Arizona Diamondbacks fans leaned toward Eduardo Rodriguez when asked who they’d want starting Game 1 of a hypothetical playoff series, according to this week’s SB Nation Reacts survey.
That choice came as a bit of a surprise. Brandon Pfaadt has been on a strong run since coming back from Reno, with the obvious caveat of his last start in Boston, and many expected him to be the clear favorite.
But the fan base took a longer view, and Rodriguez got the nod. He’s been the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher overall since the start of the year, even if he hasn’t always flashed the same ceiling as Pfaadt.
The numbers help explain the vote. After last night, Pfaadt and Rodriguez are separated by just three-tenths of a point in average Game Score for 2026, with Pfaadt at 56.5 and Rodriguez at 56.2. The bigger gap shows up in consistency: Rodriguez has a 62% quality start rate, while Pfaadt sits at 46%.
Pfaadt has three starts in 14 outings where he reached the sixth inning, allowed one or two runs, but didn’t get the final out needed for a quality start. Rodriguez has two starts like that, but that’s a much smaller share of his 26 appearances.
Their workload has been nearly identical, too. Rodriguez is averaging 6.0 innings per start, the best mark on the team, while Pfaadt is right behind at 5.9.
Boston served as a reminder that Pfaadt isn’t going to cruise forever on a 1.15 ERA. Still, the expectation is that he can bounce back Tuesday against the Cubs.
A meaningful chunk of voters also went with Corbin Burnes, and it’s easy to see why. If he strings together a strong finish over the final weeks, he could absolutely force his way into the conversation.
Burnes is scheduled to pitch in a camp game Tuesday and is expected to throw around 35 pitches. If that goes well, he can begin building up from there, though it will still be well into September before he’s a realistic option to return to the roster.
He’ll likely need at least three or four more rehab appearances after Tuesday, even if he’s probably going to push to make that timeline shorter.
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