Left-hander Madison Bumgarner started the spring as one of the Diamondbacks’ biggest question marks. He finished it ranking near the bottom of the list of their concerns. That might say as much about the state of the rotation as it does about the way Bumgarner looked.
By all accounts, Bumgarner threw the ball better than he did for most of last year’s pandemic-shortened season. His velocity was a tick higher. His pitching coach said his stuff was crisper. He missed bats at an encouraging rate.
But the Diamondbacks are coming off a spring in which their rotation was anything but impressive -- and, even worse, they are minus their best starter from last year, right-hander Zac Gallen, who is expected to miss at least a couple of starts, if not more, due a hairline fracture in his right forearm.