Zac Gallen opens up: How Cardinals trade made him a better pitcher

DENVER — Zac Gallen is one of MLB’s top pitchers, so what does he believe has changed and stayed the same about him since being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals?

Taken by the Cardinals in the third round of the 2016 MLB draft, Gallen has been a part of two trades since then (going from St. Louis to Miami, then from Miami to Arizona, where is currently leading the Diamondbacks rotation).

As he prepares for his next start on Thursday in San Diego against the Padres, I asked him about what changes he has seen in himself since being drafted by the Cardinals.

Zac Gallen on changes and consistency since being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals

Speaking in the visitors’ clubhouse in Denver as his Diamondbacks prepared to face the Colorado Rockies, the 28-year-old right-hander reflected on the journey that has been his MLB career.

Asking Gallen while in Denver about the changes he has seen in himself since being drafted was ideal timing as Gallen said the first person he met when reporting to big league camp in West Palm Beach, Fla., was current Rockies reliever Daniel Bard.

Trying to make his way back to the big leagues after battling the yips, Bard was working with the Palm Beach Cardinals, now the Low-A affiliate of the franchise, when Gallen walked in to begin his career.

“I was wearing a (North) Carolina polo (shirt), I think, and I forget exactly what he said, but it was something like, ‘Tar Heel? I know that logo,'” Gallen said of Bard, with both playing at the University of North Carolina. “I told him, ‘I know who you are’ and we talked for a little bit. Him being with the Cardinals the following year, we had lunch a good bit together in camp. He’s awesome. I’m glad to see he’s still giving it a go and flourishing.”

Both Gallen and Bard, who never made it to the MLB level with St. Louis, are in different franchises now, both have morphed into the solid pitchers they are now. Gallen, however, said that he has changed in some ways, but his passion for the game of baseball has remained the same.

“He knows how to pitch a little bit more, understanding how the game works,” Gallen said of himself. “That kid hadn’t seen the business side of baseball just yet. Definitely got a taste of that after being traded twice in the next 18 months or around that. But it’s still the same kid at heart in the sense of ever longing and just trying to get better every day. It’s just kind of a nonstop grind and just been obsessed with trying to figure out new ways to get hitters out.”

That quest will continue for Gallen on Thursday when he squares off against the Padres.