Will 2024 Be Conor Grammes Breakout Season?

The flamethrowing right-hander has electric stuff but has struggled to throw strikes in his career.

Conor Grammes has been one of the arms that's flashed in camp this season. He's logged a scoreless inning in both of his appearances, with the only baserunner coming on his own missed catch error against the Brewers. While he's not competing for a major league roster spot this spring, he's improved his chances of being a late-season call-up for the bullpen.

"Real good stuff," said manager Torey Lovullo. "Good depth [on] breaking ball, a lot of swing-and-miss with it. Plus-plus fastball. He looks to be in a very good spot. I know he's coming back from an injury, so I'm anxious to see what he can continue to do."

The two key pitches for Grammes are a sinker that clocks in from 96-99 MPH with a wipeout slider in the 86-88 MPH range. In his appearance against the Brewers, the slider stood out as four of the five he threw resulted in a called or swinging strike. It's the type of stuff you typically see out of the back end of the bullpen. 

Grammes was selected by the D-backs in the fifth round of the 2019 Draft out of Xavier University. Originally a two-way player in college, his focus shifted purely to the mound once signed by the D-backs. He got off to a decent start in his summer debut, striking out 20 in 15 1/3 innings with Short Season A Hillsboro in 2019. After missing all of 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season, Grammes made seven starts for Hillsboro, now the organization High-A affiliate, before tearing the UCL in his right elbow and needing Tommy John surgery.

After surgery, the D-backs converted him to a full-time reliever. Returning to the mound with Hillsboro in July 2022, Grammes showed impressive stuff but also control issues. Even though he struck out 33 batters and held opposing hitters to a .209 average, he also walked 13 hitters. Finally healthy again, 2023 was a continuation of that trend, as Grammes struck out 82 batters between High-A Hillsboro and Double-A Amarillo but also walked 45 in 59 innings. 

Any sort of improvement in his strike-throwing ability would be huge for the D-backs, who could use more swing-and-miss in their bullpen. Grammes will likely spend most of 2024 with Triple-A Reno, even if he starts the year in Amarillo. There he will not only face the challenge of the altitude and dry air in most ballparks in the Pacific Coast League, but also the automated strike zone and challenge system at that level.