SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- D-backs manager Chip Hale said he was not ready to name a No. 5 starter on Saturday, but, if you look at the numbers, it is hard to see someone other than Robbie Ray getting it.
When camp opened, Ray, Archie Bradley, Zack Godley and Tyler Wagner were the main competitors, with Hale acknowledging that Ray had the leg up given his performance last year.
Ray has a 1.86 spring ERA while Bradley is at 9.00, Godley 11.88 and Wagner 5.40, with Wagner set to start a split-squad game Saturday night.
"I think [Ray is] pitching well enough to have that job," Hale said. "Is he our fifth starter right now? We have not made that decision. We haven't even gone there to talk about it yet. So we're trying to let these guys get their innings, trying to evaluate them fairly, but is he pitching well enough to be that guy? Yes."
Beef mode
Welington Castillo collected his first two singles of the spring Saturday against the Rangers, but that doesn't mean that he had been struggling before that.
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To the contrary, Castillo's first 10 hits this spring were for extra bases -- eight doubles and two homers. Sandwiched between the two singles was his third home run.
"He's swinging the bat well, he's seeing pitches and he's getting the pitches that he likes," Hale said.

Gold(y) standard
By watching from the opposing dugout, Zack Greinke could see D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was a great player, but after sharing a clubhouse with him for a month, Greinke has come to appreciate other aspects, like Goldschmidt's leadership.
"It's actually been even better than he probably gets credit for, I would think, from what I've seen so far," Greinke said. "He's fiery sometimes, and he's scientific sometimes. He just has a good balance. He always wants to win, it seems like, and you can tell."