Biography
Brandon Connor Pfaadt (/fɑːt/ FAHT; born October 15, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Career
Pfaadt attended Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky, and played college baseball at Bellarmine University. In 2019, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Pfaadt in the fifth round of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. The draft had been shortened to five rounds that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Diamondbacks selected Pfaadt over two other prospects because he agreed to an under-slot $100,000 signing bonus. Pfaadt made his professional debut in 2021 with the Visalia Rawhide and was promoted to the Hillsboro Hops and Amarillo Sod Poodles during the season. Over 22 starts between the three teams, he went 8–7 with a 3.21 ERA and 160 strikeouts over 131+2⁄3 innings.
In 2022 in 29 starts split between Double-A Amarillo and the Triple-A Reno Aces, he was 11–7 with a 3.83 ERA, and led the minors in innings pitched, with 167, as well as strikeouts, with 218. Pfaadt began the 2023 season in Reno, posting a 3.91 ERA with 30 strikeouts across 5 starts.
On May 3, 2023, Pfaadt was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time to serve as the starting pitcher against the Texas Rangers.
On March 28, 2025, Pfaadt and the Diamondbacks agreed to a five-year contract extension worth $45 million.