Daniel Descalso’s career year makes him D-backs’ most overlooked player
Aug 28, 2018, 7:14 AM | Updated: 5:44 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks Daniel Descalso watches his home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
(AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)
Arizona Diamondbacks heroes this season include the familiar names of Paul Goldschmidt, Zack Greinke, Patrick Corbin, A.J. Pollock, David Peralta and Archie Bradley.
But one guy has been identified by Will Leitch of MLB.com as the D-backs’ most overlooked player: Daniel Descalso.
Leitch chose one player from each team and Descalso’s ability to play multiple positions on the infield, come off the bench to pinch hit and rank highly in most offensive categories fits the bill.
The former Cardinals utility infielder/postseason hero has hit more homers this year than he did in his entire career with the Cardinals.
The 31-year-old Descalso ranks third in OBP, fifth in home runs and fifth in RBI on the D-backs. All of that is despite Descalso not being an every-day player for Arizona, as he has only 292 at-bats this season while the likes of Goldschmidt, Peralta, Ketel Marte and Nick Ahmed all have over 400.
He is enjoying a career-high in homers with 11 and only one run scored and one RBI away from career-highs in each of those two categories. Descalso also has a WAR of 1.1, the highest mark of his career by 0.5.
As the D-backs make the stretch run and try to muscle out a playoff spot, Descalso’s role as a pinch hitter could play a role.
This season as a sub, Descalso’s batting average is .025 points higher than as a starter and two of his 11 home runs have come in appearances off the bench.
