{"id":485908,"date":"2026-02-23T16:01:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/485908\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:01:12","slug":"national-outlet-makes-strange-d-backs-breakout-prediction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/485908\/","title":{"rendered":"National Outlet Makes Strange D-backs Breakout Prediction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson began to show signs of a breakout in the latter end of the 2024 season. By the middle of 2025, he was far and away the best starting pitcher on Arizona’s staff.<\/p>\n

It took a roundabout route to get there, beginning with an unsuccessful relief stint. But when he was moved to the rotation full time, he delivered a nearly ace-like line, pitching to a 3.16 ERA over the course of 23 starts. <\/p>\n

For the full season, Nelson held a 3.39 ERA and 3.73 FIP, and that’s counting the 4.50 ERA over 26 relief innings. <\/p>\n

So it was a little strange to see Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter<\/a> list Nelson as the Diamondbacks’ biggest breakout candidate on the pitching staff in a recent article. <\/p>\n

Arizona Diamondbacks’ Ryne Nelson Named Breakout Candidate\"Arizona<\/p>\n

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson (19) pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field in Phoenix, on Sept. 24, 2025. | Joe Rondone\/The Republic \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Here’s what Reuter had to say about Nelson: <\/p>\n

“With Merrill Kelly traded and Zac Gallen struggling, Nelson was the best starter on the D-backs staff by the end of the 2025 season, despite opening the year in a bullpen role. Over his final seven outings, he had a 2.85 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while logging six quality starts, and he now pencils in as the No. 3 starter and pivot point in a volatile rotation.”<\/p>\n

On paper, Nelson might be one of the only pitchers eligible for a true breakout season in 2026. Eduardo Rodriguez, Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are who they are at this stage. <\/p>\n

But Nelson has been in the midst of his breakout for more than a full season at this stage. It began with a 3.23 ERA in the second half of 2024, and only continued in that direction in 2025. <\/p>\n

So unless he somehow manages to put forward an even more unbelievable season \u2014 which is certainly a possibility \u2014 Nelson is likely already on the way to his ceiling at full speed.<\/p>\n

Diamondbacks Need A Different Arm to Break Out\"Arizona<\/p>\n

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Pfaadt (32) during spring training workouts at Salt River Fields on Feb. 13, 2026, in Scottsdale. | Rob Schumacher\/The Republic \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It would benefit the D-backs more to see young right-hander Brandon Pfaadt put together a true breakout season. Though Pfaadt showed signs of that in the 2023 postseason, his seasons since have been categorized by inconsistency, with excellent stretches balanced by brutal performances.<\/p>\n

Related Content: Why D-backs’ Brandon Pfaadt Could Bounce Back in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Pfaadt has shown he’s capable of delivering in the biggest moments, he just needs to develop a higher level of consistency. He’s reportedly working on tweaking his mechanics slightly, in hopes of turning his slider back into a weapon. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Ryne Nelson began to show signs of a breakout in the latter end of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-485908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}