Arizona
Previewing the Arizona Diamondbacks Rotation
Spring training has come to a close, and while fans prepare for opening day, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ front office is still in the midst of some chalenging roster decisions.
In previous installments of our depth previews, we have already tackled the infield, outfield, and catcher groups, all of which will be linked at the bottom of the story. Next in line is the D-backs’ myriad of starting pitching which may just be the best in baseball.
Corbin Burnes – RHP
After inking a $210 million contract this winter it shouldn’t be a shock that Burnes is viewed as the clubs new ace starter. The right-hander is not only a former Cy Young winner, back in 2021, but has made four consecutive All-Star games, and has garnered Cy Young votes in each of the last five seasons.
There are few pitchers worth handing out such a large contract to, but he certainly fits the bill, even giving out a minor hometown discount. He has finished with an ERA below three in five of his seven major league campaigns, including 2024, and has only posted an ERA+ below 127 once.
Likely a top five starter in all of baseball entering 2025, he will headline the Diamondbacks’ rotation this season, and for years to come. Burnes will be making the fifth start of the season for the Diamondbacks due to needing to stay on regular rest.
Related Content: Corbin Burnes Tells All in Q&A on Rotation Order Situation
Zac Gallen – RHP
The Diamondbacks’ ace for years, Gallen is entering his final season before free agency. In a sentimental decision, Torey Lovullo tabbed Gallen to be the opening day starter. The right-hander is coming off a somewhat injury riddled 2024 season where he battled hamstring issues that relegated him to 148 innings pitched.
Still, he is only a season sepearated from a strong 2023 campaign where he started for the National League in the All-Star game. He has received Cy Young votes in three of the last five seasons and even received down-ballot MVP votes in 2023.
While he has been the D-backs’ most dominant arm during his tenure, he has also experienced his share of struggles. 2024 saw Gallen have issues with fastball command, something which had been a strength for him as a pitcher throughout his career. He will need to see a rebound in command in 2025 if he hopes to return to his Cy Young caliber form.
Merrill Kelly – RHP
Kelly missed substantial time in 2024 due to a right-shoulder strain. While his numbers last year look pedestrian, with a 104 ERA+ in a 73.2 inning sample, he is coming off incredible seasons in 2022 and 2023.
The righty pitched to a 4.70 ERA in 15.1 innings this spring but saw a return to form in his strikeouts with 9.4 K/9. Now guaranteed extra protection in the rotation and hopeful for a healthy season, Kelly will need a big rebound in his contract year.
Eduardo Rodriguez – LHP
The lone lefty in the Diamondbacks’ rotation, Rodriguez is in a similar boat to Kelly and Gallen. His 2024 season was stunted by a left shoulder strain, leaving him only available to pitch in 50 innings during his inaugural D-backs season.
Still, he is only one season removed from being one of the most dominant southpaws in the American League. Rodriguez posted a 3.30 ERA across 152.2 innings with Detroit in 2023, totaling a 131 ERA+.
Concern does lie in the fact that the lefty has now gone three consecutive seasons averaging less than one strikeout per inning spanning a seasons length. This is something that he seems to have rebounded on to some extent, with 10.8 K/9 across 10 spring training innings, but it will still be an important issue to monitor.
Brandon Pfaadt – RHP
The lone young starter in the rotation is Brandon Pfaadt. In 2024 he was easily the most durable Diamondbacks pitcher, posting more innings than any other starter with 181.2.
He also happened to be one of the most unlucky pitchers in all of baseball, with a 3.61 FIP compared to his inflated 4.71 ERA, a pattern that was similarily shared in his 2023 rookie season. While his surface numbers might not do him justice, he did see improvement in other aspects of his game.
The righty managed to limit walks to an incredible extent, allowing only 2.1 BB/9, an improvement from his 2.4 the year prior. He did so while also raising his strikeout rate over the much larger sample, now averaging 9.2 K/9 in 2024.
Pfaadt will need to limit location mistakes on his trademark sweeper. Batters hit just .215 against the pitch, and the WHIFF rates was 36%. But he tended to leave it in the middle of the zone at times, resulting in 13 of the 24 homers he allowed coming off the Sweeper.
Other rotation arms that will work as current MLB depth are Ryne Nelson and Jordan Montgomery.
Nelson was arguably Arizona’s best starter in 2024’s second half, but left something to be desired this spring, and lost out on a rotation spot due to the incredible roster crunch. According to Diamondbacks ON SI’s Jack Sommers, he will likely work out of the bullpen to start the year.
Montgomery was the D-backs’ prize acquisition entering 2024, but struggled massively throughout the entire season. Things havent gotten better this spring, with a 15.00 ERA in 3 innings thrown. While this is skewed by a particularily bad first outing, he was left out of the rotation for a reason.
There are still plenty of trade rumors regarding Montgomery, and these could very well still come to fruition. Arizona has a strong incentive to seek these out because of the lefty’s crippling $22.5 million salary.
Other names currently on the Diamondbacks’ 40 man roster who could see MLB time in case of injuries include Yilber Diaz, Tommy Henry, and Cristian Mena. All three are in the Triple-A Reno rotation and have MLB experience. Joe Elbis. is also on the 40-man, but will pitch in Double-A Amarillo to start the year, and is likely more than a year away from his MLB Debut.
Diaz, a top pitching prospect in Arizona’s system made his debut last season and looked promising. While 2025 might not open the door for him quite yet, 2026 and beyond could give him the room to burst into the club’s rotation.
Yu-Min Lin and Dylan Ray are two very promising young arms in the D-backs’ farm system. Both are likely at least a year away as well and will start the year in Double-A Amarillo with the Sod Poodles.
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.
The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.
However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.
That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.
“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.
How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?
Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.
“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.
WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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