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Diamondbacks announce new starter for Tuesday's game vs Athletics

Arizona Diamonbacks On SI · Jul 21, 2026 16:00 · 2 min read

Diamondbacks Announce New Starter for Tuesday's Game vs Athletics — Feb 22, 2026; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Kohl Drake (58) delivers to the plate in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Arizona has its Tuesday starter.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be in a bit of a unique position for their Tuesday night matchup with the Athletics at Chase Field.

At the 2025 Trade Deadline, the Diamondbacks dealt veteran right-hander Merrill Kelly to the Texas Rangers in exchange for three pitching prospects: lefties Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt alongside right-hander David Hagaman, who is currently in High-A.

On Tuesday night, as manager Torey Lovullo confirmed on Monday, Arizona will get to watch Drake, the headliner of those three prospects, make his major league debut. His trade-mate, Bratt, pitched Monday.

That of course means that two members of the same deal will pitch on back-to-back games — while sharing a rotation with Kelly, the very arm that brought them to Arizona in the first place.

Diamondbacks' Kohl Drake to make MLB debut

Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Kohl Drake (58) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale on March 1, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Drake, strangely enough, was the prospect in the deal that was initially thought to be the most major league-ready arm. He was the oldest incoming member of that trade at 26 years old, but struggled in spring training to the tune of a 10.50 ERA in Cactus League play.

Drake currently ranks No. 10 among Arizona's prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. He's their No. 5 pitching prospect, with four other arms all littering the top 10.

The left-hander hasn't looked all that sharp in Triple-A Reno so far this year, either. For the Aces, he's posted a 6.92 ERA over the course of 66.1 innings in 17 appearances (16 starts).

Drake has been called up to the majors before, back on June 21, but he was not able to make his MLB debut in that time, and was only up to serve as an emergency long relief option. He was sent back down after just three days on the roster. In this stint, he's expected to get on the field at the MLB level for the first time.

Diamondbacks looking for rotation answers

Jun 2, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Michael Soroka against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Drake's debut will be the third such starting pitcher debut of the Diamondbacks' season thus far. It's been a struggle to maintain a healthy and effective rotation; Arizona has lost Ryne Nelson (elbow strian) Michael Soroka (glute strain) and Zac Gallen (elbow inflammation) to the injured list.

So it's been Bratt, righty Jose Cabrera and now Drake filling in. Neither Bratt nor Cabrera have looked dominant, but they've shown potential at times, as well.

Soroka will be the first to a return, barring a setback, though his timeline was pushed back a bit longer than expected. Gallen is consulting Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and while surgery does not sound like the primary option yet, it's possible his season may be closer to ending than resuming.