ORGANIZATION REPORTS

Small Tweak Leads To Big Results For Nelson

Triple-A Reno righthander Ryne Nelson told himself to be shorter, to stay on top of the ball. Almost immediately he rediscovered his best stuff.

The seemingly small mechanical adjustment in his arm stroke allowed Nelson to bump his fastball velocity closer to where it sat for most of last season, and it has helped him find success in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Over a nine-start stretch beginning on May 29, Nelson logged a 4.38 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 49.1 innings.

His fastball went from sitting around 92 mph to sitting 94 during that stretch—and he said his delivery is easier to repeat and his arm is recovering better after outings.

Nelson said his arm stroke had gradually become long in the back without him realizing it. Now, as he is driving toward home plate, he keeps his right arm bent, almost mirroring the way he bends at the elbow with his left arm. He said he feels more on time with his delivery.

“My arm stroke isn’t like Lucas Giolito short,” Nelson said. “It’s just cleaner.”

He said D-backs pitching coordinator Dan Carlson first prompted him to make the change, though Carlson said the adjustment was an organizational effort, rattling off names of fellow coaches and trainers who contributed.

“We designed a program for him, gave him some exercises to do, drills to do,” Carlson said. “He picked up on it after a day. Good on him. He knew what to do.”

Despite the results not being there, Nelson can see positives to come out of the early part of 2022. He learned to compete without his best stuff, to become “hyper-focused” on his pitch mix and command.

Still, he’s happy to have 95-96 mph in the tank.

“It makes me be able to pitch how I want to pitch,” Nelson said. “I want to be able to miss bats and be able to get the big strikeouts when I need them, rather than trying to kind of pitch to weak contact with runners on base.”

—NICK PIECORO

Versatile Conley Rounds Into Form

After a slow start to the season, 22-year-old shortstop Cal Conley was showing allaround promise.

The Braves drafted Conley out of Texas Tech in the fourth round last July. In his pro debut that summer he hit .214/.304/.307 in 35 games at Low-A Augusta.

Those obviously were not eye-popping numbers, but some amount of hardship was understandable for a first-year pro.

Conley got off to a slow start with Augusta this season, hitting .176 in April before improving in May and truly finding his rhythm in June with an .863 OPS.

In 75 games for Augusta, he hit .246/.307/.414 with 10 home