Bryce Jarvis

Jarvis adjusted his mechanics during the lead up to the 2023 season with hope of improving upon the 8.27 ERA he posted at Double-A Amarillo in 2022. The main issue is a fastball that lacks much movement or deception. The right-hander's off-speed stuff - slider and changeup - was encouraging enough to keep him on a starter's trajectory, but Jarvis was only slightly better in 19 starts before a move to the bullpen. The transition to reliever was in part to prepare him as a multi-inning reliever in MLB. In 11 outings for the Diamondbacks - one as an opener - Jarvis posted a 3.04 ERA over 23.2 innings. That might be enough for the organization to keep in the 'pen moving forward, but he could be stretched out in spring training and nominally in the mix for the No. 5 starter job along with Ryne Nelson, Tommy Henry and Slade Cecconi.

A redshirt junior from Duke who turned 23 in December, Jarvis had one of the best changeups in the 2020 draft and was able to add velocity to his fastball (now 93-96 mph, touches 97) with a trip to Driveline last winter. Arizona bought into his new form and selected him with the No. 18 overall pick. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound righty logged a 0.67 ERA, 0.48 WHIP and 40:2 K:BB in 27 innings (four starts) against mostly mediocre competition last spring, as ACC play had barely gotten underway. His slider flashes plus while his curveball is a distant fourth pitch. Jarvis was believed to have good command, but it didn't appear that way at the alternate training site, as hitters were able to regularly square him up. He has already been blown past by fellow 2020 draftee Slade Cecconi on the organizational depth chart, and it's possible that his four-start run last spring was fool's gold.