**Austin Pope – 2025 Season Review and 2026 Outlook**
**Overview**
– **Rating:** 2.85
– **2025 Stats:** 1 G, 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 1.500 WHIP, 0.1 bWAR
– **Date of Birth:** October 26, 1998
– **2025 Earnings:** $760,000
– **2026 Status:** Free Agent
—
### 2025 Review
In modern baseball, it’s expected that every team’s pitching depth will be tested over the course of a season. However, the Arizona Diamondbacks faced an unprecedented level of adversity in 2025, forcing them to call on players like Austin Pope—a career minor leaguer—to contribute at the major league level.
Drafted by the D-Backs in 2019 out of Fairfield University, Pope’s career trajectory has been notably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. With only a partial rookie ball season under his belt, Pope was unable to play organized baseball until the summer of 2021. That year, he struggled with an 8.71 ERA in 18 games for Visalia before rebounding impressively with a 2.55 ERA after a promotion to Hillsboro.
This pattern of inconsistency continued over the following seasons. In 2022, Pope posted a 1.35 ERA in Hillsboro but struggled to an 8.49 ERA in Amarillo. In 2023, he combined a 4.23 ERA with the Amarillo Sod Poodles and an impressive 2.45 ERA in Reno. He spent all of 2024 in Reno, battling through a tough Pacific Coast League season with a 5.72 ERA across 55 games.
Pope showed marked improvement in 2025, lowering his ERA to 4.60 in 25 games at Reno. This earned him a brief call-up late in the season, where he made his major league debut by pitching two scoreless innings in a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite this promising debut, Pope was optioned back and forth between Reno and the major league roster without appearing in another game before the end of the season. His pitching arsenal features a four-pitch mix—four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and sinker—but none stand out, with a fastball topping out at 94 mph.
Unfortunately, Pope became a casualty of roster management. Since there is no injured list during the offseason, the Diamondbacks had to clear space on the 40-man roster for several players coming off the injured list and protect key prospects from the Rule 5 draft. This roster crunch meant releasing Pope, making him a free agent heading into the 2026 season.
—
### 2026 Outlook
Given the current state of pitching demand in professional baseball, it’s likely that Pope will receive another opportunity, most likely via a minor-league contract. The Diamondbacks could be interested in bringing him back, as they remain familiar with his pitching style and may face similar roster challenges at the start of 2026.
Personally, I’m always supportive of players who grind through the minor leagues and eventually carve out a role with the team that drafted them. Let’s hope Austin Pope gets that chance—whether with the Diamondbacks or elsewhere in the league—and can continue to develop his potential at the major league level.
https://sports.yahoo.com/article/2025-diamondbacks-player-reviews-57-070827553.html
