The timeline of star pitcher Zac Gallen
2016: St. Louis Cardinals draft Gallen
With the 106th overall pick in the 2016 MLB draft, the St. Louis Cardinals selected pitcher Zac Gallen out of the University of North Carolina. The 2016 MLB draft was loaded with stars; Bryan Reynolds, Bo Bichette, Pete Alonso, Corbin Burnes, and Shane Bieber to name a few. Add Zac Gallen to the list…
Gallen spent 3 seasons with the NC Tar Heels. His last season was his best as he made 13 starts and posted a 2.68 ERA with 95 strikeouts over the course of 90.1 innings. Overall, Gallen pitched 260 innings in college ball and finished with a 3.36 ERA…
2016: Gallen's first taste of pro ball
In the same year he was drafted, Gallen began his work as a professional baseball player. He pitched in rookie ball for the Gulf Coast Cardinals. Though it was a very short stint, Gallen was impressive. In 9.2 innings, Gallen recorded a 1.86 ERA, a .194 BAA, and a 0.72 WHIP. It was time for Gallen to move up to the minors…
2017: Major success in the minors
Gallen was dominant in his first full season in the minors. He began his minor league climb in high-A with the Palm Beach Cardinals. In 9 high A starts, Gallen went 5-2 with a 1.62 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. It was evident early on that Gallen had dominant stuff. After 9 incredible starts, Gallen received a promotion and moved up to the Cards AA team, the Springfield Cardinals. In 13 AA starts, Gallen went 4-5 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Not dominant but still nothing to scoff at. Every minor leaguer will hit a rough patch at some point. Gallen finished out the 2017 season in AAA where he made 4 starts and went 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP…
Overall, Gallen had a phenomenal debut season in the minors. Between 3 teams, he went 10-8 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP over the course of 147.2 innings…
2017: A massive trade
On December 14, 2017, the Cardinals traded Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcántara, Magneuris Sierra, and Daniel Castano to the Miami Marlins for star slugger Marcell Ozuna. At the moment, most fans probably believed that St. Louis had won the trade as in 2017, the star slugging outfielder put up insane numbers for the Marlins. In 159 games Ozuna hit 37 HRs, 124 RBIs, and finished with an OPS of .924…
2018: Year 2 of the minors
Gallen was ready for yet another year to prove to everyone why he belonged in the bigs. But this time for a new organization. Gallen was a 2018 non-roster invitee to spring training for Miami, but it is a spring training he probably tries to forget. He only pitched 4.1 innings but incredibly he gave up 18 earned runs; every superhero has their downfall I guess…
The Marlins placed Gallen in AAA to begin the 2018 season and that is where he would stay for the remainder of the year. In 25 starts for the Baby Cakes (yes that was actually the old name of the Marlins triple-a team), Gallen went 8-9 with a 3.65 ERA and 136 strikeouts over 133.1 innings. Yes, the ERA was up but the strikeouts were also up which is a good indicator that a pitcher is beginning to gain command of all his pitches…
2019: Year 3 of the minors
In Gallen’s third and final season pitching in the minors, he played like a created player in a video game. In 14 starts with the Baby Cakes, Gallen went 9-1 with a 1.77 ERA, a .153 BAA, a 0.71 WHIP, and he struck out 112 batters over the course of 91.1 innings. It goes without saying, Zac was ready for the big leagues…
2019: Gallen's first taste of the majors
The Marlins front office had seen enough of Gallen in the minors, they were ready to throw him in the big league rotation. Gallen picked up right where he left off in New Orleans. In 7 starts with the Marlins, the then-flowless Gallen recorded a 2.72 ERA, a .191 BAA, and a 1.18 WHIP. Dominance!
2019: Another big trade?!
On July 31, 2019, the Miami Marlins acquired shortstop Jazz Chisholm from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for SP Zac Gallen. After this surprising trade, Gallen finished out the 19’ season with the D-backs, and boy was he good. In 8 starts he recorded a 2.89 ERA and impressively struck out 53 batters over the course of 43.2 innings…
2020-Present: The rest is history...
If you ask most people around baseball, the Diamondbacks won the Gallen, Jazz trade. Want to hear something crazy; if the Marlins did not trade for Jazz, they would have Alcantra and Gallen in the same rotation…
Since 2020, Gallen has been the most reliable pitcher for Arizona. Over the past 3 seasons, Gallen is 19-16 with a 3.15 ERA over the course of 377 innings. He has also struck out 413 batters. Gallen was the most dominant NL pitcher a season ago, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this ex-Cardinals and ex-Marlins prospect wins the Cy Young award in 2023…