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Prado Once Again Finds Patience is a Virtue

On July 24, 2014 By

At a time in baseball when it seems like everyone is swinging and missing, Martin Prado is doing the opposite. We have noted several times on this site, the strange counter-nature of Prado’s approach at the plate. He is like a Dos Equis commercial; he doesn’t swing very often, but when he does, he prefers to make contact.

Of course …

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Didi Gregorius Doing Little to Change Trade Stock

On July 23, 2014 By

We all know the story from last year: after the Derek Jeter comparison, Didi Gregorius took the National League by storm, only to see his batting average drop each consecutive month for the rest of the season. But lost with his .182 batting average in September was this: he was actually an above-average hitter. It was just 40 plate appearances …

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Ziegler’s Extremely High Value, and Why He Shouldn’t Be Traded

On July 16, 2014 By

It’s not that often that relievers like Brad Ziegler come along. Many teams have lefty relievers with low arm slots whose mission is to get lefty hitters out — but few have righty matchup guys, and fewer still have righty matchup guys who can generate ground balls at a rate even approaching Ziegler’s. This is, in large part, why we …

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Evidence Suggests David Peralta’s Hot Hitting Could Be For Real

On July 11, 2014 By

After skipping Triple-A Reno completely, David Peralta was called up on June 2 to replace A.J. Pollock on the active roster, hitting .325 in 131 plate appearances. His extremely unusual case, though, makes it difficult (but not necessarily impossible) to tell whether his scorching start is for real.

How unusual? Consider this: like fellow Venezuelan Gerardo Parra, Peralta started …

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Breaking Down Vidal Nuno’s Debut, Inside the ‘Zona Style

On July 10, 2014 By

At Inside the ‘Zona, we strive to provide analysis that you can’t get anywhere else. We like to think of ourselves as reflective rather than reactionary. This is not the blog where you go to find knee-jerk reactions or instant commentary on a game-by-game basis. Hopefully, you come here for something more thoughtful. You bookmark this page (please do…

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Arizona Heat, Matt Stites Edition

On July 8, 2014 By

When Ian Kennedy was traded to the Padres last summer, the main, known quantity the Diamondbacks received in return was veteran lefty Joe Thatcher. After all, the D-backs at that point were hoping to hang with the Dodgers in the division and were making win-now types of moves. While Thatcher was once again sent packing over the weekend, …

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Miguel Montero’s Two Strike Power

On July 1, 2014 By

Miguel Montero is tied with Giancarlo Stanton for something related to power. The two hitters each have six home runs on two strike counts. That ranks tenth most in baseball this season, and coincides with a trend throughout the game that hitters aren’t afraid to swing for the fences, regardless of the count. For Montero, hitting long balls when faced …

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Chase Anderson Needs to Throw More Sinkers

On June 30, 2014 By

At one point, the Diamondbacks’ starting rotation was supposed to consist of Patrick Corbin, Wade Miley, Bronson Arroyo, Brandon McCarthy, and Trevor Cahill. All signs pointed to Randall Delgado being the sixth starter. Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan. As July begins, nine different pitchers have started a game this season for the …

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Have pitchers found Aaron Hill’s weakness?

On June 24, 2014 By

It was the top of the eighth inning, in the first game of a doubleheader, when Aaron Hill drew a walk against Jose Valverde. The walk loaded the bases in a tie game, but would prove meaningless as Eric Chavez flew out to end the inning. Just a “BB” in the scorebook, to be forgotten about. Except that was …

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Competing Factors to Brandon McCarthy’s HR Struggles

On June 20, 2014 By

Brandon McCarthy is allowing more than one in five of his fly balls to turn into home runs. Think about that for a second. That means when you are watching McCarthy pitch, whether at home from your TV or live in the stands, any time the ball flies off the opposing hitter’s bat, and the camera angle adjusts towards the …

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How Does Jordan Pacheco Fit In?

On June 18, 2014 By

On June 12th, the Colorado Rockies placed Jordan Pacheco on waivers, and the D-backs put in a successful waiver claim. The D-backs’ press release calls Pacheco an “infielder/catcher,” and on a team with Martin Prado and other moving parts, I think it’s natural to wonder how Pacheco fits in. Note: I’m kind of a sucker for complicated time shares and …

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Brandon McCarthy: More Speed, More Strikeouts

On June 2, 2014 By

During spring training we often hear about new workout regimens, new pitches, or some other sort of improvement from players. Brandon McCarthy was no exception as he talked about a new training regimen. McCarthy’s increased velocity this season has convinced everyone that his new training program is intense. He threw his four-seam fastball 1.21 MPH faster this April versus April …

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Something Paul Goldschmidt Could Actually Improve

On May 28, 2014 By

Here at Inside the ‘Zona, we’ve published good work on a number of players this year. We’ve discussed Miguel Montero’s re-emergence, AJ Pollock’s growth, Chris Owings’ maturity, Martin Prado’s hidden value, Evan Marshall’s strong debut, Addison Reed’s home run struggles and so much more. But in case you’re not keeping score, we’ve somewhat neglected to …

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Evan Marshall Trusted Already, For Good Reason

On May 26, 2014 By

Earlier this month, the Diamondbacks called up Evan Marshall from Triple-A.  Since being called up, he has been placed in a variety of high-leverage situations and succeeded at a high level: in 8.2 innings, Evan Marshall has yet to give up an earned run. This level of run prevention is not sustainable, but Marshall clearly has the chance to become …

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AJ Pollock is an Offensive Force, For Now

On May 21, 2014 By

A.J. Pollock is becoming quite the weapon at the plate. As you’ve probably noticed, his production has been way up over the last few weeks as he’s sporting a .315/.364/.546 line for the Diamondbacks. His 148 wRC+  is tied for first (with Paul Goldschmidt) on the team and tied for 11th in the National League (min. 140 PA’s). Considering …

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Is Addison Reed Too Homer-Prone to Be a Closer?

On May 16, 2014 By

Addison Reed had an excellent season last year — even better than it appeared, maybe. His 3.79 ERA was nothing to be ashamed about, but his 3.17 FIP suggests he was better than that. As an extreme fly ball pitcher, Reed’s story will always be about his home run to fly ball ratio, which, until this season, had been lower …

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