The NL West a month or so ago was a bit more dynamic. Yes, the Dodgers were in first, but you still had teams like the Rockies and Padres making it a bit tricky for them. With both teams' starts, and the Rockies' June, it looked like there'd be a Wild Card competitor coming from this division.
We're about halfway through August, and...no. Not that.
We've basically gotten a retread of the 2018 AL Central. One team is leading by a wide margin, in this case the Dodgers, who are EIGHTEEN GAMES ahead of the pack, and the other four aren't even trying to catch them, or anyone else in that matter. Like the 2018 Twins, getting second place in this division isn't exactly going to be a compliment; it's just going to say that all four teams are bad, and yours is the least bad.
Right now, the frontrunner for being the least-bad of those four is the Arizona Diamondbacks. And why shouldn't they be? They have arguably one of the strongest infields in the leagues right now- Christian Walker, Ketel Marte, Nick Ahmed and Eduardo Escobar are all playing beautifully at the same time, and while they may not be as showy as the Cubs' infield or something, they're still awesome. Ahmed might be having his best season to date, and he's one of the only remaining survivors of the old infield combo of Lamb-Owings-Ahmed-Tomas. His highest season WAR was 3.2, and he's at 3.9, so...he's only getting better. If this infield stays together and stays hot, the D-Backs might have another playoff team on the horizon.
I mean, they kept Robbie Ray, which...in the wake of Greinke's departure is still a big deal, and they have an impressive starting arsenal that includes Taylor Clarke, Merrill Kelly, Alex Young, Mike Leake, Zac Gallen, Luke Weaver and Jon Duplantier. The fact that they've got to choose 5 of those for next year, and any five could be awesome...is a good problem to have. I do think their next ace is Zac Gallen, and I think the Marlins made a HUGE mistake giving him up.
Their only problem in my opinion is a bit of muddied bullpen stuff, especially with their lack of a concrete closer. I think Archie Bradley's doing it right now, but even he's not having his best year, so they may need to rethink things, or just give it to Yoan Lopez, because...I mean, come on, that kid is insane.
I mean, the D-Backs seem to be in great shape for 2020, but...yeah, 2019 might be a wash.
Coming Tonight: I'm kinda glad he's not aiding a playoff attempt in St. Louis right now...even if he's still aiding a playoff attempt in Tampa.
No comments:
Post a Comment