How the West was Stunned

 

Okay, so...I can see the school of thought that one might see as plausible here.

So the Dodgers are a trimmer team with more injuries going into the season and less tried-and-true homegrown hitters, people were thinking they'd have a slower start. And then the Diamondbacks made a lot of nice moves going into the season, nearly competed last year and looked strong in the Spring, so people thought they might at least circle third. 

But, like...I think the main idea here was supposed to be the Padres leading the division nearly a month in. Not the D-Backs towering over everybody.

Not that this is a bad thing, it's really not. Having an underdog outdo expectations is always a good thing in baseball, except a below .500 Astros team being the underdog in the 2020 Playoffs and doing well anyway. The D-Backs have built steadily for the past few seasons, mostly around Ketel Marte and Zac Gallen, and now in the stage where they can stack preexisting players atop them as the big contracts come up and come to prominence. For instance, last season Josh Rojas had a big come-up, and now he's trusted at third as even Evan Longoria has to work around him. Corbin Carroll is coming into his own now, hitting .282 with 4 homers, 8 RBIs and 8 steals. Geraldo Perdomo, who had a modest start last year at 22, is the team's best player right now and a defensive machine. And meanwhile, yes, Marte, Gallen and Merrill Kelly are still the centerpieces of the team and playing well right now.

I think the biggest indicator of a move towards full competition was the release of Madison Bumgarner last week after torrid stuff so far. MadBum clearly wasn't the same after the quadding accident, and while the first few years of the contract were meant as another centerpiece placement measure, it's clear that they're getting better stuff out of Kelly, Gallen and Drey Jameson than from MadBum, so they just released him. It's very much an 'off training wheels moment' for this team, a lot like the Red Sox trading Nomar before winning their World Series, the Giants trading Bengie Molina and going with Posey in 2010, and the Phils cutting Didi, Odubel and Familia before going for October last year. 

The real question is how long the D-Backs' rise can last. They've had some rocky games as of late, but as the Dodgers and Padres have to play somewhat competitive teams like the Pirates [what a wild year this is] and the Cubs, the D-Backs are dealing with easier conquests like the Rockies and Royals right now, and might continue their run if they remain as focused as they are now. I see a little trouble with the back half of their rotation, a large chunk of the outfield, and the middle bit of their bullpen, but enough is working that those pieces aren't weighing the team down at the moment. 

If the D-Backs end the season with a better record than the Dodgers, how weird will that be? It'll be like we're back in the early 2010s. 

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who I thought would be headed out of the AL East, only to stay in the same division and just go north.