Diamondbacks' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Preview | Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Brandon Pfaadt, Justin Martinez, Merrill Kelly and More

Let's continue our fantasy baseball team preview series by looking at the Arizona Diamondbacks. We'll check out the team's pitchers here - check back soon for the hitter article.

We've covered the Angels (hitters and pitchers), Padres (hitters and pitchers), Tigers (hitters and pitchers), Marlins (hitters and pitchers), Blue Jays (hitters and pitchers), Brewers (hitters and pitchers), Astros (hitters and pitchers), Cubs (hitters and pitchers), Royals (hitters and pitchers), Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Rangers (hitters and pitchers) , Nationals (hitters and pitchers), Orioles (hitters and pitchers), Reds (hitters and pitchers), Red Sox (hitters and pitchers), Mets (hitters and pitchers), Twins (hitters and pitchers), Giants (hitters and pitchers), Athletics (hitters and pitchers), Pirates (hitters and pitchers), Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Rays (hitters and pitchers), Braves (hitters and pitchers) and White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

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Top Fantasy Pitchers

There's a few Arizona pitchers on the ADP list right now, led by Corbin Burnes. He's going at pick 25.46 on average.

Zac Gallen is the next one off draft boards at pick 88.96. Brandon Pfaadt is at pick 127.37, while reliever Justin Martinez is at pick 165.27. A.J. Puk and Merrill Kelly are a couple more late-round options in standard leagues.

Burnes joins the Diamondbacks after getting in 32 starts with the Orioles last season.

He went 15-9 in those games and posted a 2.92 earned run average. Burnes struck out 181 batters over 194 1/3 innings.

His strikeouts per nine innings mark was below nine for the first time since becoming a full-time starter in 2021 - he's regressed in that stat in each of the past three seasons. His ERA is still great, and he's a good source for wins, innings, but the lower strikeout numbers have me a bit worried.

I personally don't think Burnes is worth a draft pick around his ADP. I'd prefer him in the 30s, and be happiest getting him near pick 40. I just don't see much room for upside if you take him at his ADP.

Gallen started 28 games in 2024.

He went 14-6 in those starts, while posting a 3.65 ERA. He struck out 156 batters over 148 innings.

If he's able to get in 30+ starts, reaching 200 innings is a possibility with Gallen. If he does that, there's a really good chance he ends up being a draft steal. I think his ADP is fine where it is, but wouldn't want to take him too much earlier.

Pfaadt took a good step forward in his second MLB season in 2024 and now is a standard league draft option for 2025.

He made 32 starts last season, covering 181 2/3 innings. Pfaadt went 11-10 with a 4.71 ERA and 185 punchouts.

There's some fantasy upside with Pfaadt, but that ERA is keeping him as a mid-round pick. Getting him around that pick is fine in my eyes, and the deeper you can get him in drafts, the higher chance he has to exceed expectations. 

Martinez is in contention to earn saves in Arizona, but Puk is also in the mix.

Martinez was great in 2024 across 64 appearances. He went 5-6, but with a 2.48 ERA and eight saves. He struck out 91 batters over 72 2/3 innings.

Puk split time between the Marlins and D-Backs. In 62 appearances, he had a 4-9 record, but a 3.15 ERA (it was 1.32 in 30 games with Arizona). Puk also had three saves and 88 punchouts over 71 1/3 innings.

Both relievers are decent closer options, and I think they will both earn saves over the course of the season. I do think Martinez has a bit higher fantasy upside, but I'm not a huge fan of taking either in standard leagues - I'd pick up whoever gets most of the saves, if that ever happens.

I like taking them in deeper setups, especially because of their strikeout upside. I'd only take them as secondary options in leagues where saves are beneficial.

Kelly only started 13 games a season ago, but is ready to go for 2025.

He went 5-1 with a 4.03 ERA last year - he has a career 3.82 ERA. Kelly struck out 63 batters over 72 2/3 innings.

If he's healthy for a full season, he is a standard league keeper. Coming off an injury-riddled season though, Kelly is just a late-round option. I'm more than happy to take that risk - you should be able to count on him for as many starts as he gets in this season.

Other Starting Options

According to FanGraphs, Eduardo Rodriguez is the other projected member of the starting rotation.

Rodriguez only made 10 starts in 2024, and he posted an ugly 5.04 ERA and 4-5 record in those outings. He struck out 47 batters over 50 innings. Rodriguez had 143 punchouts, 13-9 record, 3.30 ERA across 26 starts and 152 2/3 innings in 2023, so there's bounceback potential here.

After the down season though, Rodriguez is just a deep-league option for most to start 2025. He has standard league streaming value right away, and could become a keeper if he indeed bounces back. 

Jordan Montgomery is the projected long reliever. He was even worse than Rodriguez in 2024, going 8-7 with a 6.23 ERA across 21 starts and 25 appearances - he had 83 strikeouts across 117 innings. 

Montgomery had a 3.20 ERA and 10-11 record across 32 starts in 2023, along with 166 punchouts over 188 2/3 innings, so he's a bounceback candidate as well. He'll need to pitch well, and maybe have an injury to another starter to get his starting job back though, so it could be an uphill climb for Montgomery.

Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson, Joe Mantiply, Shelby Miller, Drey Jameson and Kendall Graveman (when healthy) are the projected bullpen arms, and Andrew Saalfrank could join them after he gets done with his suspension in early June. Ginkel is worth keeping tabs on in deeper leagues, but after Martinez and Puk, it will be hard for anyone else to be decent fantasy assets.

Top Prospects

There's no Arizona pitching prospects on the top-100 list to start the season.

Yilber Diaz, Yu-Min Lin, Cristian Mena, Dylan Ray and Blake Walston are top-30 pitching prospects of the team with 2025 ETAs.

Diaz made four starts across seven MLB appearances in 2024. He went 1-1 with a 3.81 ERA. Diaz struck out 19 batters, walked 12 guys and had a .257 average against him.

Lin has 282 minor league innings under his belt. He has a 3.70 ERA, along with 332 strikeouts, 108 walks and a .237 average against him.

Mena made one MLB start in 2024, covering three innings. In 382 minor league innings so far, he has a 4.88 ERA, 446 punchuts, 169 walks and a .267 average against him.

Ray has 200 1/3 innings at the minor league level so far. He's posted a 4.76 ERA, 229 strikeouts and 77 walks, and has a .257 average against him.

Walston made two starts and seven appearances for the big league team in 2024. He had a 4.42 ERA across 18 1/3 innings, while striking out 18, walking 10 and having a .229 average against him. In 445 minor league innings, Walston has a 4.43 ERA, 443 strikeouts, 205 walks and a .255 average against him.

Joe Elbis, Kyle Amendt, Christian Montes De Oca and Listher Sosa are other pitchers age 25 or below who are in camp this spring.