PHOENIX — After spending a year suspended for betting on baseball, Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Andrew Saalfrank returned to Triple-A Reno and threw a scoreless inning on Tuesday.
Saalfrank was reinstated to the 40-man roster last week. He was punished for betting $445.87 on baseball in 2021 and 2022 when he was in the minor leagues. He never bet on his assigned team, which would have cost him a lifetime ban.
With so many moving parts in Arizona’s bullpen, the left-hander is making progress towards becoming an option again.
“Andrew was working out in Arizona, continued to stay ready,” farm director Chris Slivka told Arizona Sports. “Then a month before he was eligible to be reinstated, we were able to bring him to the complex and he was throwing live (bullpens) for a while.
“I think that Andrew needs to continue to get his feet underneath him. I almost view the last month at the complex as his spring training. So we’d like to see him continue to get regular usage, maybe get some back-to-backs and continue to get the workload that a reliever generally has to have before they come up here.”
Manager Torey Lovullo watched Saalfrank’s first outing back at the complex, saying the left-hander was eager to get back in the arena as soon as possible.
He said Saalfrank was hard on himself when the suspension came down, but he credited the pitcher for staying locked in with the team during his time away.
“That’s what happens to athletes that get injured, right? I had the same conversation with (Justin Martinez). Don’t let the game get too far away from you. Pay attention to it. Watch the games, talk to your teammates,” Lovullo said.
“In Andrew’s case, he felt like a total outsider, like he let all of us down. I told him, that’s not the case. You made a mistake and you’re owning up to that. Stay connected … and he did in his own way.”
Saalfrank became an unexpected key cog in the bullpen during Arizona’s run to the 2023 World Series as a rookie who debuted in September of that season.
Welcome back, Saaly ?
Andrew Saalfrank tosses a hitless inning in his return to Reno ? pic.twitter.com/GfMrhy04sV
— Reno Aces (@Aces) June 11, 2025
Kyle Amendt to miss significant time
Injuries in the bullpen have piled up in the major leagues, and the minors have not been immune.
Kyle Amendt, the right-hander with an over-the-top arm angle and 3.66 ERA in Reno this year, has shoulder inflammation that will keep him down for “months,” Slivka said. If his rehab and recovery go well, the 25-year-old could return by the end of the season.
Adrian Del Castillo is back with a bang
Diamondbacks catching prospect Adrian Del Castillo made his season debut for Reno on Tuesday after missing the first two-plus months with a shoulder injury.
He blasted a 441-foot grand slam, finishing 2-for-5 with three strikeouts and four RBIs.
Welcome back, Adrian Del Castillo!
The @Dbacks' No. 6 prospect demolishes a 109.1 mph, 441 ft grand slam in his first game since returning from the IL for the Triple-A @Aces. pic.twitter.com/D1u1MZlKsr
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 11, 2025
Del Castillo caught fire last summer, hitting a grand slam against his hometown Miami Marlins and a walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies shortly after his MLB debut. He played 25 MLB games last year and entered spring training with an outside chance to earn the backup job.
“He was managing his at-bats well and just getting in a rhythm at the plate, getting his timing back,” Slivka said of his ACL stint. “And wrapping up his throwing program in Arizona, where he has most resources available.
“This week he is going to start his game progression and build up behind the plate. So throwing program will be concluded and we’ll start to see him catching now. He’s healthy and ready to go.”
Del Castillo gives the Diamondbacks another left-handed bopper waiting in the wings if needed.
Fellow catcher Rene Pinto was also activated by Reno after missing time, while Aramis Garcia was outrighted to the Aces after Arizona called him up for a day and designated him for assignment over the weekend.
Slade Caldwell moves on up
Arizona’s top pick from the 2024 MLB Draft, Slade Caldwell, is off to a promising start in his young career.
The 18-year-old moved up from Low-A Visalia to High-A Hillsboro, where he debuted on Tuesday (2-for-5, stolen base).
Caldwell is a 5-foot-9 left-handed outfielder who excelled in the California League with a .294/.460/.454 slash line, leading the league in on-base percentage. That has been most impressive to the organization, his ability to control at-bats at such a young age.
“Slade’s a winning player,” Slivka said. “Slade does everything he can to help the team win and he competes in the box. His ability to manage an at-bat and slow the game down is pretty exceptional for a kid his age.
“As he started to learn to really take his shot earlier and counts and be on the fastball and anticipate that, we felt pretty confident that he’d be able to handle the next challenge.”
"What can Superman Slade not do?!"
Slade Caldwell loves him some @VisaliaRawhide Cowbell during a home run trot, that's for sure!
See what else the @Dbacks' 2024 first-rounder has in store for FREE: t.co/twudCiZ70j pic.twitter.com/g2n6bjPBSY
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 22, 2025
Caldwell also stole 13 bags with the Rawhide, as his speed is a weapon. A well-regarded defender, Caldwell spent his time in center field with Visalia and will move around a bit more in Hillsboro.
He shares an outfield with Druw Jones and Ryan Waldschmidt.
Speaking of Waldschmidt, the 2024 first-rounder out of Kentucky is on fire with seven-game hitting streak that includes four homers. He’s got a .911 OPS with more walks (47) than strikeouts (39) this season.
“He’s very mature on how he speaks about his at-bats and his offensive approach, especially for a kid in his first professional season,” Slivka said.
The Hops’ outfield is a unit to watch.
Good pitching news?
Believe it or not, there are some positive pitching storylines happening in the system that don’t involve injuries.
The D-backs promoted prospects Spencer Giesting (LHP) and Dylan Ray (RHP) from Double-A Amarillo to Triple-A joining a rotation with Yu-Min Lin and Tommy Henry.
Yilber Diaz went to the complex league to work out some command issues and reset, and he is now back with the Aces.
Right-hander Daniel Eagen, a third-rounder in 2024, won the Northwest League Pitcher of the Month for Hillsboro, as he has dominated the level with 63 strikeouts in 45.2 innings (including an immaculate inning).
Ray went on a heater in May, winning the organization’s pitcher of the month award after throwing 31 innings with a 2.03 ERA and 35 strikeouts. He made “tangible adjustments” to his delivery that ticked up his velocity. His average four-seamer in Reno has been 94 mph.
MAY BELONGS TO RAY! ?
Congratulations to RHP Dylan Ray on being named the @Dbacks MiLB Pitcher of the Month for May! Ray started in 5 games during the month of May, securing the win on all 5. He accumulated a total of 35 strikeouts & 3 walks in his 31 innings pitched with an… pic.twitter.com/iQCiHPfThX
— Amarillo Sod Poodles (@sodpoodles) June 4, 2025
Giesting kept a strong end of 2024 going this year with Amarillo, as he has a 3.67 ERA over his last 100.2 innings pitched in the typically hitter-friendly Texas League.
“He really hit his stride at the end of last year,” Slivka said of Giesting. “Showed a lot of consistency outing to outing, attacking the strike zone. A deceptive look from the left side, and the strike throwing all of that spoke for itself and we felt that it was time to move him.
“Dylan Ray caught a hot month in May … his execution command was spot on. You have that type of performance coupled with some improvements in his delivery, it made us feel pretty comfortable promoting him.”
A pitcher to watch in Slivka’s opinion is reliever Hayden Durke, a right-hander with a 1.78 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched between Hillsboro and Amarillo.
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