Patrick Corbin lone Diamondback on Schoenfield’s All-Star list
Jun 2, 2018, 9:29 AM | Updated: 3:50 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin throws in the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, May 3, 2018, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The calendar has flipped to June.
The MLB All-Star game is a month away.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield published the second version of his All-Star predictions – this one titled “Still-too-early MLB All-Star rosters” – as a sequel to his February version, the “Way-too-early” roster.
On the new version, starting pitcher Patrick Corbin is the lone representative for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The southpaw had a spectacular start for the D-backs. Corbin struck out at least eight batters in the first five games of the season and took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Giants before finishing what would become his first career complete-game shutout.
He is the fifth of seven starting pitchers on Schoenfield’s staff, joining the Nationals’ Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg, the Mets’ Jacob deGrom and the Phillies’ Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta.
The D-backs southpaw has 98 strikeouts, the second-most in the National League. His 2.99 ERA is eleventh-best in the league.
If he does make the team, it would be Corbin’s second appearance in the All-Star game. He was on the team in 2013 as a second-year player.
The other D-backs have fallen off Schoenfield’s list.
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In February, Schoenfield predicted first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, starting pitcher Robbie Ray and relief pitcher Archie Bradley would make the team.
Goldschmidt’s struggles have been no secret. As of Sunday morning, he was hitting .210 with seven home runs, a far departure from his MVP-caliber years of past.
Ray was excluded due to a combination of injury and struggles on the mound.
He strained his right oblique at the end of April and hasn’t pitched for the D-backs since. Even when he was healthy, though, his numbers didn’t equate to last year’s performance.
In 2017, Ray made his first All-Star game and finished the season with a 15-5 record and 2.89 ERA. This year, he posted a 4.88 ERA in his six starts, though his 14.6 strikeouts-per-nine innings ratio was the best of his carer.
Bradley has been reliable in the bullpen, holding a 2.73 ERA and a pair of saves. However, it’s difficult for relief pitchers in non-closer roles to make the team.
Josh Hader of the Brewers and the Rockies’ Adam Ottavino both managed to make Schoenfield’s list in the non-closer role.
Their stats eclipse Bradley’s, though. Hader’s 66 strikeouts are by far the most for any reliever in the majors – he averages two per inning – and has six saves. Additionally, he’s thrown more than one inning in 15 of his 19 appearances.
Hader has a 1.09 ERA.
Ottavino is among the tops in ERA in the league at .095, and his 45 strikeouts are second-most by a reliever in the National League.
The remaining spots went to closers Sean Doolittle (Nationals), Kenley Jansen (Dodgers) and Brad Hand (Padres).
