he will provide the balance to the lineup that was missing sometimes last year

As this is a split squad game for the Reds, Pfaadt will not be facing a full strength lineup. There is no stream available but you can listen to the Red's broadcast on MLB Audio.

Roster Moves

The Diamondbacks made 7 roster moves today and now have 55 players in camp.

Optioned to Triple-A Reno:

INF Blaze Alexander

OF Jorge Barrosa

Alexander went 4-17, .238 in spring with two doubles. He didn't take a walk and struck out five times. His in zone swing and miss rate on pitches in the zone last year of 29.7% was the 4th highest in the minor league system. He'll need to close up those holes to take the next step. His defense looked good however and there is no doubt about his arm.

Barrosa injured his right hamstring early in camp and is out another four weeks.

Reassigned to Minor League camp:

RHP Austin Adams

RHP Austin Brice

C Juan Centeno

LHP Sam Clay

RHP Michel Otañez

All of the above players were non roster invitees who probably never had a realistic chance of making the roster. But some may show up during the season as depth options.