ESPN’s David Schoenfield gives Diamondbacks average grade for up-and-down April

Sporting a 14-11 record, the Arizona Diamondbacks earned a C grade for the month of April by ESPN’s David Schoenfield.

The Diamondbacks opened the season getting swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers but then opened April by completing a sweep of the Detroit Tigers.

Arizona then split a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves, dropping the first two before winning the last two, which started a run of 10 wins over a 13-game span.

However, the D-backs limped through the end of the month after that.

Arizona dropped two of three to the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers and split a two-game set with the San Diego Padres before being swept by the Chicago Cubs to start May.

All that accumulated for an average mark from Schoenfield, who is seeing both the good and the bad from the franchise.

Ildemaro Vargas is pacing the team offensively. He’s slashing .382/.406./657 with a 1.063 OPS through 26 games played. No other qualifying Diamondback has an OPS above .900 (with the exception of Jordan Lawlar, who played in six games). Vargas also leads the team in hits (39), home runs (6) and RBIs (21). 

“A 34-year-old journeyman, Ildemaro Vargas has been one of the season’s early uplifting stories, with a 27-game hitting streak (going back to the end of 2025) that was snapped Saturday, the longest in the majors since 2022 and the longest for a player born in Venezuela. Not uplifting: Arizona’s pitching, which is 29th in rotation ERA and 23rd in bullpen ERA. The team’s projection hasn’t changed much from the preseason: Is there enough here beyond Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte?”

Arizona’s big three (Carroll, Perdomo and Marte) haven’t really been that so far. Carroll’s been the best of the bunch with his .273/.372/.518 line, and Perdomo’s off to a slower start, slashing .245/.352/.402.

Marte has really struggled hitting just .214 through 126 at-bats with a .272 OBP and .357 SLG. The only thing that’s been encouraging with Marte’s early season production is his five home runs, which rank second on the team.

Nolan Arenado, however, is slashing .275/.310/.440 and Jose Fernandez has put up an impressive .304/.340/.435 line. But Alek Thomas is hitting below the Mendoza line (.200) with three walks this season.

As for Arizona’s pitching staff, “not uplifting” may be an understatement.

Arizona’s bullpen has been pretty good, with six of its top seven inning eaters holding a 3.86 ERA or better.

However, the D-backs starters have a combined 5.76 ERA, which ranks worst in MLB. Eduardo Rodriguez is the only D-backs starter to sport an ERA below 4.40 (3.03).

Three games into May, the Diamondbacks sit at 16-17, four games behind the Padres and 4.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West.

The D-backs start a stretch of 22 games in 23 days on Tuesday with all but their opening series (Pittsburgh Pirates) against teams with a losing record, including three of the five worst squads in the league.

Could April showers bring May flowers to Arizona?

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