Just scant hours ago, I suggested that Barry Enright winning a rotation slot with the Diamondbacks knocks Armando Galarraga out of the running. Not so, writes Nick Piecoro:
Three D’backs (Including Galarraga) For Two Rotation Slots
Taking the Diamondbacks at their word, they're down to three competitors - Aaron Heilman, Armando Galarraga and Saunders - for two spots. It will be very interesting to see what happens if Saunders doesn't pitch markedly better and the other two pitch very well.
As I mentioned earlier, Galarraga’s been pretty awful this spring (though he hasn’t pitched as badly as his 8.44 ERA suggests). Heilman’s been excellent. And Saunders ... Well, you can understand why Kirk Gibson isn’t ready to just hand him a job, considering his 14.54 ERA this spring. Granted, Saunders has pitched only nine innings, and issued just one walk. He’s just given up a ton of hits. Saunders is a low-contact/high-strikeout guy, so he’s always going to be subject to periods where he gives up too many hits and suffers a bloated ERA.
Fundamentally, though, he’s presumably still the same pitcher the Diamondbacks traded for last July. I didn’t really understand why they wanted him then, but now they’ve got him and he’s probably one of their five best starting pitchers. Which is why I think, regardless of what Kirk Gibson said today, Saunders winds up in the rotation.
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