D-backs SP Zac Gallen Scorching MLB Hitters

By Frank W. Gillespie | Posted 1 year ago

Arizona Diamondbacks’ starter Zac Gallen (9-2) has been one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball this season. Gallen is blazing a trail through the desert for the D-backs, while cutting down hitters with his four-seam fastball. Following Gallen’s most recent start against the ever-dangerous San Francisco Giants, the young flamethrower has thrown 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings. Gallen struck out a career-high 12 batters in “The City by the Bay”, leading Arizona to a 5-0 victory over San Francisco.


"I've got a decent mix of pitches, and they're all working right now," Gallen told OSDB Sports. "The key is the unpredictability, keeping hitters off balance. I found my 'cutter slider' over the last few weeks, and that opens up the other side of the plate." 


The Diamondbacks play in a highly competitive NL West, but the team is developing character, coiling for a future strike. It's clear that Arizona has an opportunity to build something special around the nucleus of talent it has collected. Gallen is positioning himself as a crucial cornerstone of the franchise, a group he believes is brimming with raw potential. 


"We have a great core of young, talented players," Gallen said. "From the minor leagues on up, we're building a culture of sustainable success here. It's hard to put an exact timeline on when we'll be competing for the NL West crown, but we're making serious progress. The main difference that I see from last year is that we're winning the close games, grinding out one-run games."


Gallen is arbitration eligible in 2023 and will be a free agent in 2026, but his heart is in Arizona.


"Aside from the amazing people, Arizona is the best place to play in all of MLB, logistically speaking," Gallen told OSDB. "Spring training and home games are less than 30 minutes away, which is super convenient. 

 

It's just great for routines and makes life easier. The weather is great nine months out of the year. You know, when it's not 1,000 degrees outside in June, July, and August," Gallen chuckled. 


The weather forecasts were quite different in Gibbsboro, New Jersey, where Gallen grew up. June, July, and August were often the nicest months of the year, hot as they were. Gallen's older brother was a Yankees fan, and everyone else around him rooted for the Phillies (Philadelphia was a short drive away). 


"I really gravitated to baseball during the season that McGwire and Sosa were locked in that epic home run battle (1998)," Gallen reflected. "I wanted to be McGwire. My older brother was a Yanks fan and they always won, and he rubbed it in. I got sick of the Yankees always winning, the Phillies were struggling, and McGwire was my favorite player. So, I became a Cardinals fan."


Gallen went on to pitch for the University of North Carolina (UNC), where he was dubbed "The Milkman" The milkman always delivers.


"I always thought that radio announcer Turner Walston called me "Milkman" as a play on my name, like a gallon of milk," Gallen recalled. "It turns out that it had to do with my consistency on the mound." 


In the 2016 MLB Draft, Gallen was selected by the team that he had grown up cheering for. The St. Louis Cardinals picked Gallen in the third round (pick #106), albeit without any real foreknowledge or fanfare. 

 

"By that time, I had realized that at the end of the day baseball is a business.", Gallen stated. "I would have been happy to play for whatever team was willing to give me the opportunity. The Cardinals called me about 30 seconds before the pick was in. I was hanging around at my Aunt's house."

 

And being selected at 106 has served as impetus for Gallen to show the team in the Show-Me State and every other MLB franchise that he has something to show them. 

 

And he has been doing just that.

Gallen spent 18 months in the Cardinals' farm system before being traded to the Miami Marlins. He had hoped to make an immediate impact in Miami, but wound up spending another huge chunk of time in the minors.

 

In June 2019, Gallen finally arrived in the bigs with the Marlins, only to be traded to the D-backs shortly thereafter. Since then, Gallen has been making the most of each and every start he gets in Arizona. 


Gallen recently bought a house in AZ, and has settled in nicely with his red rock squad. “The Milkman” is now delivering shutout performances with regularity, and is making the opposition look lactose intolerant. 

 

 

 

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