Arizona Diamondbacks: Giving players their final letter grades
Arizona Diamondbacks: some inconsistent starting pitching
Zack Greinke: A-
Greinke had a phenomenal season pitching for the D-Backs. It just so happened they needed to get out of his contract and were able to pull off a trade to the Astros. He went 10-4 with a 2.90 ERA in 23 starts. I’m just sad to see him go.
Robbie Ray: B
Ray gets a B because I still feel like he is underperforming. He shows flashes of brilliance with the strikeouts but also gets in trouble walking batters. He went 12-8 with a 4.34 ERA with 235 strikeouts compared to 84 walks. He could be so much better.
Merrill Kelly: C+
Kelly gets this grade because he was a little bit better than okay. Keep in mind he was a rookie this past season. He struggled giving up the long ball this year and went 13-14 in 32 starts with a 4.42 ERA. His 14 losses led all of baseball.
Clarke, another rookie pitcher like Kelly also had an okay season. He went 5-5 with a 5.31 ERA in 15 starts. He also struggled giving up the long ball, giving up 23 of them and walking 30 batters.
Alex Young: B-
Young was another rookie pitcher who made 15 starts. He went 7-5 with a 3.56 ERA and was able to keep the walks and home runs allowed to a minimum.
Luke Weaver: B+
Weaver made 12 starts, going 4-3 with a 2.94 ERA. The third-year pitcher acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals showed great promise and will be a centerpiece of the rotation for the next few years.
Mike Leake: D
Leake flat out did not impress at all during his time with the team. He went 3-3 in 10 starts with a 4.35 ERA. It’s hard to justify having him in the lineup taking starts away from some of the young promising starters.
Zac Gallen: A
Gallen is the pitcher I am most excited about of this bunch. He has the potential to be a great starter. He didn’t make many starts after coming over from the Miami Marlins, but what he did do was impress. He went 2-3 with a 2.89 ERA in 8 starts, striking out 53 and only allowing 5 home runs.