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Countdown to Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Day: D-18, Randall Delgado

He’s one of the longest serving D-backs now.

By Jim McLennan
Arizona Diamondbacks Photo Day Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

We asked you to rank the 40-man roster along with the 16 non-roster invitees to spring training, and every day between now and the eve of Opening Day, we’ll have a profile of one of those Diamondbacks.

D minus 18: Randall Delgado

  • Date of birth: February 9, 1990
  • Ht/Wt: 6’4”, 220 lbs
  • Position: Pitcher
  • Status: 40-man roster
  • Bats/Throws: R/R
  • 2016 MLB numbers: 79 games, 75.0 IP, 4.44 ERA, 68:36 K:BB
  • SnakePit Rating: 5.33 [pattern of votes below]

This will Delgado’s 7th major-league season, and fifth with the D-backs. Only Paul Goldschmidt, Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock have been with the team longer. Which is odd, considering Delgado only turned 27 last month: he’s still younger than Rule 5 pick Tyler Jones. But Health permitting, he’ll likely be #2 all-time on the AZ appearance list around the All-Star break. Randall’s 79 games last year were more than any pitcher in team history, save Oscar Villarreal’s insane 86 in 2003. Even if his overall numbers have been less than stellar (career ERA+ with Arizona = 95), he has been a workhorse for us, and is out of options, so his spot in the 2017 bullpen seems all but assured.

Delgado’s K-rate has declined of late: it was 10.0 in 2014, then 9.1 in 2015, and only 8.2 in 2016. His walk-rate has been more or less constant, but his HR rate has edged up. That may be connected to some loss of velocity. His fast-ball averaged a decent 93.1 mph last year, but that was down from 94.3 in 2016. With his change actually ticking up, the average difference between the two dropped from 9.6 mph to 7.4 mph, which may have played into the declining peripherals. [I also note this shows Delgado’s 2017 velocity so far has been 91.3 mph, so it may not just be Zack Greinke that is short of his previous velocity this spring]

Delgado is in his second year of arbitration eligibility, though at $1.75 million is not exactly a bank-breaker. But he’ll be more expensive next year, and if the numbers continue to show the same decline they have, it’s quite possible there’ll be someone younger, cheaper and potentially better lurking in the wings to take his spot.

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