Pitching Prospects Corbin, Skaggs join Bauer in Minors

In continuing to trim the roster before the Opening Day series against the San Francisco Giants on Friday, the Diamondbacks reassigned pitchers Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin to Double-A Mobile, and outfielder A.J. Pollock, infielder Cody Ransom, and catcher Ryan Budde to Triple-A Reno.

This move ended the speculation as to where pitching prospects Skaggs and Corbin would start the season.  Both are joining fellow prospect Trevor Bauer with the Mobile Bay Bears, thus ensuring the Double-A team a potent three-man rotation.  All three could get called up to the majors depending on how the back end of the rotation for the Diamondbacks performs.  Trevor Cahill, Josh Collmenter, and Joe Saunders, the back end of the rotation, struggled this spring going a collective 0-9 and an 8.55 ERA.  The Skaggs, Corbin, and Bauer combination went a collective 3-2 and a 4.58 ERA.

The other players moved were also having decent springs but seem further from the majors than the pitching prospects.  Pollock had the best spring of the trio, hitting .288 with a .362 OBP and a .481 slugging percentage.  Pollock would have had a hard time making the major league roster with the four main outfilders, Jason Kubel, Gerardo Parra, Chris Young, and Justin Upton already on the roster.  Ransom had a .214 batting average, with a .283 OBP and a .405 slugging percentage while Budde had a sub-.100 batting average.

The last spot was decided when it was announced reliever Takashi Saito, who injured his calf while stretching during Tuesdays game against the Brewers, will start the season on the disabled list.  This opened up a roster spot for  Wade Miley while Mike Zagurski was the odd man left out.

Regardless of what happens with the final roster spots in the bullpen, the pitching staff is going to have to be spot on with their performances because with the three outstanding prospects waiting in the wings there is no room for error.

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