Your 2019 Opening Day Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen

163 people submitted forms to tell us who they think will be in the Diamondbacks’ bullpen on Opening Day next month. I’m almost tempted to erase the last vote, so we have the same numbers in the “should” and “will” polls. But let’s not do that. Below are the results, divided into four groups: definites, possibles, unlikelies and lottery tickets. For each man, you’ll see the percentage who voted for them to be in the Opening Day bullpen, and in brackets, their position in the ranking phase of this little exercise.

Definite

• Yoshihisa Hirano 99.4% (2.4)
• Archie Bradley 98.2% (1.9)
• Andrew Chafin 96.9% (5.0)
• T.J. McFarland 96.3% (5.8)
• Greg Holland 95.7% (3.8)

There are the players who hardly need to do more than show up to spring training. Health permitting, they are locks for the Opening Day roster, and their Cactus League performance is largely irrelevant. They were all named on 156 or more of the 163 ballots, so there’s really hardly any point on separating them. Though interesting to see Holland dipping down below both Chafin and McFarland in overall popularity, and Yoshi also edging out Archie for the top spot. Breaking news: Bradley just issued a subpoena to the SnakePit for the names of the three people who DIDN’T nominate him, so he can block them on Twitter. Don’t worry: your secret is safe with us. :)

Possible

• Yoan Lopez 58.9% (7.6)
• Jimmie Sherfy 55.8% (7.9)
• Silvino Bracho 50.3% (8.5)
• Matt Andriese 42.9% (9.3)
• Matt Koch 38.7% (9.5)

At this point, it seems these five names will be competing for two remaining slots in the bullpen. However, it is possible that the team goes with eight relievers, as they did for part of the year - though this would seem to rule out the possibility of them also carrying three catchers, a Hazen/Lovullo speciality. As Ford noted in the comments on the ranking section, it’s also possible Mike Hazen trades for or signs additional bullpen help, especially if he thinks a bargain can be found. These would respectively add and take away from the opportunities available to this group. However, it still seems they are the pitchers with most to prove in spring, and whose performances will be most under the microscope.

Unlikely

• Braden Shipley 23.9% (13.0)
• Rubby De La Rosa 22.1% (11.5)
• Robby Scott 17.2% (14.8)
• Nick Green 12.3% (14.2)
• Emilio Vargas 11.7% (16.4)

We now get down to those whose odds of making the bullpen out of the gate are seen as somewhere between 3-1 and 10-1 against. They probably will require both an impressive showing in spring training and, most likely, some of those ahead of them to falter. Having an additional spot to fill would be helpful. Scott and Green both show up better here than they did in the ranking poll, perhaps reflecting the fact that Scott was acquired by Hazen for a reason and Green has his Rule 5 status. I’d also like to thank the Vargas family for showing up, boosting his ranking from dead-last in the “should” poll to this spot, albeit one still on the fringes of the fringe.

Lottery tickets

• Bo Takahashi 8.6% (15.9)
• Joey Krehbiel 5.5% (14.3)
• Kevin Ginkel 3.1% (13.0)
• Stefan Crichton 1.8% (14.1)

Finally, we see those who, to be honest, are in the “slim to none” category, as far as an Opening Day spot is concerned. If any of them make it, this would likely be an indication that something has gone very wrong: possibly involving the team bus and the Grand Canyon. However, time is on all of their sides. The fact that they are in spring training at all indicates the team sees them as being more than mere filler. Krehbiel, being already on the 40-man roster and having had a cup of coffee last season, is the one I’d say we’re most likely to see in the bullpen at some point. Opening Day though, seems extremely unlikely.