Brandon Pfaadt

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Brandon Connor Pfaadt

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Brandon Pfaadt was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 5th and final round of the 2020 amateur draft, out of Bellarmine University. In 2022, between the AA Amarillo Sod Poodles and AAA Reno Aces, he struck out 218 batters in 167 innings. Not only did that total lead all of minor league baseball, but it was the most by any minor league pitcher since Brandon Claussen had struck out 220 opponents in 2001. He was named the Diamondbacks' minor league pitcher of the year.

In his major league debut for the D-Backs on May 3, 2023, he gave up 7 runs in 4 2/3 innings to the Texas Rangers, but escaped with a no-decision when Arizona came back to win the game, 12-7. His debut came on the same day as Gavin Stone of the Los Angeles Dodgers who not only was also a 5th round selection in the truncated 2020 draft, but also shares his date of birth. Both pitchers started for their respective teams that day. On August 18th, still looking for his maiden major league win, he had a great start against the San Diego Padres, keeping them hitless through the first six innings before giving up a one-out single to Juan Soto in the 7th. He completed the inning, but left with the game still scoreless, and only ended up with a no-decision even though Arizona eventually lost the game, 4-0. He was 0-6, 6.91 coming into the game, but finished strong, winning three of his last six decisions and lowering his ERA to 5.72 over his final 9 games. That is what convinced manager Torey Lovullo to use his as his third starter behind co-aces Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly in the postseason. Given that the D-Backs, had had to battle until the season's final day to confirm their spot, neither of the two big guns was available for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers and Brandon started that game on October 3rd. Things did not go great as he allowed 3 runs in 2 2/3 innings, but his team rallied to win the game, 6-3, and in his next two starts, he pitched a total of 10 innings without allowing a single run as Arizona won both games. On October 24th, he was given a very tough assignment, starting against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park with Arizona facing elimination in Game 6, but he had another good outing, limiting the powerful Phils to 2 runs in 4 innings, and his team won again on its way to a surprising appearance in the World Series. He was given the nod to start Game 3 at home against Max Scherzer and the Rangers, the team that had beaten him around in his big league debut, on October 30th. His streak of winning starts ended when he gave up 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings and Arizona went down, 3-1.

In his first full season in the majors in 2024, he made 32 starts and pitched 181 2/3 innings on his way to going 11-10, 4.71. He led his team in innings and strikeouts (185) while finishing second in wins behind Zac Gallen. In 2025, after losing his first start on March 29th, he was perfect in April winning all five of his starts. He had a tougher time of it in May, but two wins in his first five starts that month meant that he still shared the league lead in wins when he made a start against the Washington Nationals on May 31st. That outing turned out to be a disaster, as he plunked the first batter he faced, C.J. Abrams, and everything went downhill from there. He faced eight batters and di not retire a single one, and they all came in to score as three more batters reached against reliever Scott McGough before he could record the first out of the game. The nine runs before making an out tied the National League record set by the 1948 Phillies, and Washington ended up scoring ten runs in the frame, on its way to an 11-7 win. Brandon's ERA increased from 3.90 to 5.05 in that outing.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Sam Dykstra: "What to expect from Brandon Pfaadt in The Show: D-backs' No. 3 prospect joins rotation after leading Minors in K's last year", mlb.com, May 2, 2023. [1]
  • Steve Gilbert: "Pfaadt flirts with no-no, falls short of first win", mlb.com, August 19, 2023. [2]
  • Jon Paul Morosi: "Pfaadt's biggest fans make fitting trek to City of Brotherly Love", mlb.com, October 25, 2023. [3]
  • Mike Petriello: "How Pfaadt went from 5.72 ERA to World Series starter: Rookie righty has allowed just two runs over past three postseason starts", mlb.com, October 29, 2023. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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