Diamondbacks 22nd in ESPN’s 2017 power rankings
Mar 27, 2017, 3:00 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' Zack Greinke warms up prior to a spring training baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Thursday, March 23, 2017, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Arizona Diamondbacks went 69-93 last season and have had what some have referred to as a relatively average offseason.
However, ESPN still believes that the team will improve slightly this year, as the Diamondbacks come in at 22 in their 2017 power rankings.
ESPN’s ZiPS system has Arizona in roughly the same range, projecting that the team will finish with a 77-85 record, which would be in a three-way tie with the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels for the 21st-best mark in the league and fourth in the NL West.
This matches the record ESPN Insider Joe Peta predicted the team would have this season.
The article says that the Diamondbacks’ best-case scenario would come from capitalizing on an easy June “featuring a healthy dose of the Padres, Brewers and Phillies” to finish over .500.
However, ESPN admits that “Arizona needs almost everything to go right” for this to happen.
The worst-case scenario is predictably bleak, as the team is not favored by ZiPS in a single August game.
If the starters don’t regress, the bullpen implodes and the so-so offense is exposed by an off-year from (A.J.) Pollock and/or Paul Goldschmidt, the D-backs will be feeling the heat over the summer.
According to ESPN, the “swing factor” that could make or break the season for Arizona is the performance of starting pitcher Zack Greinke.
To avoid another down season, Greinke must bounce back to his ace status of his Dodgers days. OK, the 1.66 ERA of 2015 is unrealistic, but he has to do better than 158 innings with a 4.37 mark. His numbers were inflated in part by some blow-up starts — he had four outings of seven-plus earned runs, after having no such outings the previous three seasons. But there are obvious red flags as his strikeout rate has dropped from the 92nd percentile in 2014 to 73rd in 2015 and 57th last year. He’s going to have to find a way to reverse that trend.
The team’s Opening Day starter said that he “felt pretty strong” following his last spring outing on Thursday and is now is 1-0 while allowing three runs (all earned) and seven hits with a 5:3 strikeout-walk ratio in 6.2 innings through two starts.
The Diamondbacks are currently 13-13 in Cactus League play and will open the season on Sunday at Chase Field against the San Francisco Giants.
