ESPN puts Diamondbacks at No. 6 in MLB core rankings with amount of locked-up talent
With much of their talent locked up for the foreseeable future, ESPN placed the Arizona Diamondbacks high up in their core rankings.
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With much of their talent locked up for the foreseeable future, ESPN placed the Arizona Diamondbacks at No. 6 in their MLB core rankings.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked the core talent of all 30 teams, taking into consideration who is under contract for the next two years.
Salaries and age weren’t accounted for in McDaniel’s rankings, and players were split into three tiers: elite, plus and solid.
The Diamondbacks coming in sixth is a sharp increase from where the team has placed over the past several seasons. Arizona was slotted at No. 20 in 2022, No. 13 in 2023 and No. 14 in 2024, respectively.
Elite tier (5ish WAR or “perennial All-Stars with MVP chances”)
- Corbin Carroll
- Ketel Marte
Plus tier (3-5ish WAR)
- Geraldo Perdomo
- Gabriel Moreno
- Corbin Burnes
Solid tier (1.5-3ish WAR or “lower-end starters and valuable role players”)
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
- Brandon Pfaadt
- Jordan Lawlar
- Ryne Nelson
- Slade Caldwell
- Adrian Del Castillo
- Tyler Locklear
- Ryan Waldschmidt
- Kohl Drake
- Blaze Alexander
- Tommy Troy
- Eduardo Rodriguez
- Justin Martinez
- Alek Thomas
- Jake McCarthy
- Cristian Mena
- Brandyn Garcia
Carroll, Marte and Perdomo have grown into an elite group of position players and Moreno isn’t that far behind. Burnes is an ace but might not pitch again until 2027, so the D-backs need to see this next group of young players continue to progress and supplement that core. Locklear, Drake and Garcia were acquired at the deadline, and Caldwell and Waldschmidt were their first two picks in the 2024 draft.
Carroll and Marte are both inked through the 2031 season after Marte signed a six-year extension in April. Perdomo put his name on the dotted line in February, agreeing to another four years with a $15 million club option for a fifth year.
Moreno is one piece who is yet to sign a long-term extension. He is arbitration eligible in 2026.
The Diamondbacks’ NL West foes the Los Angeles Dodgers were put No. 1 on the list, while the Colorado Rockies were slotted at the bottom.
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Comments
7 Comments
It's not impossible, but maybe not probable - post season spot - that is. What is encouraging is that some of the "baby backs" are starting to figure things out. This makes for an interesting homestretch. A lot would have to go right, but this new vibe is a good one. Play loose, but play focused. And until they put an "x" by your name - go for it! Go Snakes!
Yes, to bring clarity ESPN shoulda reviewed pitching while they were at it, although it's more challenging to do so.
The 'Backs were left off the proverbial "hook".
It is nearly impossible for the Dbacks to make the playoffs:
Assuming that every team has 20 gams left. If the top wild card teams played ONLY .500 ball (wining 10 games), this is the finish:
1. Cubs 91
2. Padres 86
3. Mets 86
4. Giants 82
The Dbacks will need to win 16 games out of remaining 20 games to have 87 wins. I don't know the tie breakers with the Padres or Mets if they finished tied.
The cold hard reality is if the Dbacks front office invested in pitching especially relievers and IF the Dbacks won 1/3 to 1/2 of the blown saves (26 blowns saves so far this season) they will be in the playoffs! As the Dbacks had 37 blown leads as of August 12, 2025.