Lefty Patrick Corbin, 22, has been nothing less than stellar during Spring Training for the Diamondbacks.
If you think back, Corbin was one of the main pieces in the deal that sent pitcher Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, back in 2010.
Corbin was drafted by the Angels in 2009, and spent time in their minor league organizations prior to the trade.
Last season, Corbin was 9-8, with a 4.21 ERA at Double-A Mobile.
During Spring Training, Corbin’s numbers and his pitching have been much more impressive.
Prior to his start on Tuesday against the Rockies, Corbin’s ERA was a minuscule 0.84. After his strong five innings, where he didn’t allow a single hit, that ERA dropped to 0.57.
It helps when Corbin looks the part, and actually follows through, which is exactly what he’s doing.
“I think I’ve always been pretty confident with me as a pitcher,” Corbin said. “Just coming up here and showing that you can throw against these guys helps a lot.”
He’s also creating a bit of a dilemma for manager Kirk Gibson, on whether or not to send him back to the minors. Trevor Bauer has already been sent down, but Corbin is making a strong case to stay with the big boys.
“We mull it over,” Gibson said. “We’ve got nine games left. Things could happen. As far as him making an impression, it’s been a very positive impression.”
Gibson said Corbin will most likely get some relief duty on Josh Collmenter’s next start.
“When he comes in next time, we’ll try to stretch him out more than he is now,” Gibson said.
If you’re a manager, you can never complain about having too many arms at your disposal, because you never know when you’ll have to make that call to the minors, or look on your current roster to see who you have that is ready to go.
I’d imagine Corbin would hope he’s on the latter of that scenario, rather than the former.
