Two Reno Relievers Worthy of a Big League Call-Up
Profiling a pair of arms in the Reno bullpen that could find their way into the big leagues by the end of the 2025 season.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are in a position where they should start looking at future arms to assemble their 2026 bullpen. That likely means moving on from short-term options such as Jalen Beeks, Jake Woodford, Anthony DeSclafani, and Kendall Graveman, and paving the way for new arms to join the big league roster.
The one problem with making such a move is the issue with the glut of injured arms on the 40-man roster that the team will have to make space for. Arizona has eight pitchers on the 60-day injured list, with seven of them either under contract or team control next season. Cristian Mena is the only one of the seven pitchers who isn’t recovering from surgery.
However, considering how many relievers they’re going to be down next year, it may be worth getting started on trimming the roster fluff. These two pitchers should get a look in the final two months of the season.
RHP Austin Pope
Pope should be next in line for a big league promotion if a spot opens up in the bullpen, whether Kendall Graveman gets traded or DFA’d. He’s been stalling away in Triple-A since the 2023 season. It’s unclear how comfortable the organization is with bringing him up, as he just returned to action on July 1st with the Aces after six rehab outings in the complex.
Pope features a fastball 92-95 MPH with average ride (15-17” induced vertical break), a slider, and a curveball. He’ll occasionally mix a sinker and a cutter, but he’ll rely on the four-seamer, curveball, slider mix.
In four outings with Reno this season, Pope is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA. More impressively, he has a 7/2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four innings. While it is a small sample size, spanning just 80 pitches this season, it’s a good sign for the 26-year-old right-hander.
The organization may send Pope back to the Arizona Fall League again in 2025 if he doesn’t see big league time. He previously pitched there in 2023, but it should be a matter of getting an extra evaluation ahead of a key 40-man roster decision.
Pope projects as a middle reliever who should handle medium-leverage situations. In the past two offseasons, the D-backs have gotten away with keeping Pope off their 40-man roster.
RHP Alfred Morillo
Morillo is Rule 5 eligible for the first time after the season, so there is an incentive to get him an early look at big league hitters. With his promotion to Reno this week, it’s almost a certainty he’ll be added to the 40-man roster considering his stuff profile.
I got the chance to see Morillo in the Arizona Fall League last year, where he featured a mid-90s four-seamer, a slider, and a very firm changeup. It didn’t have much of a velo difference compared to the four-seamer (95.5 to 92.4). It’s also worth noting that fall league velo measurements might be a bit off, considering it’s happening well after the minor league season ends.
In Double-A Amarillo, he was hitting 94-98 MPH (clocked as high as 99.0 MPH in his Reno debut) with the slider being his best swing-and-miss offering when located down and to the glove side. His slider is harder, jumping from the mid-80s to upper-80s, taking on more of a gyro/death ball shape (negative iVB, low horizontal break). Those two pitches will be the key for him to reach the big leagues. Establishing the heater, then uses the slider to get chases and whiffs.
One area of concern is inconsistent command. Morillo has always been loose with the walks, but made strides on that in 2025. His walk rate dropped to a career-low 10.2% while maintaining an impressive 27.0% strikeout rate. Ideally, he gets that number below 10% in Reno to force the organization’s hand.
Morillo projects as a right-handed setup man who should get a healthy amount of whiffs. I put him in that mold of Kevin Ginkel and Christian Montes De Oca in terms of stuff and potential impact, but not quite in the same build as those other two arms.
D-backs Under Review is Michael McDermott’s publication for deep analysis dives, game coverage, prospect coverage, and breaking down the biggest news topics involving the Arizona Diamondbacks. Michael has been writing about the D-backs since the 2015 season, with stops at AZ Snake Pit, Diamondbacks On SI, Venom Strikes, and Burn City Sports. He has covered over 40 MLB games at Chase Field and the Arizona Fall League.