2020 Arizona Diamondbacks Preview – MLB Preview & Prediction
The Diamondbacks are one team that have looked decent at times in the past few years and have even looked like a threat to the Dodgers at times. The Diamondbacks even went out to the free agency market and picked up some great talent on the off season and some of them are big name players that are coming over from some of the rival teams in the NL West. Now, with that being the case it is time to head over and look at the Diamondbacks with our Arizona Diamondbacks preview.
Arizona Diamondbacks Starters
Now, the Arizona team was already playing really well when it came to the starting rotation. However, the Diamondbacks scored a great starter in Madison Bumgarner to move over to the ace position. In addition to Bumgarner on the mound the Diamondbacks now have Robbie Ray, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and then rounding out the rotation for Arizona is Luke Weaver. Last season Bumgarner started in 34 games and threw a total of 207.2 innings while posting a 9-9 record and a 3.90 ERA. He did manage to strike out 203 batters on the year.
Arizona Diamondbacks Relievers
When it comes to the bullpen the Diamondbacks are hoping to just jump over some of the pitchers with the deep pitching of the starts. The bullpen consist of Hector Rondon, Kevin Ginkel, Yoan Lopez, Junior Guerra, and Andrew Chafin. The closer for the Arizona club is projected to be Archie Bradley. Last season Bradley ended up pitching in a total of 66 games with 1 of them being a start. He threw a total of 71.2 innings and struck out 87 batters while recording 18 saves. He did end up getting a 3.52 ERA, a 4-5 record and blew 3 saves.
Arizona Diamondbacks Catchers
The catching position for the Diamondbacks looks fairly set as well. The starter is projected to be Carson Kelly and he will most likely be backed up by Stephen Vogt. Last season Kelly ended up playing in a total of 111 games. He ended up hitting at a clip of .245 on the season and managed to crank out 18 homers while getting 47 RBIs on the year. Defensively Kelly was able to throw out 31.9% of the runners who tried to steal a bag on him.
Arizona Diamondbacks Corners
For the corners the team has come to rely on a couple of good players with Christian Walker at first base and at third base the Diamondbacks are slated to have Eduardo Escobar to play at third. Backing up at first will be the job of Jake Lamb and he actually backs up at third as well. Last season Christian Walked ended up playing in 152 games and managed to hit at a clip of .259 with 29 homers and 73 runners brought home on the year. Escobar ended up playing in a total of158 games and hit at a clip of .269 with 35 homers and 118 runners brought home last year.
Arizona Diamondbacks Middle Infield
Playing in the middle infield will be almost exactly like last season for the Diamondbacks. Ketel Marte is projected to start at second and Nick Ahmed is likely to start at short stop. When it comes to backing up at second it is held by Eduardo Escobar and at short stop the backup is projected to be Ildemar Vargas. Last year Marte ended up playing in 144 games and hit at a clip of .329 on the year with 32 homers and 92 runners brought home. Ahmed played in 158 games and hit a clip of .254 with 19 homers and 82 runners brought home.
Arizona Diamondbacks Outfield
Starting in left field for the Diamondbacks it is projected to be David Peralta. The center fielder is projected to be Starling Marte and in right field it is Kole Calhoun. The backup in left and right is going to be Josh Rojas and in center field it is projected to be Tim Locastro. David Peralta last year played in 99 games and hit at a clip of .275 with 12 homers and 57 runners brought home. Marte ended up playing in 132 games and hit a clip of .295 with 23 homers and brought home 82 runners. Kole Calhoun played in 152 games and hit at a clip of .232 on the season with 33 homers and 74 runners brought in.
Arizona Diamondbacks Prediction
The Diamondbacks are looking to make some improvement on the year and potentially compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The good news for the Diamondbacks it the rotation is shored up quite a bit more compared to what the team had last year. With that being the case, it will be interesting to see if the Diamondbacks are able to move up in the standings. If not, the Diamondbacks are definitely on pace to finish second in the NL West.
