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With a 10-12 record through 22 games, the Diamondbacks have not lived up to the hype so far in one of their most highly anticipated seasons ever.
The first three games of their current series against the San Francisco Giants encapsulate their season well.
On Thursday, they managed all of three hits in a 5-0 loss. On Friday, they tied a franchise record for hits in a game (22) on their way to an emphatic 17-1 win. On Saturday, the offense stagnated once again in a 7-3 defeat.
It is not so much that the Diamondbacks have been bad. Heck, they lead the majors with 126 runs scored. What they have been, however, is inconsistent.
Of course, it is still April; fewer than 15 percent of the season’s games have been played. There is plenty of time for the Diamondbacks to right the ship.
But while the team as a whole has not lived up to expectations, several Diamondbacks players have played key roles in helping them stay afloat. Here is a look at five who have started well in 2024.
The phrase “strong start” does not do justice to Ketel Marte’s season so far.
In 101 plate appearances, Marte has slashed .344/.396/.589 with five homers, 12 RBI, seven doubles and 21 runs scored. Based on his 1.8 bWAR, he has been the second-most valuable position player in baseball this year, trailing only Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts.
While maintaining his current level of production would be no small task, Marte has shown before that he can be an elite hitter when healthy. In last year’s postseason run, for example, he hit .329/.380/.534 in 79 plate appearances.
In 2019, Marte slashed .329/.389/.592 with 32 homers and 92 RBI over a full season, finishing fourth in NL MVP voting. He was on a similar pace in 2021, but he wound up playing only 90 games due to recurring hamstring injuries.
So far, Marte’s underlying metrics back up his stellar performance. Entering play on Saturday, he had career highs in hard-hit rate (56.8 percent), average exit velocity (94 mph) and expected batting average (.326).
The Diamondbacks signed Joc Pederson this offseason with the hope that he could add some thump to the middle of their lineup, and he has done that and more so far.
In 51 plate appearances, Pederson is slashing .289/.420/.500 with two homers, two doubles and five RBI.
Beyond the usual power that has become his calling card, Pederson’s at-bats have been as good as anyone on the team. He has struck out only three times all year compared to nine walks.
Entering Saturday, Pederson’s 23.9 percent chase rate — that is, rate of swinging at pitches outside the zone — was second best on the club (min. 50 pitches seen) behind only catcher Gabriel Moreno. His 14.8 percent whiff rate was also among the best marks on the team.
Pederson, of course, is limited by the fact that he is a platoon player — only three of his 51 plate appearances have come against lefties — but he has excelled in the role he was acquired to fill.
Long-time Diamondbacks shortstop prospect Blaze Alexander has seemingly always had a glove-over-hit profile during his ascent through the minor leagues, but the reality in his first stint in the majors has been quite the opposite.
Despite a few brutal miscues on defense, Alexander has slashed .333/.393/.588 with three homers and four doubles in 56 plate appearances. His 13 RBI are tied for third on the team, trailing only Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Eugenio Suárez.
While Alexander’s underlying metrics suggest that regression could be in store, it is worth noting that his 25 percent chase rate entering Saturday was actually lower than the 26.6 percent mark he posted last year with Triple-A Reno. Moreover, Alexander entered Saturday with a 21.2 percent whiff rate, a massive improvement from the 35.4 percent mark he had in Triple-A in 2023. He is not just hitting the ball hard; he is putting together better at-bats than he did last year against much better competition.
Of course, Alexander still has a lot to prove. One thing to watch, in particular, is his ability to hit pitches that are not four-seam fastballs. Entering play on Saturday, Alexander was hitting .692 against four-seamers compared to .206 on all other pitches. It is might just be a matter of time before he starts seeing fewer heaters.
With frontline shortstop Geraldo Perdomo expected to miss a few more weeks with a torn meniscus, Alexander should get plenty more opportunity in the coming days to show that he has staying power.
Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly has picked up right where he left off last October. In four postseason starts in 2023, he had a 2.25 ERA with a 0.83 WHIP. So far this season in four starts, he has a 2.19 ERA with a 0.93 WHIP.
While it is early to be analyzing pitch usage, it is worth noting that Kelly has thrown his slider, a pitch that he introduced prior to last season, 16.9 percent of the time this year compared to just 5.5 percent in 2023. So far, in fact, it has been his most-used pitch to right-handed hitters. Based on the results, it is not hard to see why.
Kelly’s slider has a 44.1 percent whiff rate so far this year, the highest mark of any of his pitches, including his signature changeup. Opposing hitters have hit just .211 against it.
The development of the slider is yet another example of Kelly’s continued evolution as his career moves along.
While Marte’s monstrous start has overshadowed all other Diamondbacks hitters, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has also been a big part of the offense in the early going.
In 93 plate appearances, Gurriel is slashing .294/.355/.518 with five homers, four doubles and a team-leading 21 RBI. Gurriel’s 21 RBI rank second in baseball, in fact, behind only Marcell Ozuna of the Atlanta Braves.
Like Marte, Gurriel’s underlying metrics are also strong. Entering Saturday, he had a hard-hit rate of 52.2 percent, the highest mark of his career. He is also sporting his lowest strikeout rate ever at 14 percent.
Gurriel has been streaky throughout his major-league career, so time will tell if he will be able to maintain his hot start. Nonetheless, his fast start to date does not look like a fluke, and the Diamondbacks’ decision to bring him back over the winter sure looks like a good one.
Honorable mention: Ryan Thompson
It takes more than a few weeks for a relief pitcher to build up a truly meaningful sample of innings, but Ryan Thompson has allowed just one run on five hits and no walks this year in 7 2/3 innings of work.
Acquired on a minor-league deal after being late go by the Tampa Bay Rays last August, Thompson has now allowed two earned runs in 20 2/3 innings since joining the Diamondbacks organization. That works out to a 0.87 ERA.
Top photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic
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