Who is Jose Cabrera, and why is he starting for the Diamondbacks on Father’s Day?

PHOENIX — As manager Torey Lovullo put it, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Sunday starting pitcher is probably going to surprise many fans at Chase Field for Father’s Day.

Jose Cabrera will make his major league debut against the Minnesota Twins, thrust into a big league game due to recent injuries in the rotation, Lovullo announced postgame on Saturday.

The D-backs placed Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka on the injured list one day apart this weekend, and the club is not ready to put Brandon Pfaadt back into a starting role in the majors until he gets his pitch count up.

That left the D-backs with a group of younger pitchers in the minor leagues, and Cabrera has had a very good season and lined up decently well.

Who is Jose Cabrera?

Cabrera, also known as “El Caimán,” is a 24-year-old right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic who has been considered an underrated prospect in the farm system by Diamondbacks officials.

“He is under the radar in my opinion. He’s done a really good job this year,” D-backs farm director Chris Slivka told Arizona Sports. “He’s gotten his body in better shape, he’s moving better down the mound, his command has improved as a result of that. The velocities have ticked up a little bit, sitting 94 mph with his fastball, but he’s really done a good job refining his breaking pitches, too.

“He’s featuring two distinct breaking balls, kind of a sweeper-slider and a super hard power curve. And then he’s also cutting the ball, as well, so he’s got a wide swath of pitches. He’s got a six-pitch mix, but he knows how to use them, and he’s always been a strike thrower.”

Slivka added that Cabrera’s physicality, consistency at making pitches and refined breaking stuff have led to a step forward in his development this year.

The 6-foot-3 right-hander has made 12 starts this year (nine in Double-A Amarillo) with a 3.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 9.44 strikeouts per nine innings. His strikeout rate has climbed from 19.8% in Amarillo last year to 28.7% this year, while his walks have decreased.

In Cabrera’s last start on June 13 for Triple-A Reno (six innings, no earned runs and six strikeouts), he registered six pitches on Statcast: sinker, cutter, slider, four-seam fastball, changeup and curveball.

He’s found success in hitter-friendly environments, but with only three appearances in Triple-A, this is going to be a significant leap for the youngster.

And his debut will be in front of what should be a packed house for Father’s Day.

“Tomorrow’s starter is gonna be a little bit of a surprise to a lot of people, but not us,” Lovullo said. “We know what’s very capable in our system.”

Cabrera was at Chase Field on Saturday, getting a lay of the land before his start.

Jose Cabrera had something brewing! 🍻

The @HillsboroHops righty came thiiiiiiis close to a no-hitter (8.2 IP) with 11 strikeouts. pic.twitter.com/cnxvqF1M5G

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) August 25, 2024

State of the Diamondbacks’ rotation

Nelson is down with a right flexor strain and UCL sprain, while Soroka is dealing with a glute strain. Both pitchers will be re-evaluated in four-to-six weeks, although Soroka will be able to continue throwing in the meantime to potentially lighten his ramp-up time.

Still, that’s a long way out, and the trade deadline is six weeks away on Aug. 3.

Pfaadt will factor in the rotation when he gets up to 75-80 pitches, but he made 42 in his most recent appearance entering his start on Saturday. He threw 52 pitches on Saturday.

So, the Diamondbacks will have to figure out what to do around Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez. What is clear is that the D-backs need their veterans to provide stability if youth will fill out the starting five, which means better production from Gallen and Kelly, whom the organization counted on by signing them back to lucrative free agent contracts this past offseason.

Sunday’s game starts at 12:15 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app.

Related

Zack Littell comfortable with bullpen role on Diamondbacks: ‘I just want to help the team win’Corbin Carroll joins another historic club with 100th career home runDiamondbacks end dramatic homestand with maddening series loss to RockiesBlue Jays claim Paul Sewald after he was DFA’d by DiamondbacksDiamondbacks need to jumpstart offense to salvage series win vs. RockiesGeraldo Perdomo out of Diamondbacks’ lineup Tuesday with knee issue