Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson is coming off a solid stretch of games. In his last nine appearances, including eight starts, Nelson is 3-3 with a 4.30 ERA over 52 1/3 innings. Adjusting his ERA to the run environments he’s pitched in, he’s been 4% worse than the average pitcher with a 96 ERA+. With his run prevention close to the league average and solid length, he’s been a serviceable back-of-the-rotation starter the past six weeks.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!With the Diamondbacks getting more consistent starts out of Nelson, that’s stabilized the rotation and has been a huge part of their 8-5 start to July following a 16-11 June. With Zac Gallen returning from a hamstring injury that kept him out for a month and second-year right-hander Brandon Pfaadt continuing to progress, that gives Arizona three capable starting pitchers.
With that solid stretch of games, he’ll have a chance to earn some important innings for the club. With veteran starting pitchers Merrill Kelly, Eduardo RodrÃguez, and Jordan Montgomery expected to return over the next month, the Diamondbacks will have to make tough roster decisions. However, he’ll have at least five more starts before any conversations start.
When their starting rotation is finally healthy, the other question will be what to do with Nelson. They could send him down to Reno to keep him stretched out as a starter, but another move would be to shorten him up in the bullpen.
There are solid arguments to be made for either strategy. He’s only one injury or setback involving the starting rotation away from finishing the season as a starting pitcher. It makes sense to keep him stretched out for that contingency. However, at the same time, there’s not much he can develop pitching in the high-elevation parks in the Pacific Coast League. Shortening him up in the bullpen would also make sense given he’s a candidate to get moved out of the rotation when they only need four starters.
Given the potential roster crunch, the best thing Nelson can do is continue to pitch well and make it a tough decision for the Diamondbacks. Either the situation resolves itself, but the team would be better equipped in that event if the young right-hander continues to progress at the major league level.
Ryne Nelson’s recent success has stabilized the Diamondbacks starting rotation
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
