Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting pitching is the story of the year

The Arizona Diamondbacks have enjoyed surprising success in 2017. Their offense has been magnificent, but their starting pitching staff deserves the bulk of the credit. After all, remember how bad their staff was just a season ago?

The concern must have been exponential for the Arizona Diamondbacks after last season’s failure. A 69-93 record for the D’Backs in 2016 placed them second to last in the NL West. Arizona had the third worst record in the National League, ahead of only the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. That being said, I don’t think the Padres or Braves invested the kind of money in their rosters as the Diamondbacks did in their squad.

The excitement began in the 2015 offseason when the Diamondbacks signed starting pitcher Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206 million contract. It was the deal of the offseason as Arizona had plenty of money available and they spent it on the top pitcher on the free agent market. How could it go wrong?

Well, Greinke went on to have the worst season of his career in 2016. Greinke posted a 4.37 ERA, striking out only 134 batters and tossing only 158.2 innings. His innings count marked his lowest since 2007. Somehow, after all of that, Greinke still posted a 13-7 record. But that wasn’t good enough for the Diamondbacks, after they spent a fortune on him. You can’t blame them, as Greinke had been one of the top pitchers in MLB the past handful of seasons. He was coming off a 2015 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he posted an absurd 1.66 ERA. The good news was Greinke had five years remaining on his contract to prove 2016 as a fluke.

Greinke wasn’t the only expectation gone haywire in 2016. The ambitious trade for starting pitcher Shelby Miller led to the right-hander going 3-12 with a 6.15 ERA in 101 innings last season. Likewise, Arizona realized neither Robbie Ray nor Archie Bradley were quite ready to own the major leagues. Both had losing records in 2016 and ERAs over 4.50. By the season’s end, the team’s starters’ contributions resulted in a 5.19 ERA, ranking the Diamondbacks last in the National League.

It’s incredible the difference a year can make. To date, Greinke has an 8-4 record with a 3.14 ERA. He is averaging over six innings per start. Greinke has pitched to his $206 million form, much to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ liking. Greinke’s numbers represent a could-be ace, but Robbie Ray has been the most dominant of the Diamondbacks’ starters in 2017.

Ray is 8-3 with a 2.87 ERA this season. His 2.87 ERA ranks third in the NL, behind a couple of decent pitchers – Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw. Ray also ranks third behind Scherzer and Kershaw in strikeouts with 119. Another third-place ranking, Ray’s .201 opponents’ batting average is third best behind Scherzer and the Cardinals’ Carlos Martinez. He may only be the third best pitcher in the National League, but that is a rather impressive jump from where he was a year ago.

The best teams in baseball thrive with the help of a dominant one-two punch atop the rotation. The Arizona Diamondbacks now have that. Grienke and Ray have been tremendous contributors to their team’s success this season.

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Not to be overlooked is the work the rest of the Diamondbacks’ rotation has put forth. The offseason acquisition of Taijuan Walker has paid off. Walker has spent sometime on the DL this year, but in his health he has made 11 starts. The 24-year-old is 6-3 with a 3.43 ERA. He ranks third among D’Backs starters with 8.57 strikeouts per nine innings. After being a top MLB prospect throughout his minor league career, Walker went though some growing pains with the Seattle Mariners. He appears to be settling down in his time with the Diamondbacks as he is quickly adapting to MLB competition.

Right-hander Zack Godley has been quietly outstanding this season. Godley is 3-1 with a 2.53 ERA (lowest among starting pitchers) in nine starts. He has made short work of some of the league’s top offenses. Godley went seven strong against the Colorado Rockies in his last start at Coors Field. He held the Rockies to three runs and struck out eight. He has also held a rambunctious Milwaukee Brewers squad to just three runs in 12 and 2/3 innings between two starts this season. Godley has been a pleasant surprise for the D’Backs. He has provided the much-needed depth to the Arizona rotation.

All of these pitchers, from Greinke to Godley, have improved immensely from the 2016 season. Going from the second worst staff in MLB in 2016 to the second best staff in 2017 just about says it all. The Diamondbacks’ 3.50 starters ERA ranks only behind the division rival Los Angeles Dodgers as the best in baseball.

Next: Orioles looking to add pitching

Arizona’s offense has been good for a while, and they are only just now getting attention thanks to their winning ways. The starting pitching has been the difference maker. Major League Baseball has been graced with a number of awesome stories in 2017. While the Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting pitching success may not be the story of the year, it should certainly be near the top of the list. Maybe their overall team success is the story of the year. Nevertheless, the turnaround which has been displayed by the starting pitching staff has been, in a word, remarkable.