SCOTTSDALE — The slider is not a pitch Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly has an extensive history with, but new pitching coach Brian Kaplan has encouraged the veteran to further weaponize it.
Kelly took the mound for his second start of spring training on Thursday, and he delivered eight sliders against the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners swung at five of them and whiffed four times.
Ultimately, Kelly threw 2.1 innings to get his pitch count up to 48 and allowed a couple runs, but he came away feeling mostly positive. The slider had something to do with that.
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“It’s close, but it also needs some work,” Kelly said of his performance. “I mean, the misses that I’m throwing right now are not missing by much, which I’m happy with. Obviously, I would imagine once we get more reps and once we get more in-game and in-game rhythm and stuff, those will start landing as strikes.
“Me and Kap actually had some good conversations on the bench (about the slider),” Kelly added. “He was kind of harping on that. He thinks I need to throw it more. It’s a pitch I maybe don’t go to right away in my head, just because it’s still somewhat of a new thing in the repertoire. … But so far, no hard contact. I’ve seen some good swing and misses, and the shape of it I’ve seen has been really promising so far.”
Kelly threw the slider 5.5% of the time in 2023 and upped it to 11.8% last year, according to Statcast, albeit in a smaller sample size given his time on the injured list (teres major).
He described the pitch as sinker protection, giving the batter something else to think about as a pitch that can dart in the opposite direction as his sinker.
The 36-year-old has found success rolling out a deep arsenal with six pitches. Even though he uses it sparingly, Kelly drew a 39.4% whiff rate on the slider last year, the highest of his weapons.
Merrill Kelly takes first crack at ABS
Kelly also picked off his second base runner of the spring and challenged his first call using the automated ball-strike (ABS) system on Thursday, which he did not win.
He expressed a curiosity about the system, saying he was glad MLB is using spring training to test it out.
Kelly harkened back to Game 3 of the 2023 World Series, when an outside strike call on catcher Gabriel Moreno impacted a potential ninth-inning rally. At the same time, Kelly said he was not entirely ready for this technology to take over.
“I think in the big situations of a game, I think it can come into play,” Kelly said. “Over the course of a game, the balls that are quote, unquote missed don’t necessarily affect the outcome of the game.
“I think the umpires will definitely start tightening up the zone a little bit if that does come into play, because I think they are more prone to calling strikes balls than ball strikes … I mean, it was fun. I’m glad that it’s not implemented this year. … I like the aspect of baseball being human error, right? It’s kind of what makes baseball great. There’s give and take on both sides.”
Jorge Barrosa learning from his peers
Diamondbacks switch-hitting prospect Jorge Barrosa is the next line of defense for Arizona. Yes, he’s outside the core five outfielders on the roster but is the insurance case of injury — or as Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro suggested, a possible closer trade.
Barrosa, outside two injured list stints, felt solid about his 2024 season in which he played 75 games for Triple-A Reno and hit .270 with a .781 OPS. He is a plus defensive outfielder, and after making his MLB debut last year, his goal is to ready himself to not miss his next opportunity to provide assistance.
“Control the things I can control and play hard and learn everything,” Barrosa told Arizona Sports on Thursday. “Even small things like move the guy over. I gotta know what my role is, depending on where I’m hitting. If I hit ninth, Ketel (Marte) is behind me, I need to put him in a good spot, that kind of stuff.”
Barrosa is off to a hot start this spring, hitting 6-for-18 with a pair of extra-base knocks. He was struck by a pitch in the forearm area on Thursday, but manager Torey Lovullo said he was doing fine.
The 24-year-old started hitting left-handed after he signed with the organization in his teens, and while he’s hit significantly better against right-handed pitching, he maintains that his swing is in a good spot on both sides. Taking advice from teammates who hit on different sides has helped.
“I talk with Corbin (Carroll) a lot about mental things too and approach and all that stuff,” Barrosa said. “Lourdes Gurriel, he talked to me about my right-handed swing, too. I get a lot from these guys.”
Speed kills
The Diamondbacks put on a display of absurd speed during Thursday’s game from two of their top prospects.
Outfielder Druw Jones, getting an opportunity to play a big league game with the split-squad roster, walked ahead of shortstop Jordan Lawlar, who smoked a line drive into the left-center field gap. The two zoomed around the bases, as Jones scored from first and Lawlar reached third base for a triple.
Both Jones and Lawlar are 70-grade runners (out of 80), according to MLB Pipeline, which is extremely speedy. They both recorded two hits on Thursday.
Hit tool Run tool
MLB's No. 11 prospect Jordan Lawlar (@Dbacks) rockets a 104.9 mph RBI triple, showing off his 70-grade wheels: pic.twitter.com/P6DHfHFwxW
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 7, 2025
Top pitching prospect Yilber Diaz, meanwhile, worked an impressive two scoreless innings.
With runners on the corners and two outs, Diaz froze Mariners star Julio Rodriguez with a 98 mph heater that was set up by his curveball to escape the jam. His second frame was a breeze in comparison, a 1-2-3 inning with another K.
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