Hello Dynasty Baseball fans, and welcome to our poorly-named-yet-well-written, Companion Article Series! We will be publishing these the day after each team’s Top 10 Prospect Lists are shared. And while we will focus on the same organization, our companion pieces will not always be prospect-centric. Every author will choose to share their thoughts on whatever aspect of the team they are writing about.

We have witnessed a steady flow of hitting prospects through the Arizona system, but they’ve been relatively unsuccessful in drafting and developing pitchers. I think there are three pitchers who have a chance to rise above this sea of mediocrity; our number five prospect David Hagaman, number six Daniel Eagen, and number fourteen Mitch Bratt. I note that Hagaman and Bratt were drafted by Texas, but they came to the Arizona system early enough that I’ll give the D-Backs credit for the development.  

Hagaman, traded from Texas as part of the package for Merrill Kelly, was the subject of a pitching prospect profile written by Nate Sweet. I’ll share a few of the highlights, he throws his fastball in the mid- to upper- 90s, has above average slider and curve, and posted a 27.6% K-BB% across three levels last year. You should go read Nate’s article for more great information on Hagaman. 

Mitch Bratt, who also came over to Arizona from Texas in the Kelly deal, is already on the 40 man roster and will likely be the first of this group to debut in the majors. Bratt’s biggest strength may also be his biggest risk, he is a control-first pitcher with an average fastball that sits in the low 90s. On the other hand, he throws five pitches for strikes and had a 13% swinging strike rate in Double-A Frisco (Rangers) and Amarillo (D-backs) last year. I’ll be watching closely as he pitches in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League this year ,and if he can keep fooling hitters there, he’ll be someone to stash before he’s called up. He wouldn’t be the first crafty southpaw to be successful in the majors.

2024 draftee Daniel Eagen caught the eye of our rankers. Last year he pitched 97 innings at High-A Hillsboro with a 34% K-rate, although the 10.6% BB-rate does raise some concern. Even with the walk rate, the 1.06 WHIP  and .183 batting average against indicate he was able to avoid hard contact at that level. There was a slight drop off in his performance after his late-season promotion to Double-A Amarillo and it will interesting to watch how he performs there this year. 

The ceiling for any of these three is likely SP3, which wouldn’t be anything to brag about for most organizations, but would be a bit of a breakthrough for Arizona.