Towers: Corbin close to being Major League ready
Mar 21, 2012, 10:57 PM | Updated: Mar 22, 2012, 12:22 am
The talented plethora of Diamondbacks pitching prospects have lived up to the billing this spring, which has pleased General Manager Kevin Towers.
“We’ve had a lot of our young kids really throw the ball well,” Towers told Arizona Sports 620’s Doug and Wolf on Wednesday. “Pat Corbin was outstanding Tuesday against a good Giants club and Trevor Bauer once again threw the ball well. Charlie Brewer’s been great. Tyler Skaggs, his last two outings, have been outstanding.”
Despite the rave reviews from Towers, the D-backs aren’t going to veer from their projected starting rotation plans to accommodate one of their emerging hurlers.
“I would say as of right now, we’re probably going to stick with what we talked about early in the spring,” Towers said. “I would imagine not in any particular order but Ian Kennedy, [Daniel] Hudson, [Trevor] Cahill, [Joe] Saunders and more than likely [Josh] Collmenter barring all those guys stay healthy over the next two weeks.”
While Collmenter has struggled with a 14.14 ERA this spring, he is still projected to open the season as the D-backs’ fifth starter. Still, Corbin’s excellence has been eye-opening, particularly his dominating performance against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday.
“Patrick Corbin’s has probably had the best spring [of the young pitchers],” Towers stated. “He’s got a .084 ERA in 10 innings of work. He got pretty much their A lineup out there yesterday, the Giants, probably the team that’s our biggest competition in our division. He threw the ball very, very well.”
Corbin allowed just one hit while striking out six over four scoreless frames.
According to Towers, Corbin appears to be knocking on the door to the Big Leagues.
“We felt of the four [prospects] he was probably the closest to being ready — not saying he had the best stuff,” Towers explained. “He was a basketball player, a very good athlete, does all the little things right, a complete pitcher and has done nothing but impress.”
The 22-year-old southpaw has garnered praise for aggressively attacking the zone and turning heads with his devastating slider.
“I think his initial impression on our coaching staff has been a real positive one,” Towers said. “I know Gibby has liked what he’s seen of him so far.”
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