After being outscored in Milwaukee 28-9, the D-backs will hope for better in Chicago. Somehow, Arizona finished April better than .500, despite being outscored by 24 runs to date. This is mostly due to a severe blowout deficit: of seven games decided by more than five runs, the Diamondbacks have won only one. Their pitching has been very shaky: the D-backs came into Thursday ranked 27th for ERA, and the 13-1 loss in the series finale against the Brewers will not have helped that position. There have been bright spots. Eduardo Rodriguez finally looks like the pitcher signed to an $80 million contract in December 2023. Juan Morillo and Taylor Clarke have been effective out of the bullpen. But Merrill Kelly has been a shadow of his former self, and backup catcher James McCann is on pace for twenty-two appearances on the mound.
The offense has been solid generally, and that’s without major contributions from Ketel Marte (.682 OPS) and Geraldo Perdomo (.729), though the last of our “Big 3” from last year, Corbin Carroll, has been as effective as ever. Arizona has been getting production from unexpected sources instead. None more unexpected than Ildemaro Vargas. Now in his tenth season, he came into the year with a career OPS+ of just 78. But he ends April leading the majors in average at .378, and the NL in OPS (1.087). Sustainable? Almost certainly not. But it has been a nice story. His current 26-game hitting streak, dating back to last season, is the second longest in franchise history (Paul Goldschmidt reached 30 games). Elsewhere, rookie Jose Fernandez and veteran Nolan Arenado have also performed better than expected.
Before the start of the season, Arizona fans looked at the early schedule and thought, “If we can get through April at .500, that’ll be solid.” This is partly because the D-backs will be getting pitching help off the IL in the coming months, in the shapes of Corbin Burnes, Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk. Though with all three coming off elbow surgery of various kinds, their effectiveness is to be determined. April is done, and at 16-14, the D-backs are above the intended mark. Though it certainly helped that the Mets and Phillies, part of that early schedule, have been nowhere near as good as expected. But it does feel like the current record is illusory, or at least, lucky. If the pitching doesn’t come round, there could be some harsh regression in store for the Diamondbacks, though the offense should prove capable of scoring runs as well.
