Ryne Nelson is the Diamondbacks pitcher more people should be talking about

Baseball is a place where a guy named Ryne can thrive.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ryne Nelson is trying to be the latest example of that.

He's not the most well-known guy in Arizona's pitching rotation, which already has a tall task just by virtue of being in the National League West Division. 

But he could be the X-factor this season, writes MLB.com's Brent Maguire.

"Even with Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly back in the fold and the expected return of Corbin Burnes later in the season, there are plenty of questions about Arizona’s pitching capabilities," Maguire writes. "If the three starters mentioned before are healthy and operating near their career norms, the club should be in good shape, but the D-backs surely need another quality starter in that mix. Luckily, Nelson showed that promise last season when he posted a 3.39 ERA and solid peripherals across a career-high 154 innings."

MORE: How Jose Ramirez is on pace to become Cleveland's Derek Jeter

Arizona actually has quite the strong core group of players.

The overall success of the Diamondbacks will come down to whether a guy like Nelson can continue to be at his best or even make key improvements.

"If Nelson can simply repeat his season, the D-backs might have enough pitching to complement their excellent trio of position players in Corbin Caroll, Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo," Maguire writes. "Considering that Nelson has incrementally improved in three straight seasons, there’s also a chance that the 28-year-old can level up even more in 2026."

MORE: Luis Arraez is MLB's perfect misfit in 2026

Maybe there's no unseating the Dodgers. 

But behind L.A., the likes of San Diego, San Francisco and Arizona all have talented rosters. There could be some great battles in the NL West, and Nelson could be at the center of some of them if he continues his growth.

More MLB news:

• Team USA has a finalized WBC roster and an awesome lineup
• Dominican Republic WBC roster is loaded with stars
• An Edwin Diaz nightmare looms for the Mets
• Buster Posey will change Hall of Fame voting forever
• We now know what the ABS challenge system strike zone will look like
• Yankees have signed a catcher from the country of Hungary