👋 GOOD MORNING

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through another work week, and I hope yours is going well so far! I’ll get to the NL West craziness below, but right now it’s time for a rare shameless plug — I’m so excited to join my friends Leah, Petey and Craig on the PHNX Hockey pod tomorrow! It is going to be a trip down memory lane, for better or worse, as we commemorate the Coyotes‘ final NHL game exactly one year ago.

We’ll for sure share some laughs, and there may even be a few tears, but what will mean the most to all of us is to share it with our incredible PHNX Hockey community. Tune in at 10:30 local time on our ​PHNX YouTube channel​ to catch the show, and please, please make sure to send us a little comment while you’re there — we really want to hear from you!

One last note: Remember, if this email was forwarded to you, you can ​sign up for the newsletter right here​, and I’ll keep you in the loop with everything going on this summer! Don’t miss a beat!

On to the show!

Will The NL West Get Four Teams Into the Postseason?

The NL West looks pretty unstoppable early in the 2025 MLB season.

Case in point: The D-backs are off to a respectable 10-7 start, but currently sit fourth in the division, behind first place San Diego (14-4), second place San Francisco (12-5) and third place Los Angeles (13-6).

Who saw that coming?

Yes, it’s early, but Arizona‘s record would put them at minimum in second place in basically every other division, and in some cases, first place. Not so in the NL West, but even if these standings hold steady through the summer and info the fall, don’t fret, because as it stands right now, four of the five division members would qualify for the postseason (Sorry, Rockies!). Yes, it’s too early to look at the Wild Card standings, but I did anyways, and Arizona is 1.5 games up on the Marlins — a team they beat 10-4 yesterday in Miami.

THe NL West Race Is Off And Running

Heading into the 2025 season, everyone expected defending World Series champion Dodgers to be a force within the entire league, especially since they sport the league’s highest total payroll, and second-highest active payroll. A look at the other teams the Diamondbacks are chasing though, has been a little more surprising. That’s not a knock on the Padres or Giants, but heading into Tuesday’s slate of games, only six teams had recorded 10-or-more wins — and half of them were in the NL West.

Crazy.

• The Padres lead the division and have swept three of the five series they have completed to this point. This after a 93-69 finish last season, in which they swept the Braves in the Wild Card round before falling to the Dodgers in five games in the NLDS.
• The Giants are just as hot, and perhaps the most surprising team after an 80-82 finish last year. They have swept two of their five series and are benefitting from a red-hot 8-1 start (Don’t ask the Suns about that, though. Too soon?).
• The Dodgers are the least surprising team on this list, and they were the Belle of the ball earlier this season following an 8-0 start that included wins over the Braves, Cubs and Tigers. L.A. has leveled off a bit since then, having dropped five of their last eight games heading into Tuesday, but a series against the last-place Rockies may be just what the doctor ordered to get back on track.

My take: It is absolutely possible that the NL West can field four playoff teams, but a lot of that is going to boil down to the divisional games as the season progresses. The D-backs have 39 combined games against L.A., San Diego and San Francisco this season, including three against both the Dodgers and Padres to at the very end of the year. Holy moly, could those ever turn out to be pivotal games.

I’m rarely a fan of scoreboard watching even at the end of a season, let alone within the first 20 games, so I know I’m putting the cart wayyyyyyy ahead of the horse. Even so, I find it fascinating that Arizona — which is ahead of its 8-9 mark after 17 games a season ago — is already playing catchup.

145 games to go.

Take a Deeper Dive: David takes a look at ​four D-backs storylines to watch​ in this young season.

Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley

What’s Next?: Still reeling from Monday’s news that the Suns parted ways with Mike Budenholzer? Don’t worry, Gerald has you covered! He breaks down ​basically every candidate​ who may be named the Suns’ fourth head coach in as many years, and even highlights a few dark horse options (Steve Nash, anyone?). Check it out!

Devilishly Good: Sun Devil women’s lacrosse player Anna Viglione was named the Big 12 Midfielder of the Week for the fourth time this season, and it sure was a heck of a week, as it included setting ASU‘s single-season draw control record. That broke current assistant coach Zoe Mazur’s record of 167, and Viglione also leads the NCAA in draw controls. Congrats, Anna!

Portal Priorities: Sun Devils football saw two players enter the transfer portal as the spring session opens up: Defensive lineman J.P. Deeter (grad transfer, 3 years remaining) and quarterback Navi Bruzon (4 years remaining). I bet you held your breath when you read the word quarterback. 😅

Burkin’ Up the Right Tree: New Arizona head coach Becky Burke has secured her first commitment from the transfer portal, as Mickayla Perdue, who was the Horizon Player of the Year at Cleveland State this past season, announced her transfer to UA. The 5-foot-7 senior averaged 20 points per game last year.

🧢 Tip of the Hat

Erika is definitely on to something!