Record: 9-12. Change on 2025: -1.5. 5-inning Record: 5-14-2.
The D-Backs responded to an ugly loss against the Rockies yesterday with some surprising power during an uneven – but victorious – performance in Surprise. Merrill Kelly made his Spring Training debut and looked all right. He threw 36 pitches with a slight emphasis on his fastball (36%) compared to his usual usage from last season (23%) with a mix of his offspeed stuff as well. Unsurprisingly, the velocity was a little down as he continues to ramp up from the back soreness that has been plaguing him since reporting to camp last month. There were definitely positives to take away from the outing including three whiffs on his changeup which was an absolute weapon last year with a 34% whiff rate that were balanced out by some negatives – like giving up six hits to a less-than-stellar lineup. After a scoreless first inning that included a single and error from Tommy Troy, Kelly returned for the second and got smacked around including a grand rule double and triple from Jonathan India and John Rave. He would exit the game after allowing two runs in 1.2 innings, but the bigger question will be how his back holds up over the coming days.
At the dish, Jorge Barrosa was the unquestioned sparkplug for the D-Backs, collecting a pair of walks and a hit out of the leadoff spot, but there were plenty of offensive highlights up and down the lineup. Jansel Luis hit his first homer of Spring Training as the 21-year old looks to start adding some pop to his average-ish batting skills while AJ Vukovich continues his offensive barrage this spring with his third roundtripper in the first two weeks. It was also nice to see some continued offensive contributions from Ben McLaughlin – a ninth-rounder back in 2024 who moved across three minor league levels last year while slashing .282/.396/.446 in 101 games. Those kinds of numbers will quickly turn some heads and he’s shown little signs of slowing down so far this spring as he owns a .375/.545/.438 slash line while walking as much as he strikes out.
Hopefully the D-Backs can continue the positive momentum as they take on the Giants tomorrow with Opening Day starter Zac Gallen on the bump opposite Adrian Houser.
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