SnakePit Round Table: Miller time!

April is in the books. What did you learn about the 2025 D-backs?James: That last seasons concerns regarding depth still remain, though possibly with a bit less urgency than last season. The team is having issues scoring runners right now, but the offense is dynamic enough that it should still be in the running for being a top offense by the end of the season, especially if any of Moreno, Gurriel, or any outfielder not named Carroll gets going. Arm health is still a massive concern. Gallen has one foot out the door. This team is going to have to make all sorts of difficult choices come : I am not surprised by what is going on. Banking on a bounce back from the starting rotation was too much to hope for and the bullpen still relies on just a couple of : Im glad they kept Ryne Nelson stretched out because he is much needed depth to support starting pitching. Ben: We learned that Corbin Carroll can still carry a team and that Christian Walker should have stayed in Arizona. But we also learned for the umpteenth time that you can never have enough starting rotation depth.1AZfan1: That we still need our heart medications fully topped off and ready on a nightly : Has this gone anything like anyone expected? The record is about where many would have guessed, but the method of getting there has varied wildly. If the rotation and the bullpen could be good at the same time, thatd be : They remain cursed and while the start has been ok https://www.arizonaapparelshop.com/Kevin_Ginkel_Jersey
, its not looking great in the NL for us. Dont write them off yet, but an awkward trade deadline could be on the horizon. Shelby Miller: From non-roster invitee to closer in 2 months. : I still have my reservations regarding Shelby Miller. The team has mostly been forced into this situation by arm injuries to both A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez. So far, hes the best choice and it doesnt seem like it is particularly close. That said, the moment he starts to wobble, they need to be ready to yank him from the role and stick him back in lower leverage situations. It will be nice if/when Drey Jameson forces his way back onto the roster. Same for Bryce Jarvis, assuming he finds his stuff again. If Miller can remain solid through at least the All-Star Game, Arizona should have enough reinforcements available that Millers contributions can be viewed in almost as positive a light as his prior meltdowns - almost. DBacksEurope: He was excellent through April last season but then he wasnt. Just like his FIP showed in 2022 he is probably better suited as a long relief low-leverage arm but the Diamondbacks can try and see how long he holds :Three thoughts:This season, his fastball velocity and strikeouts per 9 are good enough to be an effective 75% Got-The-Job-Done with a 1.74 average leverage index showed he can handle the an informal focus on D-back relieversagainst right-handed Shelby Millers strength as a closer is well shown by this season, his.259 OPS against LHB is great, but his.282 OPS against RHB stands out! Ben: Another time my answer and opinion changed based on the Sunday game. Last week, it was Suarezs four-homer game. This week, a blown save from Miller slightly dented my opinion and confidence in him, but hes still absolutely lights out overall. So far this season, Miller has essentially become a two-pitch pitcher with ~90% of his arsenal made up of his four-seamerand split-fingerfor Matt Mantei. But Mantei struggled and was replaced by BK, who got moved into the rotation in 2003 and was replaced by Mantei. Jose Valverde was excellent for a few years, but was getting too expensive and traded for a package including Chad Qualls. Then there was JJ Putz, the Heath Bell Experience, and then Fernando Rodney started the parade of proven closers Hazen has brought in, and none of them since Rodney have been any is kind of ironic that Mariano Rivera saved over 600 games and was the greatest closer in baseball for the first 16 years the Diamondbacks existed, and if you add the top ten save totals in franchise history together its still a smaller number than Rivera posted just in the time he overlapped with the D-backs, but hey, he didnt get that one save, that one Ketel Marte now back, do you see a route for Jordan Lawlar to make the roster this year?James: He has the same routes in front of him now that he did during the spring. Hes waiting for an injury or a trade of an everyday infield regular. There is also a non-zero chance he could find reps in left field. However, he is going to have to light AAA afire to force the issue. Otherwise, he is waiting until the late-season, quite possibly once rosters expand. Suarez is a far superior defensive third baseman and, despite his wild swings in productivity at the plate, hes a more reliable batthan Lawlar as well. If Lawlar comes up earlier than September, then either Suarez or Perdomo has suffered a long-term injury, or Lawlar has started to do his best Gunnar Henderson : Of course. Hampson isnt worth much so he will definitely enter the roster before August. Before Augustit seems that it will all depend on how Pavin and Suarez :His 1.163 OPS in 29 AAA games adds visibility to promotion season in AAA he played second base, third base, shortstop, and in one game designated hitter. His promotion path to second base may be blocked by Tim Tawawill be his ticket to the : There are multiple paths, none of them good. He is a very good player. But its hardto argue that hes better than Marte, Perdomo, Suarez, Naylor, or Pavin Smith right now. The least uncomfortable path would be Suarez not breaking out after the four home run game, which could enable a re-shuffling of the infield. But Lawlar hasnt gotten much time at third, so sliding Perdomo or Marte there would be the most likely scenario, and Im not sure thats what we : Absolutely. Injuries are the obvious way. But Geno is bad this year again. One way or another I expect he concludes his rookie eligibility this year. What MLB teams over/underperformance has impressed/shocked you most?James: For the over, Ill take the Athletics of nowhere in particular. As of the writing of this response, they are actually half a game better than the Diamondbacks and in line for the second seed in the AL wild card. For the under https://www.arizonaapparelshop.com/Kyle_Nelson_Jersey
, Ill stay in the AL and go with the Orioles. They have completely collapsed, despite having such a powerful and dynamic roster. They may have simply lost too much pitching to recover this : I am used to seeing the Twins battling for the division, so not seeing them there is a bit of a shock to me. Surprised to see the Mets and Cubs doing that well. Makakilo:The underperformance of the Braves shocked last time they had a losing win-loss record was were expected to do well this season.So, where are the Braves now? They ought to enter the season with one of the best win projections in baseball, somewhere in the mid-90s. Dan Szymborski, FanGraphs, November 2024 Ben: Im biased, but Ive been most shocked by the Orioles so far this season. They were expected, based on the development of their young core, to compete for a wild card spot if not a division title. Instead https://www.arizonaapparelshop.com/Madison_Bumgarner_Jersey
, they find themselves in the cellar in the AL East, which as a division is a far cry from the fearsomeness its had in the past, and closer to the White Sox than a playoff spot. 1AZfan1: I agree with James and Ben that its crazy for the Orioles to have a sub-.400 winning percentage in early May. After winning 190+ games the past two years combined, this is a farther fall than I expected for them after they failed to resign Burnes and then decided to cheap out on the rotation the rest of the : The Rockies were supposed to be bad. But any time a team has a sub-.200 winning percentage, thats gotta be shocking. Even the White Sox managed to win a quarter of their games last year, and they are three games better than the Rockies right now. Obviously the Orioles, but so many people are mentioning them. The Cardinals have been better than expected. The record might not reflect it so much, but theyve been unlucky. Also, the Guardians are lucky again, and the White Sox unlucky. To what extent? They have identical pythag records of 14-19, but Cleveland is 10 games ahead of the Pale : Athletics are impressive. Baltimore is looking like an embarrassing rebuild. Shout out to that one good week Anaheim had to start the year, making them seem better than anyone expected. But theyve dropped back to what we all expected. If you had a ten-second call with yourself from 10 years ago, what would you say?James: Usually, I try and put something pithy down for questions like this. However, its been a rough 18 month stretch and neither I nor my family were much ready for it. Right now, without giving it more than passing consideration, I would likely give myself from 10 years ago a quick heads-up about the major life changes to expect. At least that way, I show up : Making all those hours at work isnt worth it. I will probably not do a thing with that :Go for it!Be your optimism, maybeBen:Preston: You know this isnt healthy, so do something about it instead of waiting for everything to blow up.1AZfan1: Go throw that money youre about to spend on that new car into Bitcoin instead. Youre : Enjoy what you have while you have it. Everything constantly changes and life is never the same from one day to the next. Relish in it and be ready to seize opportunities when they arrive.