2025 Diamondbacks Pitcher of the Year: Ryne Nelson

SB Nation

For the first time since before COVID [Kids! Ask your parents!], someone other than Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly has won our award for Pitcher of the Year. Gallen and Kelly had strictly alternated victories

for the past five seasons. And if you had gone on our player ratings, that would have continued, because Kelly’s 8.63 score was the highest of any pitcher, ahead of Nelson’s 8.48. I suspect that when it comes to this category, Nelson’s performance relative to expectations may have been a factor: rating took place before Kelly’s return to the D-backs, so that wasn’t a factor. Nelson also threw more innings. But I thought it might have been closer than this:

That’s decisive, with Nelson getting a clear majority of all the votes, and no particular stand-out as a runner-up. Everyone got at least one vote, and I do note that ‘No award’ got several, which perhaps indicates the fanbase being fed-up of the Diamondbacks’ pitching and their faffing around. If this does prove to be the last hurrah for both Mike Hazen and Torey Lovullo, it’s likely no exaggeration to say the cause of their eventual demise could be found on the mound at Chase Field. But last year, Ryne was certainly less of the problem, and hopefully will be more of the solution too, going forward. Let’s just hold off on any contract extension, m’kay?

I can’t believe Wes left out the most remarkable feat of Nelson’s season, surely instrumental in him securing this award. Because Ryne became the first full-time pitcher to secure a hit since the introduction of the designated hitter to the National League. The last was former D-back Zack Greinke in the 2021 World Series. But with the D-backs bench out of players, the former college shortstop talked his way to the plate. “Once they got to second and third, I was like, ‘All right, man, I kind of have a job to do now. It’s not just for fun anymore, there’s some runs to drive in’. Just tried to get my foot down and put the bat on the ball.” He and the Tigers’ Gregory Soto are the only players active last year with a 1.000 career average.

You could argue that, at the time, Nelson had been more valuable as a hitter than a pitcher – particularly against the Cubs. Because his first outing had not gone well, getting mauled for four runs over 1.2 innings against the same opponent. Indeed, for whatever reason, the north side of Chicago had his number: Nelson was tagged for five more runs in the infamous 13-11 loss at Wrigley. This year, his ERA against the Cubs was 34.71; against everyone else, it was 2.91. These blow-ups kept his overall numbers high: it was still at 5.82 in early May, when he got to make his first start of the season.

It came against the Mets at Chase Field on May 5, after Corbin Burnes had to skip a start due to shoulder inflammation. He took the loss, working 4.1 innings of two-run ball, with control the major issue. He walked four, striking out only two, and went 1-0 on the first eight batters faced. He said afterward, “Definitely wasn’t the game plan to nibble like I was… I think I trust my stuff and just wasn’t able to execute quite as [well] as I would have liked to.” He went back to the bullpen, and picked up his second career save in his next appearance, getting the last six outs of a 3-0 win against the Dodgers.

Ten days later, he was back in the rotation against the same opposition, this time replacing Eduardo Rodriguez, and tossed five innings of one-run ball. The following week, Nelson picked up his first win as a starter, blanking the Pirates for six frames (below). A further brief return to the bullpen followed, but when Burnes went down for the year, Nelson was a starter for good. Although he was roughed up so badly in his first outing of June, you’d think Nelson was playing the Cubs. The Reds torched him for seven earned runs in only three innings, and the game ended with backup catcher Jose Herrera pitching the eighth.

Twitter was, unsurprisingly, not impressed. More than one person expressed sentiments like this: “People screaming from the hilltops for Ryne Nelson to be in the rotation, this is what you get. He is not the solution. Long relief is where he belongs!” So, about that… Let’s cut to the chase, Ryne Nelson made 19 starts the rest of the way. He took the loss just once (and really didn’t deserve it, allowing one earned run in 5.1 innings) and had an ERA of 2.89. Seems like “the solution” to me, wouldn’t you say? Though to be fair, his FIP over that time was 3.73, so you could say he had some measure of luck.

However, the control problems which had factored into the early struggles were much improved. In eight of his 23 starts last season, Nelson issued zero walks. That’s as many as Zac Gallen and Eduardo Rodriguez between them, over their 62 starts. The outing against the Pirates was likely his best, with a Game Score of 72. But he almost always kept the Diamondbacks in the game, with eight other starts which had a Game Score within ten points of that appearance. He certainly deserved a better record: after the All-Star break, Ryne had a 3.09 ERA across thirteen starts – but just two victories, with ten no-decisions, largely courtesy of the bullpen.

If you want further proof of Nelson’s credentials, at the end of September, manager Torey Lovullo was asked who he would vote for, if there was a team-specific Cy Young award. He replied: “The wins and losses don’t indicate that [Nelson] would get a vote. But I think from what we asked him to do and the space that he has taken up for us in the bullpen and now is a very dependable starting pitcher, you can throw the record out the window. I would probably go with Nelly. He’s been the most consistent all year, for sure.” And who are we possibly to argue with the team’s Unsung Hero in 2025?