D-backs prospect Patrick Forbes sweeping through the Fall League with new offering: news
18-10-2026
Arizona Diamondbacks Prospect Patrick Forbes Dominates Arizona Fall League with Lethal New Sweeper
Arizona Diamondbacks pitching prospect Patrick Forbes is turning heads across the Arizona Fall League (AFL), showcasing a dominant new secondary pitch that has completely transformed his arsenal: a sharp, high-spin sweeper.
Adding the Sweeper: A Breakthrough Pitch Design
Drafted as an athletic, high-ceiling arm out of the University of Louisville, Forbes originally featured an electric upper-90s fastball paired with a traditional, firmer slider. During player development work at the D-backs’ spring training complex, pitching coaches helped Forbes modify his slider grip and release point, engineering a true sweeper designed to maximize horizontal run across the zone.
The results in game action have been immediate:
Elite Horizontal Movement: The newly introduced sweeper consistently breaks over a foot horizontally, generating extreme lateral separation from his four-seam fastball.
Swing-and-Miss Dominance: Right-handed hitters are struggling against the offering, yielding a sky-high whiff rate and recurring freeze-looking called strikes on the outer edge.
Tunneling Efficiency: Because the sweeper mimics his fastball release point before breaking hard across the plate, Forbes creates severe deception, leaving hitters off-balance.
Highlighting Forbes’ Arizona Fall League Performance
Assigned to the Fall League to gain high-leverage innings against elite minor league competition, Forbes has quickly emerged as one of the circuit’s top relief arms.
Strikeout Arsenal: Forbes regularly attacks hitters in two-strike counts with the sweeper down and away, racking up strikeouts at an eye-opening rate.
Command and Poise: Beyond pure velocity, his ability to land the sweeper for strikes early in counts has prevented AFL batters from simply sitting on his mid-to-high 90s heater.
High-Leverage Work: The Diamondbacks developmental staff has utilized Forbes late in tight innings, testing his readiness to become a key bullpen weapon.
Future Outlook: Arizona Diamondbacks Bullpen Timeline
Forbes’ rapid adaptation to his new pitch significantly boosts his trajectory within Arizona’s farm system. Major league bullpens place a premium on multi-pitch power relievers with distinct velocity-to-movement gaps. If Forbes maintains command of his sweeper alongside his fastball into Spring Training, he positions himself as a fast-rising candidate for an MLB debut in Arizona’s late-inning bullpen rotation.