Posts by: Jeff Wiser

Are the D-backs Sellers at the Trade Deadline?

On June 18, 2015 By

When this season began, the Arizona Diamondbacks were an afterthought for most of baseball. Several major publications picked them to be the worst team in their division despite a very obvious purple sinkhole in Denver. On The Pool Shot, we made some predictions and I went with something like 72 wins while Ryan went with 78. He looks smarter …

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D-backs Missed Getting AJ Pollock on the Cheap

On June 16, 2015 By

By now you’re well-aware that A.J. Pollock is really good. He was, after all, as second round draft pick, so it’s not like there was no way to see this coming. 17th overall picks are occasionally good baseball players, especially when compared to later picks. He’s always had tools, even since his college days. He was destined to stick in …

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The Gregorius-Ray-Leyba Swap, So Far

On June 12, 2015 By

Trades are the best. Sure, it’s cool when your team inks a superstar, but trades offer so much more complexity than most contracts can offer that they provide a boatload more intrigue. And intrigue is something that always good, but trades aren’t, mostly because one of the two parties usually “wins” the trade in the end by obtaining more value …

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Draft Days Two and Three: Cause for Concern?

On June 11, 2015 By

Day one of the Diamondbacks’ draft went about as well as you could expect. Selecting Dansby Swanson first overall was perhaps an easy choice in a weak draft, and he’ll probably slot somewhere in the D-backs’ top three prospects once he signs. Left-hander Alex Young is a polished starter with clean mechanics who should move quickly through the minors although …

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D-backs add Swanson, Position Themselves Well in Draft

On June 9, 2015 By

The first day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft is in the books. In a year in which two strange things occurred – the Diamondbacks having the first overall pick and the draft being incredibly weak – Arizona was in a prime spot to capitalize as best as possible. The Diamondbacks were able to select two players  through two full …

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Is Welington Castillo the Answer Behind the Plate?

On June 5, 2015 By

Baseball is so unpredictable. Take, for instance, the struggles that Rubby De La Rosa had on Wednesday. Through two innings, he’d surrendered six earned runs to the Braves. Through three innings, the total was up to seven. Freddie Freeman had taken him yard twice, but still reeling from The Milwaukee Marathon, Chip Hale stuck with RDLR in order to try …

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Why is Jeremy Hellickson Not Pitching Bad?

On June 2, 2015 By

Jeremy Hellickson‘s season stats are pretty bad. An ERA of 5.08, just over six strikeouts per nine innings and nearly three walks per nine, too. None of that is good by any measure. And none of that is a big surprise as Hellickson just isn’t an impact guy any way you want to paint it. As Ryan and I …

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Aaron Blair is Stealing the Limelight for AA Mobile

On May 29, 2015 By

Last year it was High-A Visalia where the bulk of the exciting minor league talent began the season, this year it’s Double-A Mobile. This wave of good young prospects has moved along, somewhat in unison, as the BayBears are loaded with interesting guys. But if you know anything about the strengths of the Diamondbacks’ minor league system, you’re well aware …

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Rawhide Pitching Their Way to the Top

On May 27, 2015 By

The Visalia Rawhide are off to a great start, and by great, I mean the highest winning percentage in baseball (.689, 31-14). Not just High-A baseball, but ALL of baseball, every affiliate level, including the majors. There’s nothing wrong with winning, even when wins aren’t the most important thing. But here we’re most interested in player development, and there appear …

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Toussaint Debuts for the Cougars

On May 21, 2015 By

A full month and a half into the season, several of the Diamondbacks’ top prospects have gotten their minor league seasons underway. As always, the future of the organization deeply depends on the development of these youngsters and the system as a whole has slowly improved in recent years. Solid drafts have built some depth while the absence of Kevin …

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Taking Inventory of Yasmany Tomas and His Adjustments

On May 19, 2015 By

At this point, there’s been a ton of talk about Yasmany Tomas, the deal he signed, and his quicker-than expected call-up to the majors. But there hasn’t been a ton of talk about his performance now that he’s arrived in Phoenix. Jake Lamb got off to a hell of a start before being injured, forcing Ryan to cry himself to …

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Does Shuffling the D-backs Lineup Matter?

On May 13, 2015 By

Messing with a major league lineup is one way to get everybody’s attention. It always seems to stoke the fire and raise a bunch of banter. Sometimes that discussion is positive, but usually it’s not since the original lineup is thought to be the one the team should be using. A departure from this seems like a step backwards, because …

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Diamondbacks Beginning to Show Their Draft Hand

On May 12, 2015 By

The MLB First Year Player Draft is less than a month away. A little while back, I provided an exceedingly early Diamondbacks draft preview. Even in the title, I called out the fact that the preview was too early to really get all that worked up about, and really, it was just meant to get some names out there …

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Is the Coors Field Carry-Over a Thing?

On May 7, 2015 By

The Diamondbacks just got done beating up on the Rockies. I can’t stand the Rockies mascot Dinger, mostly because he’s stupid. So taking two games in one day from an NL West team after having to be deprived of baseball unnecessarily for two days was extra special. Tyler Matzek really helped in game one with a game score of terrible …

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Diamondbacks Offense, Visualized

On May 5, 2015 By

Offense in baseball is a funny thing to measure. In a sense, it’s the heart of what most baseball fans watch the game for; the homers, the steals, the walk-off hits (too soon?). But the problem with offense is that it’s often inconsistent. Measuring something that comes in fits and starts can be problematic, especially when just over 20 games …

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Mark Trumbo is Giving Away Too Many Strikes

On April 30, 2015 By

The Diamondbacks have been playing Mark Trumbo pretty much every day. Scratch that, Mark Trumbo has played every day. He’s a perfect 18 for 18 in games started thus far, whether we like it or not. And why not like it? He’s hitting .324/.343/.559 through Tuesday. That’s good for a 144 wRC+, putting him among the league leaders. While that’s …

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