Diamondbacks Hire Phillies' Brian Kaplan as Pitching Coach

Photo via @Dbacks on twitter

  • Phillies

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced Tuesday that they hired Phillies Assistant Pitching Coach/Director of Pitching Brian Kaplan to be their new head Pitching Coach.

The Phillies hired Kaplan in 2022. Previously, he founded his own sports training facility for amateurs in Jupiter, FL and co-founded the highly-regarded Cressey Sports Performance training facility for pro ballplayers.

"Brian really understands how the body works," then-Phillies GM Sam Fuld told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki in 2022. “He understands what things need to be done in the weight room, the training room, to accomplish what you want on the bump. He knows what questions to ask. He can speak the same language and work with people in multiple departments and help connect the dots."


© Nathan Ray Seebeck | 2023 Feb 23

Kaplan discussed his coaching philosophy a bit in the same Zolecki piece: "It’s not always the guy who throws the hardest or hits the ball the farthest. It’s the guy that knows how to control his body, knows how to repeat it, knows how to manage it over the course of the season."

He pitched for the University of Notre Dame (2000-2001) and Santa Fe College (2001-2002), but his career was cut short by what's now known as thoracic outlet syndrome.

Kaplan replaces Brent Strom, who served as the Diamondbacks' pitching coach for three years before Arizona fired him at the end of the 2024 season. Strom, 75, had long been considered one of the best pitching coaches in baseball. But after their pitching staff posted a 4.62 ERA in '24, the Dbacks cleaned house, firing not just Strom but Assistant Pitching Coach Dan Carlson and Bullpen Coach Mike Fetters.

 



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John Foley

Before joining OnPattison.com, John Foley was a Phillies beat writer for PHLY Sports and the founder of a popular independent Phillies newsletter. He has provided nontraditional local sports coverage since 2013. Foley grew up in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. He's a proud product of the Philadelphia public school system, a Penn State grad, and a Georgetown Law alum. A licensed attorney, he sits on the board of the Papermill Food Hub, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping families in need throughout the city. You can read his silly little tweets at @2008philz.