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Diamondbacks Release Kolten Wong

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The D-backs have released veteran infielder Kolten Wong, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Wong had been playing with their Triple-A affiliate in Reno after signing a minor league contract. He’s now a free agent.

A two-time Gold Glove winner at second base, the now-33-year-old Wong entered the 2024 campaign in hopes of rebounding from a disastrous 2023 season that saw him bat just .183/.256/.263 in 250 plate appearances between the Mariners and Dodgers. Wong signed a minor league deal with Baltimore and spent spring training with the Orioles but opted out of that pact when he didn’t make the team. He subsequently signed with the D-backs, putting pen to paper on a second minor league deal back on April 10.

Through 31 games, Wong has turned in a .271/.339/.383 batting line that looks respectable enough relative to MLB batting lines but is about 18% worse than average (by measure of wRC+) in the supercharged offensive environment of Triple-A’s Pacific Coast League. He’s homered twice, swiped a pair of bags and collected six doubles. Wong has also shown modest improvements in his strikeout and walk rates, which sat at 21.2% and 7.2% in the big leagues last year but are at 18.2% and 8.3% in Reno.

Miserable as Wong’s 2023 season was, the veteran infielder is still just one season removed from a .251/.339/.430 performance with the 2022 Brewers — a season that saw him swipe 17 bases and club a career-best 15 home runs with a strong 9.3% walk rate and considerably lower-than-average 17.7% strikeout rate. From 2017-22, Wong was an above-average regular at second base between St. Louis and Milwaukee, hitting a combined .269/.349/.414 with 54 homers, 72 steals, a roughly average walk rate, strong bat-to-ball skills and plus defense.

The D-backs haven’t needed any help at second base with Ketel Marte logging a .275/.322/.493 slash in his first 233 trips to the plate this season, and there are other second base options on the 40-man roster ahead of Wong on the depth chart as well. But there are plenty of teams around the game — Red Sox, White Sox and Angels, to name a few — that have struggled to get much of anything out of their second basemen this season. Wong could make sense as a depth option with any of those clubs or even an immediate big league replacement in some spots, if a team wants to send a struggling young player back to Triple-A for some more seasoning.

Diamondbacks Designate Matt Bowman For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced this afternoon that right-hander Matt Bowman has been designated for assignment. Left-hander Blake Walston was recalled to the big league roster to replace Bowman on the club’s active roster.

Bowman, who will celebrate his 33rd birthday on Friday, joined the Diamondbacks earlier this month when he was acquired in cash deal with the Twins. At the time of the deal, Bowman had been squeezed off of Minnesota’s 40-man roster despite a solid showing in five appearances, where he posted a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings of work. Unfortunately, the wheels have come off for Bowman across his four appearances with Arizona, as he’s been shelled for six runs on eight hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings of work that have ballooned his ERA to 5.02 on the year.

A 13th-round pick by the Mets in the 2012 draft, Bowman had considerable success with the Cardinals in the first two seasons of his big league career from 2016 to ’17. In a combined 126 1/3 innings of work, Bowman posted a solid 3.70 ERA (112 ERA+) with a stronger 3.47 FIP. That seemingly portended a successful career near the back of big league bullpens, but things didn’t work out that way as Bowman struggled to well below average results with St. Louis the following season, prompting the club to part ways with him.

He pitched for the Reds in 2019 to an impressive 129 ERA+ in 32 innings of work but a series of elbow injuries, including one that required Tommy John surgery, wiped out Bowman’s 2020-22 campaigns. The veteran resurfaced with the Yankees last year but was torched for a 9.00 ERA and 6.51 FIP in four innings of work before returning to the minor leagues. Arizona will now have one week to trade Bowman or attempt to pass him through waivers. The right-hander has been outrighted previously during his big league career and as a result can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency should he so choose.

Replacing Bowman on the club’s 40-man roster is Walston, who is slated to take the ball for today’s start against the Marlins. It’ll be the first big league start and just the second MLB appearance of Walston’s young career. Arizona’s first-round pick in the 2019 draft, the 23-year-old climbed his way through up the minor league ladder to make his big league debut earlier this year, when he struck out five in 3 2/3 innings of work against the Dodgers while allowing two runs on three hits and four walks. That admirable effort against one of the league’s most intimidating offenses has earned Walston another opportunity in the majors thanks in part to the injuries facing the Dbacks rotation. Marquee offseason signing Eduardo Rodriguez has yet to throw a pitch for the club this year due to a strained lat and he’s been joined on the 60-day injured list by veteran righty Merrill Kelly, who is battling a shoulder strain.

MLBTR Podcast: The Likelihood Of A Juan Soto Extension, What’s In Store For Pete Alonso, And Corbin Carroll’s Struggles

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What do you think about a trade between the Tigers, who are desperate for hitting, and the Orioles, whose bullpen hasn’t been great? Detroit has a surplus of good relief pitchers, could they be trade partners? (21:05)
  • If Mason Miller were to be traded from the Athletics to another American League team and go on to win A.L. Rookie of the Year, would that team get an incentive draft pick? (26:30)
  • Say Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto finish at the top of Rookie of the Year voting in the National League, will the Cubs and Dodgers get the draft compensation for having them in the majors the whole season? Considering they both signed MLB contracts, that seems antithetical to the new draft compensation for well performing rookies rule. (28:05)
  • Corbin Carroll? That’s pretty much the question: Corbin Carroll? Is there hope this season? How long can the Diamondbacks keep running him out there with no improvement in sight? I love the guy, I have as a keeper, and he was a big part of my plans for this season. Needless to say, it’s not going so well. (31:00)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

D-backs, Matt Beaty Agree To Minor League Deal

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The D-backs have agreed to a minor league contract with first baseman/outfielder Matt Beaty, as noted on the transaction log at MiLB.com. Beaty is now listed on the roster for Arizona’s Double-A affiliate in Amarillo.

Beaty, 31, is making his rounds through the National League West, having been drafted/developed by the Dodgers, who then traded him to the Padres in 2022. He also got into four games with the Giants last season, so the Snakes will be his fourth NL West club if he reaches the MLB level at any point.

In 675 big league plate appearances dating back to 2019, Beaty is a .247/.323/.394 hitter with 18 homers, a 16.7% strikeout rate and a 7% walk rate rate. Most of the former 12th-round pick’s production came during a 2021 showing with the Dodgers that saw him post a hearty .270/.363/.402 line in 234 trips to the plate. Beaty has struggled mightily since that time, hitting just .173/.277/.240 in a small sample of 119 plate appearances between the Padres, Giants and Royals.

In addition to last year’s sparse big league work, Beaty spent 44 games in Triple-A between Omaha (Royals) and Sacramento (Giants), slashing a combined .279/.395/.455. That level of production is par for the course for Beaty in the upper minors. He’s played in parts of five Triple-A seasons and sports a .287/.386/.421 line overall, thanks largely to excellent contact skills (15% strikeout rate) and a keen eye at the plate (9.2% walk rate).

The Diamondbacks have been one of baseball’s least-productive teams against right-handed pitching, which the left-handed-hitting Beaty handles far better than he does fellow southpaws. D-backs hitters have logged a combined .224/.308/.357 against righties, sitting 25th in the majors by measure of wRC+ (92).

Joc Pederson has absolutely feasted on right-handed pitching, while Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno have provided strong on-base marks against right-handers. However, the D-backs have received poor production against righties from veteran Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and even more surprisingly from lefty-swinging Corbin Carroll, whose overall output at the plate this season has been shockingly anemic. Lefty bench bat Pavin Smith has struggled as well and (barring a turnaround) would seemingly be the most at risk if Beaty shows well in the minors. Any such decision is likely a ways off, however. Beaty hasn’t played yet this season — his Instagram reveals he and his wife welcomed a child midway through the offseason while he was a minor league free agent — and he will presumably need some time to ramp up before he’d even be considered a big league option.

Zack Greinke Working Out, Unsure About Continuing Playing Career

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After 20 Major League seasons, Zack Grienke might not yet be ready to hang up his cleats, as the veteran right-hander has been working out at the Diamondbacks’ extended Spring Training camp.  As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic writes, this isn’t any indication of a contract between Greinke and the D’Backs, as the two sides are “not believed to have had discussions about a reunion.”  Instead, the D’Backs have simply let Greinke work out at their facilities as a courtesy while he figures out the next step in his career.

That is, if there is a next step at all, since Greinke was non-committal about what these workouts exactly represent.  “I don’t know if this will be my last time throwing or if I’ll throw the rest of the year and next year,” Greinke said.  “I don’t really know at the moment….I’m just throwing, seeing how it works out and going from there.”

Greinke’s most recent two-season run in Kansas City had something of the feel of a coda on his excellent career, as Greinke returned to the franchise that drafted him sixth overall in 2002.  Greinke’s first seven MLB seasons were spent in a Royals uniform, and highlighted with a tremendous 2009 season that saw him win the AL Cy Young Award.  In between those two stints with the Royals, Greinke pitched for five other teams, and his 714 2/3 innings with the Diamondbacks from 2016-19 mark the most he has thrown for any organization outside of Kansas City.

His form from 2020-22 represented a step down from his front-of-the-rotation peak, but it wasn’t until last season at age 39 that Greinke finally had a sharp drop in performance.  The righty posted a 5.06 ERA over 142 1/3 innings, and apart from a still-elite 3.9% walk rate, it seemed as though Greinke’s recent recipe of low velocity and low strikeout totals caught up to him.

According to reports during the offseason, Greinke finished the 2023 campaign considering retirement, but as of December was preparing to pitch again.  However, Greinke told Piecoro that he had only started properly throwing two weeks ago and at the behest of his two sons, and indicated that it had been a while since he had done any winter prep work.  “My arm feels decent at the moment.  I was trying to get as good as I could at golfing the past two months, and I was like, ’Why am I trying to be a pro golfer when I’m already kind of a pro baseball player?’  So I figured I’d throw a little and see how it goes,” Greinke said.

Since the Greinke family once again lives in Arizona, the right-hander reconnected with the Diamondbacks when his sons (who are “nonstop right now” in their interest in baseball) had interest in taking part in baseball activities on a genuine Spring Training field.  This has now snowballed into Greinke’s workouts, and a recent live batting practice session against four D’Backs players on injury rehab.  Greinke faced each of Geraldo Perdomo, Alek Thomas, Jordan Lawlar and Jorge Barrosa twice during the eight at-bat session, leaving the opponents impressed.

“I told one of the guys I think he could still pitch in the majors….For his change-up to look like that in his first live BP, just imagine when he gets into a rhythm and is ready,” Perdomo said.

It seems like there’s still a ways to go before Greinke is fully set on pursuing a return, let alone signing a contract and getting properly ramped up to the point that he can again pitch in a Major League game.  “Because it’s still early” in the process, Greinke said he hasn’t talked to his agent about exploring deals with teams.  On paper, the Diamondbacks would seem a logical candidate based on familiarity and comfort alone, plus Greinke would add a lot of veteran experience to a rotation that has lost Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly to the 60-day IL.  Another return to Kansas City shouldn’t be ruled out, even through starting pitching has been a strength for the Royals in their sudden surge into contention.

NL West Notes: Rodriguez, Thomas, Musgrove, Montgomery

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The Diamondbacks sent both left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez and outfielder Alek Thomas for MRI exams last week, and Torey Lovullo told reporters (per MLB.com’s Injury Tracker) that the results of Rodriguez’s MRI were “very positive,” but that there was no update on Thomas’s status as the club plans to seek second and third opinions on the youngster’s results.

It’s excellent news for the Diamondbacks that Rodriguez is making his way toward a return, with Lovullo indicating that he’s set to begin a throwing program. Rodriguez will be sidelined through at least May 24 due to his placement on the 60-day injured list but it’s at least feasible he could return to game action not long after that if he manages to avoid further setbacks. Rodriguez’s lat injury woes have prevented him from making his Dbacks debut to this point in the 2024 campaign, but he’s coming off an excellent season with the Tigers last year that saw him post a 3.30 ERA and 3.66 FIP in 152 2/3 innings of work and should provide a major boost to an Arizona rotation that’s currently relying on Ryne Nelson and Slade Cecconi in the absence of Rodriguez and veteran righty Merrill Kelly.

As for Thomas, the lack of update from the Diamondbacks is a somewhat ominous sign regarding his hamstring. The 24-year-old was initially scheduled to be activated from the IL last week but ended up exiting a rehab outing with Triple-A due to an issue with his injured hamstring on May 5 that ultimately did not improve after a day off, prompting Arizona to delay his return and send him for testing. Once a consensus top-30 prospect in the sport, Thomas has struggled at the big league level with a .230/.273/.362 slash line in 242 career games but nonetheless figured to be the club’s starting center fielder this season. Corbin Carroll has handled center field in Thomas’s absence with Jake McCarthy stepping from the bench into Thomas’s spot in the lineup while manning right field.

More from the NL West…

  • Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove is making good progress in his return from right elbow inflammation, according to manager Mike Shildt (per MLB.com’s Injury Tracker). The 31-year-old’s initial worrisome diagnosis was described as “precautionary” when he was initially placed on the shelf last week, and it appears that description was an apt one as Musgrove has reportedly already begun light baseball activities, including playing catch. MLB.com writes that the right-hander is optimistic that he’ll be able to return “shortly after” the minimum 15-day stint on the IL, which would likely result in him returning to action sometime next week. San Diego is surely hoping that Musgrove will look more like the ace hurler who posted a 3.05 ERA in 459 2/3 innings in a Padres uniform entering the 2024 campaign than he has to this point in the season, as he struggled badly with a 6.37 ERA and 5.96 FIP in eight starts prior to his placement on the shelf.
  • The Rockies may have lost outfield prospect Benny Montgomery for the season on Friday, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding relays that the 21-year-old underwent shoulder surgery that Rockies director of player development Chris Forbes said will keep him out until at least “toward the end of the year” if he’s able to return this season at all. The club’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft, Montgomery turned heads during the Arizona Fall League last year with a .333/.436/.500 slash line in 19 games and was hitting a solid .283/.313/.500 in his first taste of Double-A action before being sidelined by the shoulder injury.

Sean Burroughs Passes Away

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Former big league infielder Sean Burroughs passed away this week at just 43 years of age, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Tragically, the former Little League World Series hero and No. 9 overall draft pick collapsed while coaching his son’s little league game.

The son of former No. 1 overall draft pick, two-time All-Star, and 1974 American League MVP Jeff Burroughs, Sean clearly had baseball in his DNA. He starred on the mound and at the plate while leading his Long Beach team to consecutive Little League World Series wins and eventually went on to be selected by the Padres with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 draft. Baseball America ranked him among the sport’s top-100 prospects in each of the next four years, including top-10 rankings each year from 2000-02. Burroughs represented the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and won a Gold Medal.

Burroughs made his big league debut as the Padres’ third baseman on April 2, 2002 — collecting two hits in his first taste of MLB action. He struggled through the season’s first two months but returned from a Triple-A assignment to hit .377/.433/.410 in 67 September plate appearances. Burroughs was the Padres’ regular third baseman in 2003-04, hitting a combined .292/.350/.384 in 1142 trips to the plate. He struggled at the plate again in 2005 and was traded to the Devil Rays in a 2005-06 offseason deal that sent right-hander Dewon Brazelton back to the Friars.

Burroughs appeared in only eight games for the Rays plus another 37 with their Triple-A affiliate in Durham. He was out of baseball entirely for several years after that and had since candidly spoken about a subsequent spiral of drug addiction and alcoholism. In a heart-wrenching interview with ESPN’s Jim Caple in 2011, Burroughs described the harrowing experience of spending years living in cheap Las Vegas motels, eating out of trash cans and abusing virtually any substance he could find. “I would just try to fill myself with as much substances as I could, legally or illegally,” he acknowledged.

Despite that low point — which Burroughs likened to the Nicolas Cage film Leaving Las Vegas — Burroughs’ baseball career had a second act. He cleaned his life up, got a second chance from late D-backs GM Kevin Towers (who’d drafted Burroughs with the Padres), and played in 78 games with the 2011 Diamondbacks. Burroughs inked a minor league deal with the Twins that offseason and wound up appearing in ten games with Minnesota as well. Those would prove to be the final games of his MLB career, but he spent the 2014-17 seasons playing between several teams in the independent Atlantic League, as well as in Venezuelan Winter ball and in the Mexican League.

Burroughs’ big league career lasted all of 528 games and saw him bat .278/.335/.355. Despite that modest performance, he’ll be remembered as a remarkable talent — one who was thrust into a national spotlight at an early age and racked up more accolades than most players accrue in a lifetime before he even set foot on a major league field. His tragic passing will bring about immeasurable “what ifs,” but Burroughs also stands as a beacon of perseverance. Overcoming his yearslong battle with addiction to return to the major leagues and spend more than a half decade in pro ball is inspirational in and of itself — the type of story that transcends baseball and has the power to impact a far broader audience.

We at MLBTR offer our condolence to the Burroughs family and to his friends, former teammates and coaches, and countless fans around the world.

Diamondbacks Notes: Sewald, Thomas, Nelson, E-Rod, Perdomo

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Paul Sewald and Alek Thomas could both return from the injured list on Tuesday, when the Diamondbacks start a six-game road trip by facing the Reds.  Sewald has yet to pitch this season due to a Grade 2 oblique strain suffered near the end of Spring Training, while Thomas got four games under his belt before being sidelined by a hamstring strain.

Sewald seems to be the closer of the two to being activated, as he already joined the D’Backs in the clubhouse today prior to their departure for Cincinnati.  The closer started a Triple-A rehab assignment with two-thirds of an inning on April 23, but then his rehab was slowed down after he felt sore following a bullpen session.  A subsequent bullpen session went much more smoothly, and after tossing an inning in an extended Spring Training game Saturday, Sewald appears to be ready to get his 2024 season underway.

The return can’t come soon enough for an Arizona bullpen that has been shaky at best.  The Diamondbacks can only hope that Sewald can stabilize things as well as he did last summer after being acquired from the Mariners at the trade deadline, as Sewald solidified Arizona’s ninth-inning situation and played a huge role in the club’s pennant-winning postseason drive.  This success brought a bit of spotlight to a reliever who had largely flown under the radar in posting a 2.95 ERA over 189 1/3 innings with the M’s and D’Backs since the start of the 2021 season.

Thomas is much more familiar with the hype train due to his time as a top-100 prospect, but the outfielder is still looking to break out in his third Major League season.  On the plus side, Thomas has been an excellent defensive center fielder and he brings a lot of speed to the table, but his career .230/.273/.362 slash line (over 827 plate appearances) leaves a lot to be desired.

Once he makes his return, the Diamondbacks should be able to finally adopt their preferred outfield alignment of Corbin Carroll in right field, Thomas in center, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in left field, and Randal Grichuk and Jake McCarthy providing depth (with Grichuk likely spelling Thomas against left-handed pitching).  This alignment might have the carry-on effect of helping Carroll get on track at the plate, as the reigning NL Rookie of the Year’s struggles could be linked to the fact that he took over regular center field duty with Thomas sidelined.

Speaking of injury returns, the D’Backs got some reinforcement back today when Ryne Nelson was activated from the 15-day IL.  Nelson hadn’t pitched since he was struck in the elbow by a line drive on April 18, and while he looked a little rusty in allowing four earned runs in five innings today, it was still enough to earn a win in Arizona’s 11-4 rout of the Padres.

Nelson provides some help to a rotation that is still without Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez due to their placements on the 60-day IL.  Kelly is gone until at least late June, but manager Torey Lovullo provided some news about Rodriguez today, telling Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports and other reporters that the southpaw will undergo some more tests on his injured lat muscle.  If E-Rod is feeling good and the tests come back clean, Lovullo said Rodriguez could soon start a throwing program.

Rodriguez started the season on the 15-day IL before being transferred to the 60-day, so late May represents the absolute best-case scenario for his first official appearance in a D’Backs uniform.  Since some significant ramp-up time will be required and Rodriguez has already been shut down from throwing once due to continued discomfort in his lat, it’s probably safe to guess that his rehab process will stretch into early June.

Lovullo also had an update on Geraldo Perdomo, as the infielder is throwing and taking grounders.  “Three weeks post surgery, so he’s gotta be careful with his next steps.  It’s getting close to him getting to full baseball activities and I’m excited about that,” the manager told Weiner and company.  Perdomo tore his right meniscus just shy of a month ago, so is on pace with the usual 4-6 week timeline associated with such injuries.

D-Backs Acquire Matt Bowman From Twins

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The Diamondbacks announced they’ve acquired reliever Matt Bowman from the Twins for cash considerations. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reported the move (on X) shortly before the announcement. Arizona optioned southpaw Blake Walston to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding active roster transaction. Starter Merrill Kelly moved from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man roster space.

Bowman, 32, inked a minor league deal with Minnesota over the winter. The Twins selected his contract in the second week of the regular season. Bowman pitched five times, tossing 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He struck out six and issued four walks before being designated for assignment when the Twins welcomed Jhoan Duran back from the injured list. Bowman is out of options, so the Twins didn’t have the luxury of sending him back to Triple-A once they called him up.

A Princeton graduate, Bowman pitched for the Cardinals and Reds between 2016-19. He turned in three sub-4.00 ERA showings along the way, generally relying on huge ground-ball numbers to compensate for middling strikeout tallies. Injuries — most notably a September 2020 Tommy John procedure — kept Bowman out of game action for the next few years. He returned to health in Triple-A with the Yankees a year ago.

Bowman had a solid run for New York’s Triple-A affiliate. He posted a 3.99 ERA behind a 51.9% grounder percentage over 58 2/3 frames. The Yankees called him to the majors for a trio of appearances in September before waiving him at the end of the season.

Arizona is willing to install Bowman into the middle relief group. They’ll send cash Minnesota’s way to jump the waiver line. While Bowman doesn’t have much recent MLB experience because of the injuries, he’d gotten out to a strong start with Minnesota’s top farm team. He worked six innings and allowed only one unearned run with Triple-A St. Paul, striking out seven against a pair of walks.

The Diamondbacks have had a below-average relief group through the season’s first month. They entered play Thursday ranked 20th in ERA (4.34) and 28th in strikeout rate (18.7%). Arizona relievers have the fifth-highest walk percentage (11.3%) and have needed to shoulder the ninth-most innings.

The group was put under particular stress this week. After the now famous bee incident delayed Tuesday’s game, the D-Backs scratched Jordan Montgomery and used seven relievers to get through a bullpen game. Montgomery started yesterday but was knocked out after just three innings, requiring three more relievers (including a 3 2/3 inning stint from Walston in his MLB debut). Bowman adds a fresh arm to the middle innings.

Kelly suffered a shoulder strain that’ll require a lengthy absence. Manager Torey Lovullo was recently noncommittal on getting him back before the All-Star Break. He’s now out for a minimum of 60 days from the time of his original IL placement on April 20. He’s at least out of MLB action until mid-June.

Diamondbacks Promote Blake Walston For MLB Debut

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have optioned left-hander Andrew Saalfrank, with fellow lefty Blake Walston recalled in a corresponding move. The latter will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Walston, 23 next month, was the club’s first round pick in 2019. The Diamondbacks used the 26th overall pick of that year’s draft to grab Walston out of New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina.

He got a brief debut in the professional ranks in 2019, but then the minors were canceled due to the pandemic in 2020. He tossed 95 2/3 innings in 2021 between Single-A and High-A with a 3.76 earned run average, 28.8% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate.

In 2022, he returned to High-A but cruised through four starts before getting bumped up. He had a 5.16 ERA over his 21 Double-A starts that year, despite decent peripherals. He struck out 24% of batters faced and walked 8.5%, but a .341 batting average on balls in play and 14.5% home run per flyball rate added some extra runs.

Last year, he was sent to Triple-A and had a 4.52 ERA over 30 starts. He walked 14% of batters faced while only striking out 15.6% of them. He was added to Arizona’s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft and returned to Triple-A this year. Through 20 2/3 innings this season, he has walked 15.3% of batters faced, striking out 19.4%, leading to a 4.79 ERA. Were it not for a 77.6% strand rate, he may have fared worse, which is why his FIP is at 6.36.

That lack of control perhaps points to a future relief role but he is still quite young and has time to rein in his stuff. The Diamondbacks have continued to stretch him out, suggesting they still believe in his potential to stick in a rotation at some point. Baseball America ranked him the #11 prospect in the club’s system coming into this year.

For now, he’s likely on the roster to give the club a multi-inning option out of the bullpen due to some strange circumstances. Jordan Montgomery was supposed to start yesterday’s game before it was delayed by a colony of bees that had taken up residence in the netting behind home plate. The start of the contest was delayed by about two hours while was called who could remove the bees, and the club decided to scratch Montgomery in that time. It seems fair to assume that Montgomery had already gone through some pregame preparations and the club didn’t want to ramp him back up again after a lengthy shutdown, similar to how pitchers often don’t return after long rain delays.

In the end, the Snakes went with a bullpen game and used seven different pitchers to cover 10 innings, as they eventually defeated the Dodgers in extra innings. Montgomery is taking the ball tonight but with a weakened bullpen, so Walston may be tapped, especially if Montgomery is bounced early.

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