The Arizona Diamondbacks have two star players named Corbin. One of them is one of the best hitters in baseball and an MVP favorite already. It's weird that a former Cy Young winner and one of the biggest signings of the offseason has been relegated to 'the other one', but there you go.
Corbin Burnes recently missed a start for the first time this decade basically, a slight stumble in his quest to be one of the most consistent starters in the game. It turned out that he was just a little fatigued, and got right back on the horse with a terrific start against the Dodgers, but it was a setback for all the Orioles fans waiting for him to fail. As good as Burnes was with Baltimore last year, he got out at the right time, and arguably has more room to succeed in Arizona, now that the team's still on the up-and-up with Corbin Carroll's excellent peak period. The O's are gasping for good pitching and skidding into last, while the D-Backs, while a fourth-place team, are over .500 and not completely out of the wild card race.
Having Burnes this season gives the D-Backs even more starting security, which is something they've needed since they went to a World Series with 3 starters and some hope. We are finally seeing what a Diamondbacks team looks like with 5 competent starters...and, yes, it is a 4th place team, it may not always be at this rate. Burnes, Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen and Brandon Pfaadt have mellowed into excellent seasons after a few crummy starts. Gallen, despite stumbling in a division matchup, eats the Mets for breakfast [as a good Somerdale resident should], and won both his starts against them. Kelly is fully rejuvenated, 4-2 with a 3.72 ERA. Pfaadt, finally fully matured, has 6 wins and a 3.73 ERA. And Eduardo Rodriguez...look, eventually it's gonna click, but it hasn't happened yet. Whatever, 4 out of 5 is much better than like 2 and a half in 2022.
And Burnes, while not exactly central in this rotation, is doing what he always does and just keeping teams down. He's got a 2.95 ERA, a 2-1 record and a 1.0 WAR. Together, he, Kelly and Gallen have 125 strikeouts. This is exactly what they wanted when they signed up.
The D-Backs themselves, while not a 1st place team, have still been pretty strong. Geraldo Perdomo is a .300 hitter with 9 steals. Pavin Smith has finally clicked as a hard-hitting DH. Josh Naylor is still a contact force, with 27 RBIs. Eugenio Suarez has 13 homers, one less than Carroll. And now that Ketel Marte's back his power bat has been boosting things exponentially.
As strong as the top 3 in the NL West have been, the D-Backs could still be the spoiler and topple some things as we go forward. Especially if Corbin Burnes keeps being Corbin Burnes.
Coming Tomorrow: Yeah, I suppose you can keep leading him off, Toronto..
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