Collmenter likely won’t be leaving the rotation for awhile

If Josh Collmenter doesn’t improve on his spring numbers, he will eventually be out of the D-Backs rotation, however due to the Diamondbacks starting pitching situation, they might be willing to stick with Collmenter longer than most teams would.

Collmenter had a well publicized, very rough spring that saw him post an 0-4 record with a 9.95 ERA in 19 innings.  It was the worst ERA among any of the D-Backs starters.  If he can deliver 5-6 innings and limit opponents to 3-4 runs, then it will be enough for Gibson to live with for now.  However, even if he continues to struggle into the regular season, manager Kirk Gibson might have no choice but to stick with Collmenter for several starts.

The chief competitors for the the 5th rotation spot would be Tyler Skaggs, Trevor Bauer and Patrick Corbin.  Skaggs has the best minor league pedigree of the three pitching 266.2 innings with a 3.04 ERA to date.  However, Skaggs saw his own struggles this spring posting a 7.16 ERA.  Bauer is the best prospect of the three and had a good spring, however he has only pitched 30.2 innings in the minors.  Corbin had the best spring of the three and had 166.1 innings at Double-A Mobile, however has never pitched at the Triple-A level.  Still, Corbin is the most likely to get the call up in an immediate situation.

While the D-Backs have options to replace Collmenter should he struggle, they’re hoping for him to pitch servicably while their young trio of prospects gain valuable experience at the higher minor league levels.  Today’s test against the Giants will be Collmenters first chance to prove that the D-Backs don’t need to rush their prospects.

Follow me on twitter @detsportsczar or at www.thesportsczar.com.

Follow venom strikes on twitter @venomstrikes.