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Arizona Diamondbacks: Daniel Descalso a rising utility player?

By Kyle Cardoza |
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 08: Daniel Descalso #3 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts to his three run homerun in front of Kyle Farmer #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to take an 8-5 lead during the 12th inning at Dodger Stadium on May 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 08: Daniel Descalso #3 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts to his three run homerun in front of Kyle Farmer #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers, to take an 8-5 lead during the 12th inning at Dodger Stadium on May 8, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Daniel Descalso hasn’t earned a lot of attention throughout his career. But what he’s done for the Diamondbacks this year has helped him secure an everyday role. And it’s helped him gain recognition as the club’s utility guy.

Scooter Gennett made a name for himself last year as one of the league’s best utility players. Marwin Gonzalez did the same in Houston. Now, the Arizona Diamondbacks have found their own versatile veteran in Daniel Descalso.

So far, the multifaceted fielder is enjoying a career campaign in the desert.

It’s still early in the season, but the 31-year-old ranks 27th in the league in OPS. That’s higher than superstars like George Springer and even million-dollar man Giancarlo Stanton.

Descalso hasn’t compiled an impressive stat line this year via moonshot spectacles. In fact, the position player has made less contact this year than ever before with a 23.7 percent strikeout rate, per FanGraphs.

But when he hits balls, they aren’t lazy fly balls or dribbling ground balls. His hard-hit rate is nearly 42 percent, which is a career-high. And his second-best rate in the category came last year, his first for the Diamondbacks.

Even more impressive is Descalso’s patience – the humidor can’t help that. That’s been a work in progress, as his walk rate has improved by a smidgen each of the past two years.

The former UC Davis prospect seems poised to shatter just about every career record he’s had. He has five home runs and 22 RBIs through just 42 games this season. Last year, he clocked 10 bombs with 51 RBIs – in 130 games.

If he keeps this pace, Descalso will have close to 20 homers and more than 80 RBIs, along with more than 70 walks. He might not live up to those expectations, but he’s already surprised several fans already.

Where does he rank among baseball’s utility guys?

Ben Zobrist and Matt Carpenter have made a living as consistent, multi-faceted players. And they set the stage for the batch of utility players earning recognition.

Gonzalez and Gennett made strides last year, combining for 50 home runs and 187 RBIs. Both ranked in the top 40 in OPS among hitters with more than 400 plate appearances.

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Jedd Gyorko and Chris Taylor weren’t far behind, both posting an OPS greater than .800. But if you take defense into account, only Gonzalez and Taylor make the top 40 in overall WAR.

Unfortunately for Descalso, he does not thrive on defense – he never has. On the contrary, he’s much more of a liability, given that he has -35 defensive runs saved in his career.

And that’s across all of the positions he plays, if he hopes to become more than a flexible role player. At this point in his career, it may already be too late.

Still, Descalso has given the Diamondbacks a boost this season. Considering the difficulties that Paul Goldschmidt and most of the lineup has had, other than A.J. Pollock, manager Torey Lovullo can’t complain.

Next: Arizona taking a risk with Clay Buchholz

Daniel Descalso will need to piece together more than just 40 games of above-average hitting to enter the official “super-utility club.” Nevertheless, he’s been an excellent story for Arizona.

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