Arizona Diamondbacks just above middle of pack in ESPN rankings
Mar 28, 2018, 3:29 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte applauds while looking to the dugout after hitting a triple against the Colorado Rockies during the fourth inning of the National League wild-card playoff baseball game, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
After a season where the Arizona Diamondbacks won their first playoff game in six years, the D-backs enter 2018 just above the middle of the pack in ESPN’s preseason MLB power rankings.
Arizona is currently ranked No. 12 out of the 30 baseball teams with a projected record of 86-76.
According to ESPN’s David Schoenfield, Arizona’s best case scenario would be winning the NL West over the favored Los Angeles Dodgers and dreaming big for the playoffs.
With this rotation, the Diamondbacks can think big, like World Series big. Robbie Ray had a breakout 2017, and Zack Godley and Taijuan Walker could become household names in 2018. Paul Goldschmidt has two MVP runner-up finishes and was third last year. This is the year he wins it.
However, Schoenfield believes there is a lot is on the line considering Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke, who is halfway through his six-year, $206.5 million contract with Arizona.
A lot is riding on Greinke, and while you never want to rely too much on spring training velocity numbers, there has to be concern that he topped out at 87 mph before the groin injury. There’s a big difference between the 2.3 WAR Greinke of 2016 and the 6.1 WAR pitcher of 2017
The D-backs are projected to finish second in the NL West behind the powerhouse Dodgers, who are second in the power rankings with a 95-67 record.
The San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies are projected to finish third and fourth in a tight NL West race by, respectively, only three and four games behind Arizona. The San Diego Padres are the lowest-rated NL West team at No. 27 with 300-1 odds to win the World Series, 10 times worse than the Diamondbacks’ 30-1 odds.
