If you’re like me, you were underwhelmed by the minor leaguers that the Diamondbacks received in return for Gerardo Parra (Brewers) and Martin Prado (Yankees). But that doesn’t necessarily mean the trades were bad for the club. We learned last week from Tony La Russa (via Steve Gilbert) that the D-backs were open to the possibility of putting …
Continue Reading →So, the Diamondbacks made some trades yesterday and acquired some pieces in return. I don’t want to get too in-depth on the trades themselves, but I’d like to review what the team received in return for outfielder Gerardo Parra and third baseman Martin Prado. It should noted that the team saved $1.6M this year in dealing Parra, plus whatever …
Continue Reading →The trade deadline is tomorrow. The Diamondbacks have been sellers since early June. No one is wondering where the Diamondbacks stand in this whole equation. Let’s just start by establishing who’s been traded:
- Joe Thatcher and Tony Campana to the Angels for Zack Borenstein and Joey Krehbiel
- Brandon McCarthy to the Yankees for Vidal Nuno
And let’s just follow that …
Continue Reading →The Diamondbacks have five outfielders on their active roster. Gerardo Parra, Mark Trumbo, and Cody Ross have all spent time as starting outfielders. Rookies Ender Inciarte and David Peralta are looking to establish themselves are legitimate major-league players. A month ago I wrote about the effects of the injuries to the outfield. Now, the rookies have played well …
Continue Reading →Last year, Gerardo Parra finished with a stunning 4.5 WAR, which was 30th among all MLB players and 7th among all NL outfielders. This year, he’s struggled to a 0.2 WAR in more than half of his 2013 plate appearances — so what’s wrong with Gerardo Parra? Anecdotal evidence suggests that Parra has been “slower” this year, and we’ve seen …
Continue Reading →Building a major league roster is a lot like building a sandcastle while the tide is coming in. Focus on some positions to the detriment of others, and you’ll never complete it adequately. Take too little care in order to complete it sooner, and you’ll never win the contest. One must be methodical and effective — and also realistic about …
Continue Reading →Johnny Cueto has been, arguably, the most dominant pitcher in baseball so far this season. On Saturday, he showed his stuff in Phoenix, taking a game from the D-backs with a seven plus inning performance. Unfortunately, he also took something much more valuable to the D-backs: the structural integrity of the fourth metacarpal in A.J. Pollock‘s right hand.
Pollock …
Continue Reading →Even in a subpar season in which they rank just 26th in the majors in on-base percentage and 29th in walks (worst in the NL), the D-backs have had plenty of base runners. The D-backs have the worst base running marks in the National League, however, and being more aggressive could pay serious dividends in propping up the …
Continue Reading →There have been a lot of complaints about player performance thus far into 2014. Most of those complaints have been warranted and the Diamondbacks’ winning percentage reflects this. The season is more than just underway now, and to keep saying “it’s still early” is doing everyone a disservice. It’s not still early, we’re approaching some pretty serious cutoffs where the …
Continue Reading →Hitting with two strikes is hard. As if baseball isn’t hard enough already, when down two strikes, the pitcher is generally in solid control of an at-bat. For example, the 2012 league leader in batting with two strikes were the Angels, who happened to lead the majors in total offense (measured by wRC+). How well did the most potent offense …
Continue Reading →In sabermetric circles, you frequently hear that the ideal lineup is worth only five to fifteen runs over the average lineup. But five to fifteen runs is more than nothing, even over the course of the season, and lineup construction also happens to be fun to talk about. My preferred lineups — and justification — are below.
Lots to …
Continue Reading →Gerardo Parra is doing something we haven’t quite seen before: play elite right field while trailing league-average offense for that position. That’s a big reason why it took Parra until his fifth full season to finally cross the 500 PA threshold. But when he did, with 663 PA in 2013, the results were devastating: 4.5 Wins Above Replacement, good for …
Continue Reading →*Previous entries: Steamer Projection Primer | 2014 Rotation
The Diamondbacks’ outfield was solid but unspectacular at the plate in 2013. There were no black holes, at least once Jason Kubel stopped receiving playing time, as everyone posted a wOBA right around .320. Unfortunately, there were no standouts with the bat and unit lacked offensive punch last season. Defense, though, …
Continue Reading →There are plenty of things that have gone wrong this year for Arizona, primarily not winning enough games. But beyond that, we’ve seen injuries, unexpected under-performances and much, much more. Something that’s bothered me has been the inconsistency of the leadoff spot. What kind of production have the Diamondbacks gotten out of the top of the order?
Depending on when …
Continue Reading →At the trade deadline this season, Jason Kubel was on fans’ “please trade” list, along with Ian Kennedy. Kennedy was sent to San Diego for relief help, but Kubel remains on the roster and in the team’s five-way OF logjam. So should Kubel still get moved?
Of course, the presence of the other four outfielders on the active roster …
Continue Reading →The St. Louis Cardinals’ Matt Adams is having a great season. In 164 plate appearances, Adams has hit 7 home runs, maintaining a solid walk ratio and hitting .307. The problem: Adams only starts when 1B/OF Allen Craig or OFs Carlos Beltran or Matt Holliday miss time. One wonders what Adams could accomplish in a season with 600 PAs (25-30 …
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