If there was an unexpected star during the 2023 postseason run for the Diamondbacks, the list of candidates has to start with Brandon Pfaadt. Taken with the Snakes final pick of the 2020 draft, Pfaadt quickly made his way up the organization’s prospect ladder culminating with his selection as the team Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2022, a year in which he led all of the minor leagues in strikeouts with 218. Those strikeouts were backed by an impressive 16.7% Swinging Strike rate. Considering the Diamondbacks weren’t a team able to generate many strikeouts at the major league level in 2022, I was very excited to have a potential strikeout artist knocking on the door of the major league rotation.
Here’s Looking at You, Pfaadt
