Ketel Marte has been on the Diamondbacks longer than anyone else, which is kind of hard to believe considering he's 31, and younger than a lot of major players for this team. He came over in 2017, in exchange for Jean Segura, blossomed into an All-Star 2nd baseman within two years, and has become a perennial MVP vote getter and league-wide hero. The acclaim for Marte is so beloved that after a White Sox fan heckled Marte during a game, the Sox not only banned the fan but immediately stood in solidarity with Marte. It's not like the Tommy Pham thing where he was being a punk, Marte plays the game right and some people just wanna be assholes.
The amount that Marte has accumulated in this time is sneakily great. He's got a 32.4 WAR, 1199 hits, and a career .282 average, boosted by his current .313 average in the midst of another great season. Marte's thing is that he's had more 'alright' seasons than truly terrific ones, and that will ultimately keep him from definite enshrinement, but right now he's still elite.
And it's a good thing the Diamondbacks still have him, because this has been a season that has required his leadership. Several weeks ago, Corbin Burnes went down for the season. Earlier this week Corbin Carroll hit the IL. They also recently lost Gabriel Moreno, and will definitely be without Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk for a while. The team is above .500 but still in 4th in the NL West. The plan now is just to stay steady and outlast the competition, and the way to do that is continuing to provide a difference-maker even if it can't be Carroll or Burnes. Marte is one of those difference-makers, he has 15 homers and 32 RBIs. This team has a chance if more people are in that category.
At this stage, I feel like there's a case to be made that there are. The corners are both rocking excellent contact seasons: Eugenio Suarez leads the league with 67 RBIs, and his 25 homers ain't too shabby either. Josh Naylor, unsurprisingly, is still a very impressive contact hitter, he's hitting .307 with 10 homers and 53 RBIs. Geraldo Perdomo also has 53 RBIs, and I always forget how good of a hitter he can be. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., even on a weaker year, still has 41 RBIs. And you have to factor in Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson and Shelby Miller, who've stayed consistent despite the major pitching issues the team has faced. Those elements are working, and hopefully they stay strong. I think eventually Gallen will go on a tear, and I'm pretty sure Carroll will be back with a vengeance after the all-star break.
The Diamondbacks, even with everything stacked against them, still have a shot. It's still June, and they still can outhit a ton of teams. You can't completely count them out.
Coming Tonight: The Dodgers flipped him to get over their injury problem, and the guy they got for him added to it. The guy that got away has been pretty healthy though.
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