This is actually perfect for Friday the 13th. Any horror movie, you think the evil's defeated, and you know deep down that the killer's gonna be back in a year or so anyway. Jason Voorhees never dies, or at the very least never gives up. And so, when the Rangers vanquished the Diamondbacks last year, they probably assumed that'd be the end of it. Wild Card team catches fire late, takes out everybody, that won't happen again, right?
Well...here we are, month before the playoffs, the D-Backs have a nice handle on a wild card spot, so many guys who were struggling early have heated up big time, the rotation looks fuller than last year's, the lineup has way more strong points than last year's, and that crazy momentum is starting to build again. And what's more, the team's last three wins have been BIG wins against the two teams who competed in the ALCS last year. The next few series they have will be against the Brewers, who just got crushed by San Francisco, the Rockies, and the Brewers again. And they have the momentum.
So...for those of you who were thinking the Diamondbacks were just gonna let 2023 be a fluke? Not so simple.
To me it's kind of welcome, because unlike other surprise momentum teams, the bones have always been there. Even when the D-Backs were struggling earlier this year, they still had Ketel Marte, Zac Gallen, Christian Walker and Joc Pederson playing extremely well. Gaining Perdomo, Corbin's power bat, Kelly and Bell only sweetened the deal. And now the team is benefitting from another late season tear from Eugenio Suarez, who has 28 home runs and is 8 away from an 100 RBI year. Suarez is notoriously fickle, which was something that infuriated Reds fans even after his monster power years, but when he's on he's unstoppable. He came through big time last year for Seattle, and it's happening again for Arizona. There is a nonzero percent chance that Geno crosses the 300 home run mark next year, which is something that sounds insane...til you remember, oh yeah, he's hit over 30 homers in a season 4 times already, and he's going for #5 right now.
Having a guy like that on the D-Backs, in addition to, y'know, Walker and Bell and Pederson and Carroll, that's scary. Like, that's a TON of career power hitters. And oh, of course the guy leading the team in home runs is actually Ketel Marte, an all-around contact phenom who also occasionally goes yard, and his having another consecutive OMG year. And then you have bench guys like Pavin Smith and Randal Grichuk who can also have excellent power moments. It's not really much of a question how this team's taken off like this, it's more like 'how far can they go' at this point.
The D-Backs are currently in sole position of the top Wild Card spot, meaning they're likely looking at a playoff series against the Padres if current trends continue. I assume those will be really evenly matched, and it may not especially come easy for Arizona. But...this is the kind of team that could go on another run if the stars allow for it, so just be prepared for that possibility.
Coming Tomorrow- A strong outfield bat for a team that just got trounced from the playoff picture.
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