Lourdes Help Us

 

So, uh...the Diamondbacks are 13-7 in August. They've had three three-game winning spells, then a four-game one that was just upended by a Reds win. They're in third in the NL West, ahead of the Giants by a game [the Giants had a nice weekend as well]. I'm not particularly thinking anything's going to happen, but it's been nicer to watch than a lot of this D-Backs season.

Even without Suarez, the power production is still palpable. Corbin Carroll's headed for a 30-homer year, Ketel Marte's headed for a 25-homer year. And Lourdes Gurriel, despite some inconsistency, has been producing a lot more recently. He's at 76 RBIs on the season. You're also seeing a lot more input from Blaze Alexander, who's been a backup til very recently. Suarez went, then Alexander got a job, and he's got 5 homers and 15 RBIs in 43 games. Could be the guy next year. I think the key to this team, even as the rotation has diminished, is grouping together a bunch of guys with high OPSs who can slap the ball around even if it's not pretty. You've got Carroll and Marte being on top of their game, and everything else that produces is just good enough right now.

But yes, it is a bit of an issue not having Merrill Kelly or Corbin Burnes in this rotation, cause you have Brandon Pfaadt and Eduardo Rodriguez picking up starts and doing their best. You occasionally get a good start from either, and Pfaadt has 12 wins, but that 4.95 ERA tells the real story. Zac Gallen is 9-13 with a 5.18 ERA, and it's clear that he's pooped from holding up the team for the last 5 years. Ryne Nelson is doing well but if your best guy is Ryne Nelson it's not great. They've thrown Nabil Crismatt into a starting role because Anthony Desclafani got hurt. That's where we're at. 3 years ago they had all these guys that could get called up, guys like Drey Jameson and Tommy Henry. They have Yilber Diaz in the minors, they can start games. Are we really at the point in the season that it still feels worth it to not have kids up?

That's honestly the problem with this D-Backs team: I do not see the immediate next steps. They're convinced Jordan Lawlar is the next big piece of this team, but he's done nothing at the MLB level. Beyond him, I have no idea who the next foundational piece to keep this team alive would be. Druw Jones won't be up for another couple years at this rate. Tommy Troy could be next year, but is he just a seat filler or is he THE guy? Same with A.J. Vukovich, who'd be a great source of power despite owing to the same 'light on defense' problem a lot of this team has.

For now, I guess they hold onto the production stuff and hope they can build a decent enough team around it next year. Cause this one didn't do the trick.

Coming Tonight: One of the true stars of the Red Sox team that silenced the Yanks for the better part of the weekend.