Tag Archives: NL West

Pre-Season Team Profile: Arizona Diamondbacks

Introduction 

The Arizona Diamondbacks are one of my favorite young upcoming teams. I think last season the D-Backs were one of the most exciting young talented teams but it is unfortunate they play in a tough NL west division. If you are a D-Backs fan, I would be hopeful in the next 2-3 years that they will be competing for a playoff spot. Obviously it’s been a long rebuilding process but I think we’re starting to see the results pay off. The D-Backs went 74-88 last season finishing in 4th place. The MGM power ranking list ranks the D-Backs 22nd with an odds to win the world series at +12500. 

Batting Lineup 

The potential and talent on the D-Backs batting lineup is one of the more exciting in baseball. Starting at the top you have Corbin Carroll who is supposed to be one of the premier prospects in baseball. Then you have proven guys like Ketel Marte, Christian Walker and Josh Rojas. These guys have been solid for the D-Backs in recent years. The newly acquired Lourdes Gurriel Jr and Evan Longoria are solid additions and help bring wily veteran leadership. At the back of the lineup you have solid defenders in Carson Kelly and Nick Ahmed. I’m not sure about Jake McCarthy but we’ll see how he does. My standouts are Corbin Carroll and future HOF Evan Longoria. I think if these two have monster seasons and increase the production of the guys around them, the D-Backs will be a team you don’t want to face in September.  

Starting Rotation

One of the most underrated features of the D-Backs was their starting rotation last season. I think this year, the starting rotation is poised to make a lot of noise. My standouts are Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. If these two guys can replicate the 2022 seasons they put together, it puts Arizona near the top of starting rotations. This will be especially true if Bumgarner, Davies and Nelson have career years. It’s hard to know what to expect from Nelson but his 3 starts look pretty impressive. Overall, I like this rotation and think it could be better than most people are expecting.

Bullpen 

The D-Backs bullpen is where the most questions lie for me. However, there are two far and away standouts: Joe Mantiply and Mark Melancon. These two guys consistently were good in the bullpen. We can’t rule out some of the other relief pitchers having good seasons but it remains to be seen. One addition that I hadn’t seen, was Miguel Castro. Castro is a former Met and Yankee. When Castro is good, he is pretty much unhittable. If you look at his career stats, you can see his problem has always been the high amount of walks. The cause of this is command issues. Castro throws hard but lacks control, however in seasons where he finds that control, he’s one of the better relief pitchers in the league. Overall, the D-Backs bullpen has the ability to be better than it is on paper.

My Prediction 

I’ve put a lot of optimism into this Arizona Diamondbacks team. But I legitimately like how they’ve built their team. I think the future is bright and closer to reality than other teams with young talent. So it might be a disappointment to see my prediction. Hear me out, the NL west is a tough division with the likes of perennial playoff contender, the Los Angeles Dodgers and new age powerhouse, San Diego Padres. That being said, the San Francisco Giants represent a team within striking distance of the upcoming Diamondbacks. Therefore my prediction for 2023 is a worst record of 74-88 and a best record of 81-81. The floor is 4th place and the ceiling is 3rd place. That’s right, if the Giants somehow go backwards (it’s possible) I think the D-Backs can leapfrog the Giants especially if they get near 80 wins. The future is bright.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow or subscribe to the blog. Check out the social media page.

Thanks to Baseball Reference and Fangraphs for the charts and statistics!