Clay Zavada was a 30th-round draft selection in 2006 before taking the 2007
season off to help his family cope with the death of his father. He
returned in 2008, playing ball for the Southern Illinois Miners of the Frontier
league before being part of a
pseudo-trade that got
him back into the Diamondbacks organization. He was literally unhittable
for South Bend that year and went 1-0 with a 2.60 ERA for the BayBears this
season in 17 1/3 innings.
Zavada was called up along with teammate Gerardo Parra earlier in the month, but returned to Mobile after just one day on the big
league roster. He got promoted once again today, and was called upon to
pitch the seventh inning of a one-run game, with the D-backs trailing the
Marlins 3-2.
Zavada's fastball did not top 88 MPH, but it had the movement and
location to be effective. Zavada induced a weak popout from the opposing pitcher
with his fastball, then engineered two swinging strikeouts on his 80 MPH
changeup. One of those whiffs came from ex-Diamondback Emilio Bonifacio.
Kyler Newby also joined the D-backs in Florida. The former 50th-round
draft selection had a rough go in big league camp, having allowed four homers
and eight runs in three innings. Nevertheless, after going 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA
for the BayBears this year in 18 2/3 innings, Newby was promoted to the majors
along with Zavada. These fresh arms help offset the loss of Scott Schoeneweis, who is on the bereavement list after the tragic death of his wife
on Wednesday.
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