Rockies at Diamondbacks updates. 'Critical point' for this pitcher

The Diamondbacks ’ rotation has been on a run in recent weeks, logging 11 quality starts in the past 15 games and working into the sixth inning in all but one of those starts. All those innings have made it difficult for manager Torey Lovullo to find work for Brandon Pfaadt, the starter-turned-reliever who is pitching in a long man role out of the bullpen. And that lack of work is leading the Diamondbacks and Pfaadt toward an inflection point in his season.

If it continues, will the Diamondbacks be comfortable with him working in shorter stints as a reliever the rest of year? Will they keep him in short relief and then stretch him back out if the need arises in the rotation? Or will they send him to the minors to keep him stretched out and ready to start?

“We feel like he’s at a very critical point right now,” Lovullo said. “He’s a piece of our bullpen. He can get outs.

He can go out and throw the baseball where he wants, and he can be a part of an eight-man bullpen. ” Lovullo mentioned right-handers Randall Delgado and Drey Jameson, a pair of pitchers who bounced from the rotation to the bullpen and then back to starting before ultimately blowing out their arms. Those experiences have left the organization sensitive to the idea of stretching a starter out in-season after having him pitch in short bursts.