Underrated Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen no longer a fringe player
PHOENIX — It’s the bulletin board that flashes inside Zac Gallen’s brain and burns inside his soul every time he steps onto the pitcher’s mound.
Really, the St. Louis Cardinals considered him nothing more than a fringe player with prized pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara in their 2017 trade to acquire outfielder Marcell Ozuna from the Miami Marlins?
“Yep, that was it, I was just a throw-in,’’ Gallen says.
The Marlins actually thought that Gallen would be nothing more than a No. 4 or No. 5 starter when they sent him to Arizona for Jazz Chisholm?
“That’s what people were saying,’’ Gallen says. “There’s not a lot of people still left over there who got rid of me.’’
Thirty teams thought it was wise to pass on Gallen again and again times in the 2016 draft before the Cardinals finally selected him with the 106th pick?
“I was the second-to-last pick in the third round, so essentially,’’ Gallen says, “every team passed on me three times.’’
Ten of the 30 baseball writers who voted for the 2022 NL Cy Young award didn’t believe Gallen was worth even a top 5 pick after going 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA and 192 strikeouts last year, including 8-2 with a 1.49 ERA the second half?
“I know who left me off the ballot,’’ Gallen says. “I’ve got their names on my phone. It’s like, 'All right, you don’t have to put me first, second or third, but not to get a fifth-place vote?’’
Gallen sits back, rubs his hand through his hair, and reflects, on life as perhaps baseball’s most underrated pitcher, at least outside of Phoenix where he is the D-backs ace.
“I’m always like vindictive, looking for a way to provide to some revenge,’’ Gallen tells USA TODAY Sports. “You’ve got to find stuff like that to keep the fire burning. You want to show them, for a lack of better phrase, what they’re missing.’’
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Gallen momentarily stops, allows a grin to slowly stretch across his face, his eyes dancing, and says:
“I love,’’ he says, “to prove people wrong.’’
If Gallen is not the best pitcher in baseball these days, he’s certainly in the conversation.
He has a fastball command that reminds baseball executives and scouts of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, a quiet intensity that reminds people of Jon Lester, and an unflappable demeanor on the mound like Clayton Kershaw.
“He’s special, really, really special,’’ D-backs pitching coach Brent Strom says. “I think if he wins the Cy Young award, then I’ll be able to come back next year. If he doesn’t, I’ll be fired.’’
Yes, Gallen is that good.
Gallen is a human metronome, shutting down teams start after start after start, pitching 44.1 consecutive shutout innings one year, and 28 consecutive shutout innings the next.
He is 5-1 with a 2.26 ERA, ranking second in the National League with 64 strikeouts, while leading the NL lead with a 0.85 WHIP (walks and hits per nine innings), strikeout-to-walk rate (11.60), innings pitched (49.2) and fourth in opposing batting average (.198). He has walked just six batters, never more than one since his opening-day start, generating a whiff rate of 44.7% on his curveball and 36.7% on his changeup.
“Zac, right now,’’ D-backs manager Torey Lovullo says, “is in a class by himself.’’
Yes, indeed, in these days of flash over substance, where wild bat flips, 100-mph fastballs and smack talk will get you on video game covers, there is Gallen.
He shows up four hours before first pitch at 2:53 p.m. Monday wearing shorts, a T-shirt that reads “No name,’ a cap that reads, “Don’t trip,’ and tennis shoes. He begins studying the Marlins lineup. He goes out, pitches seven innings, giving up just five hits and one run, striking out seven, and afterwards calls it just an average performance, upset that he walked a batter, ending his streak of 35.2 innings.
“It's the improvements that he makes every start,’’ Lovullo says, “and he's never sitting still studying and preparing a game plan. Sometimes I'll watch the game plan unfold, and it's totally different from the start before. He has so many weapons. He's got a different version of himself every five days.’’
Gallen, who relied heavily on his cut-fastball, curveball and changeup in his two-hit, 6.2-inning shutout performance in his April 16 start against the Marlins in Miami, this time went with his 94-mph fastball and lethal curveball, virtually abandoning his changeup against the Marlins.
The Marlins had no clue either time, hitting .146 in the two games against Gallen: seven hits, one run, 14 strikeouts and one walk in 13.2 innings.
“What’s most impressive to me is that he truly is unemotional,’’ D-backs veteran third baseman Evan Longoria says. “I’ve always felt like when I watch some of the best of the best pitch, whether they are affected at all internally, they never express it eternally. Those guys are really internalizing their feelings. They are able to take that adversity on the mound, channel it into focus, effort level or intensity.
“When he’s on the mound he rarely shows emotion. When he’s in the dugout, he’s intense, but he’s not out of control. I think all of that allows him to really maximize his talent.
“It reminds me a lot of [Justin] Verlander or the way [CC] Sabathia was.
If Gallen were in Los Angeles, there would be freeway billboards extolling his virtues. If he were in New York, Madison Avenue would be clamoring for him. If he was in Chicago, they’d be naming pizzas after him.
In Phoenix, well, Gallen, 6-foot-2, 189 pounds, can leave his home, shop in all of the trendy Scottsdale stores, and not a single soul will recognize him. He has one single sponsorship, a local car dealership that permits him drive their truck for free for the season.
That’s it.
“I’m telling you, we all know who he is,’’ says Marlins infielder Luis Arraez, who’s hitting .408 this season, but is only 1-for-9 against Gallen. “The guy is nasty. Just nasty. He attacks hitters. He throws a lot of strikes with every pitch. Fastballs. Curveballs. Changeups. Sliders. Cut-fastballs. Unbelievable.’’
Gallen, who’s scheduled to face the San Francisco Giants on Saturday at Chase Field, has been unconscious pitching at home for the past year. He’s 8-1 with a 0.55 ERA since the 2022 All-Star break.
He also could be one of the most coveted players on the free agent market after the 2025 season. The D-backs gave Zack Greinke a 6-year, $206.5 million contract at the age of 32, and Gallen will be just 29. He’s certainly willing to listen if the D-backs broach him about a contract extension, but for now is more than content to keep dominating, no matter who’s paying attention.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to even think about it, really,’’ Gallen says. “Honestly, I’d rather just focus on the season now. There’s for the off-season."
Verlander, who has won three Cy Young awards, gave Gallen the ultimate compliment last year when they went head-to-head in September, each pitching seven innings and giving up six hits and two runs, and the D-backs winning the game, 5-2. Gallen was in the clubhouse, packing his bags, when Verlander congratulated him, saying how much he enjoyed the competition.
“I thought that was really cool, and completely unexpected,’’ Gallen said. “I mean, he’s a guy I grew up watching. He’s definitely on his way to Cooperstown. And for him to do that, I’ll never forget it.’’
The NL West traditionally has been a hotbed for Cy Young award winners. The NL West produced 18 Cy Young award winners in 22 years, but has not had a Cy Young winner since Clayton Kershaw in 2014, the longest drought since divisional play began in 1969.
Who knows, maybe it ends this year.
“The biggest thing is to stay durable, stay healthy, post 32 times a year, and let’s see what happens,’’ Gallen says. “You want to win the Cy Young every year. You want to be on top of your profession every year, but like it really doesn't happen like that. All you can do is make every start you can, year in and year out.
“You look at a guy like Gerrit Cole. He’s out there 30, 32 starts, 200 innings, punching out 220 guys, throwing out a 3-ERA. It’s hard to say a guy making $325 million is underrated, but I think he’s super underappreciated in the game of baseball.’’
You know, sounds a little familiar to a young fella out West.
You may not know Zac Gallen now, but it’s time to pay attention, because he’s quietly putting on a pitching clinic for all the baseball world to see.
Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @Bnightengale
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen in a 'class by himself'
