Confidence and simple mechanics making a difference for Brandon Pfaadt so far

PHOENIX — Ask Arizona Diamondbacks catchers Gabriel Moreno or James McCann, third baseman Nolan Arenado or manager Torey Lovullo why Brandon Pfaadt has been a different pitcher since his return to the rotation, and they point to his confidence.

Ask Pfaadt, and he brings up pitching to his strengths and simplified mechanics, along with run support.

Likely, the answer is all of the above, and Pfaadt’s four-game stretch since coming back from the minor leagues has gone as well as the Diamondbacks could have hoped.

During a crucial part of the schedule, with pitching injuries piling up, the season transitioning from the first to the second half and the trade deadline barreling down, Arizona has won all four of Pfaadt’s starts by multiple runs.

In each case, he has pitched at least five innings with two earned runs or fewer despite still building up his pitch count. He shut out the St. Louis Cardinals through his first five innings on Saturday. While the Cardinals broke through with a couple of runs in the sixth inning, Pfaadt extended his pitch count to 87 in his fourth-straight win.

“First off, the confidence,” McCann told Arizona Sports after catching Pfaadt on Saturday. “He feels like he can attack guys with any pitch at any time, and that’s really been his theme going into every game is attack, attack, attack. And when a pitcher is in attack mode, it’s a lot harder for the hitter. Then obviously he’s made a few adjustments mechanically, and his stuff is playing extremely well right now.”

“Looking really confident, doesn’t think too much out there,” Moreno told Arizona Sports. “Trusting what he has, and he’s getting the results.”

Among Pfaadt’s mechanical changes are eliminating his old school, over-the-head motion and moving back to the first-base side of the pitching rubber.

There were times in the past when he would move from side to side on the rubber based on matchups. His mission now is simplicity and consistency, letting his deep arsenal play.

“More simple and more consistent. I think when you move and change so many things over a long period of time, stuff becomes inconsistent,” Pfaadt said. “Just making that as consistent as possible.”

“I went back to the first-base side, just to keep it simple,” Pfaadt added. “I know we were moving around quite a bit the last few years, and that’s the one that felt comfortable for now, and sticking with that. … All the pitches play from that side, and I’m not sure exactly how good the tunneling is from the third-base side to the first-base side. But it seems to be tunneling just fine.”

In 21 innings since coming back to the big leagues, Pfaadt has allowed 19 hits but only three extra-base hits. He has walked one batter. He has thrown 68% strikes. And this has resulted in five earned runs over these four starts for a pitcher who had been up-and-down over the previous two years.

Pfaadt was a postseason hero in 2023 and a workhorse in 2024 with inconsistent results. The Diamondbacks bought into his potential and extended him before a 2025 campaign that featured even more peaks and valleys.

His rotation security waned when the D-backs invested further in starting pitching last winter with Michael Soroka, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly signing free agent deals, and Pfaadt was eventually pushed into a bullpen role and eventually back to Triple-A.

“It’s the best. It’s a dream come true,” Pfaadt said of being back in the big leagues. “I think sometimes we take that for granted in a long season. And just coming here every day, happy to be here, happy to be where my feet are and happy to be with a bunch of these good guys in the clubhouse and with the family cheering on back at home. So it’s a special job to have and I’m not taking it for granted.” 

McCann said he spoke to Pfaadt about pitchers he’s caught who had to go back to the minor leagues to find some answers before coming up and having success, including future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer with the Detroit Tigers in 2010.

Four games is a tiny sample size, and Pfaadt has gone on hot streaks before. But the Diamondbacks have needed to count on their experienced starting pitchers in this pivotal stretch of the season, and Pfaadt has helped keep them afloat in a crowded wild card picture.

Time will tell if these adjustments will allow Pfaadt to become what the Diamondbacks envisioned, a trusted member of the rotation for the long haul, but they will happily ride the wave while it has momentum.

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