UNC Baseball: Gallen off to great start for Diamondbacks

Former UNC Baseball pitcher Zac Gallen has had a phenomenal start to the 2023 MLB season for the Arizona Diamondbacks through the first month.

Former UNC baseball pitcher Zac Gallen earned the Opening Day start for the Arizona Diamondbacks back on March 30th vs the Los Angeles Dodgers and didn’t have a great start to his 2023 season giving up five runs on six hits in only four and two-third innings.

However, since that Opening Day performance, Gallen was one of, if not the best pitcher in the National League in April and is proving why he could be a Cy Young candidate again in 2023.

Gallen carried the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff during the month of April. Every game that Gallen took the mound, the D-backs won, and only once did Gallen receive a no-decision. The stats that he carried in the month of April are mind-blowing.

He pitched 33 innings and gave up 18 hits, and only four earned runs while striking out 44 batters during the month averaging 8.8 strikeouts per appearance. Gallen’s ERA in the month of April was 1.09. After his last April appearance, at the time, he was leading the MLB in strikeouts.

After setting a Diamondbacks franchise record in 2022, Gallen carried the scoreless inning streak o 28 innings into the month of May.

Gallen’s first appearance for the month was last night vs the Texas Rangers where he pitched five innings and gave up seven hits, and three runs. He left the game with the Diamondbacks holding a 4-3 lead, but the bullpen gave up three runs and Arizona lost the game 6-4, but Gallen was given a no-decision.

He is currently 4-1 on the year with a 2.53 ERA, 57 strikeouts, and a 0.84 WHIP. ESPN’s Cy Young Predictor currently has Gallen 9th in the NL Cy Young race. However, he has pitched the most innings and is tied for the most strikeouts. One factor that the predictor considers is a players’ team winning the division championship.

Unfortunately for Gallen, the Diamondbacks aren’t projected to win the NL West. Arizona is currently 1.5 games back from the Dodgers, but the Padres are also expected to compete for the division title.

Is it possible we see the Diamondbacks try to trade the former Tar Heel if they fall out of the division or wildcard race before the trade deadline in July? We will continue following Gallen’s performances and hope he can keep the momentum going.

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on Twitter and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC baseball news, updates, and recruiting.