Rain forces change of plans for Young’s debut
Rather than making his spring debut in the picturesque main stadium at Salt River Fields, Diamondbacks lefty Alex Young threw in a covered batting cage late Saturday morning. Netting hung all around him. His teammates stood in but did not swing the bat.
“It was weird,” Young said. With rain canceling Saturday’s anticipated Cactus League opener against the Colorado Rockies, the Diamondbacks had to resort to alternative measures to keep their pitchers on schedule.
It was not an ideal situation for Young, who is trying to win a job on the Opening Day roster, but he seemed to make the most of it.
“I know what I need to do to work on my craft,” he said. “I know what my strengths and weaknesses are. Overall, I felt really good today.”
Young is coming off a surprisingly effective rookie season. A former secondround pick, he had largely fallen off the radar as a prospect when the Diamondbacks, in need of rotation help, gave him a shot in late June. He wound up logging a 3.56 ERA in 83 1⁄3 innings, with 15 of his 17 outings coming as a starter.
The Diamondbacks enter camp with what looks like a set rotation, so Young’s best path to a job could come via the bullpen, which he says is fine with him.
“I talked to (manager) Torey (Lovullo) about it in my meeting, about starting and relieving,” Young said. “I would love to start. I would love to relieve. I feel I can excel at both. I’ve done both in my career.
“Whatever role they have me in, I’m ready for. I like relieving, too. I like the high-pressure situations.”
Young could be a legitimate weapon against lefties, whom he held to a .167 average last season, although he likely will have to see a fair number of righthanded hitters, as well, as a result of new rules that call for relievers to face at least three batters except at the end of an inning. Righties fared better against Young last year, posting a .253/.317/.453 line against him.
Making progress
Right-hander Mike Leake said his fractured left wrist continues to improve as he nears the two-week mark from the point of injury. He said he has begun to test it with “light tennis ball impact.”
Leake is hopeful that the wrist is far enough along by the beginning of the season that he won’t have to miss a start. Until then, he’s building up his arm strength in extended bullpen sessions.
“The hope is to pitch in one or two game atmospheres and then hopefully I can be ready for that first one (in the regular season),” he said. “If I get one in, I’m fine. I’d like to get two. I’m obviously going to be building up strengthwise; the issue will be getting the full atmosphere. I think one outing – maybe even none – will do the job.”
Short hops
In addition to Young, closer Archie Bradley also had an “outing” in the covered batting cage on Saturday, as did fellow right-handers Bo Takahashi and Riley Smith. Lovullo said the club didn’t want to push the pitching schedule back a day due to rain because of the ramifications it would have on the long-term schedule for the spring.
❚ On the other hand, Lovullo opted to just push the schedule back a day for position players. The players who were expected to play on Saturday, including Ketel Marte, Nick Ahmed, Carson Kelly and Kole Calhoun, will instead play Sunday.
❚ Lefty Robbie Ray will start Sunday, with right-handers Taylor Clarke, Junior Guerra, Yoan Lopez, Kevin Ginkel and Josh Green also scheduled to pitch.
❚ Left-hander Madison Bumgarner will throw his second live batting practice session Sunday. Lovullo said Bumgarner is likely to make his Cactus League debut on Thursday or Friday.