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The Arizona Diamondbacks have been an enigmatic franchise since their inception in 1998 as an expansion club. They achieved very highly and very quickly with a World Series title in 2001, fueled by the two-headed snake of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. Things slowed down from there.
Until their return to the World Series last year, the D-backs had only made one NLCS between 2001 and 2023, losing to the Colorado Rockies in 2007. Luckily for baseball fans in the desert, things have improved recently. Hot off their World Series run with up-and-coming names like Corbin Carroll to fuel them, the baseball community was high on the D-backs for 2024.
They were slow out of the gate with a 48-49 first half, but the second half has been a different story. At the time of drafting this article, the D-backs are 20-5 to start the second half. Ben Ueberroth (@UeberMD) takes a deeper dive into some of the lesser-owned D-backs hitters who are driving the hot streak and can help fantasy managers down the stretch.
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Eugenio Suarez, 3B - 65% Rostered
Suarez spent the majority of his career manning the hot corner in Cincinnati. After a couple of years in the Pacific Northwest with Seattle, he arrived in Arizona for the 2024 season. Inserting into what was already a strong lineup, expectations were reasonably high for Suarez, including a top-100 overall projection in standard-scoring Yahoo leagues.
Suarez has generally contributed in the power department for fantasy managers in years past. He has seven prior seasons with more than 20 HRs and four seasons with more than 30 HRs. Much to managers' chagrin, he sputtered out of the gate in the first half of 2024, putting up just 10 HRs and a lowly .150 ISO.
Per Stats Inc, Eugenio Suárez is the first D-back with 9+ homers and 25+ RBI in a month since Eduardo Escobar hit 10 dingers and 28 RBI in August 2019
— PHNX Diamondbacks (@PHNX_Dbacks) July 31, 2024
The start of the second half has been a different story. Eugenio already has eight HRs to start the second half. That puts him on pace to put up more than 20 HRs in the second half alone. With that comes an eye-popping .985 OPS and .351 ISO.
At first blush, part of this power surge is certainly a more aggressive approach at the plate, manifested by a significant drop in both his K% and BB%. A drop in K% and a rise in BB% might suggest more plate discipline, but a drop in both suggests an aggressive, swing-first approach. It seems to be working.
Going one layer deeper, Suarez seems to be aggressively out in front of pitches, and that is leading to strong contact. His hard-hit% is up to 38.4% in the second half from 32.0% in the first half. His Pull% is also up to 56.2% in the second half from 50.2% in the first half.
Suarez is being intentional about his aggressive approach in the second half. If he can stick to it, the power output will be very real.
Josh Bell, 1B - 55% Rostered
The Marlins were expected to have a poor 2024, and boy have they lived up to that. Although a fire sale was expected, the many trades before and at the trade deadline have left the Marlins largely devoid of recognizable names, let alone a star.
In that setting, expectations for Josh Bell were somewhat tempered coming into 2024. He is capable of producing more than 20 HRs in a year, as he has many times before, and preseason projections typically predicted 20-25 HRs this season.
But preseason projections cannot build in a trade happening months later, as was the case with Bell coming over to the D-backs at the trade deadline.
The trade has jump-started Bell's home-run output. He has nine HRs in just 91 AB in the second half so far, already matching the first-half home-run total that he accrued in 360 AB. Maybe it's the new park, the thinner air, or a mental edge from playing for a better team. Whatever it is, Bell is thriving.
Josh Bell was traded to the Dbacks for cash.
He has hit 2 HomeRuns in his first game as a Diamondback.
You LOVE to see it. pic.twitter.com/Ej7uQ82MFx
— 🌵 Mr. Az (@MrAzSports) August 3, 2024
A more expected improvement for Bell might be his RBI total. Using the Marlins' current lineup, Bell would bat cleanup behind Xavier Edwards, Jake Burger, and Jesus Sanchez if he remained in Miami.
Edwards does boast a .437 OBP, but that is inflated with an unsustainable .430 BABIP. Burger has shown some promise but has a middling .304 OBP, particularly for a No. 2 hitter. Sanchez has a poor .295 OBP.
When everyone is fully healthy, Bell gets the chance to drive in Carroll, Ketel Marte, and either Joc Pederson or Lourdes Gurriel Jr. as the Arizona four-hitter. Although a .310 OBP for Carroll across all of 2024 might seem pedestrian, he is lighting the world on fire in the second half, including a .347 OBP.
He is also highly capable of swiping second base to make RBI even easier to come by for Bell. Marte has been great all year with a .369 OBP. Pederson and Gurriel boast outstanding OBPs as well at .395 and .411, respectively.
Getting out of Miami was the best thing that could have happened to Bell. Landing in Arizona, particularly in time for this heater of a second half seen across most of the team, has been even better than managers could have imagined. Those in need of RBI in particular, with solid HR upside, should roster Bell now before he becomes unavailable.
Joc Pederson, OF - 50% Rostered
As hinted at above, Pederson is having a strong first season in the desert after coming over from the Giants during the offseason. As the left-hander occupying the three spot in the Arizona lineup, Pederson has the better side of a platoon with Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Pederson has made a critical improvement to his batting approach over the last couple of years. His plate discipline has made a clear jump compared to most of his career. For many years, Pederson held a BB% under 10%. In 2023, he found his eye again, bringing that number up to 13.4%, a drastic improvement. So far in 2024, that change is here to stay, sporting a 12.0% BB%.
But there is something to this second-half surge that Pederson is also feeling. He has posted six HRs in just 53 AB in the second half compared to 13 HRs in 231 AB in the first half.
As opposed to Suarez, part of this does seem to be improved plate discipline. Between the first and second half of 2024, Pederson has lowered his K% from 25.3% to 18.2% while increasing his BB% from 10.8% to 16.7%.
Young Joc is also clearly jumping out in front of pitches that he likes. He is pulling the ball more, something that has generally helped his power throughout his career. His 47.9% Pull% in the first half is well below the 56.1% Pull% he is sporting so far in the second half.
Couple that with an increase in hard-hit% from 37.6% to 41.5% and it is easy to see how he is putting more balls into the stands. The improvement in approach is bona fide and Joc can help managers in need of runs, RBI, and home runs.
Jake McCarthy, OF - 45% Rostered
With the recent injury to Ketel Marte, McCarthy has been seeing regular at-bats at the second spot in the Arizona lineup. Even before that injury, he was a mainstay at the five spot. Those same great 1-3 hitters are batting in front of him. When Bell does not bring them in, the opportunities fall to the capable McCarthy.
McCarthy profiles a bit differently than the power bats discussed above. His current stat line captures what managers can generally expect from him, and that is an important consideration when trying to fill specific holes in a fantasy lineup. He is more of a contact hitter than a power hitter, as manifested by an outstanding .311 AVG with only six HRs so far this season.
He can also contribute with speed, highlighted by more than 20 SBs in both of the prior two seasons despite only seeing action in 99 games in both of those years. He has 17 SBs so far this year. Inevitably, some fantasy managers will need average, speed, or both. For managers with those needs, McCarthy deserves a deeper look.
More hits for Jake McCarthy! Back-to-back 3-hit nights.
He is 12-for-22 w/ 2B, 3B, 3 RBI 5 R, & 2 SB in his last 5 gamespic.twitter.com/E94T5r2cLA
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) August 1, 2024
While the home-run numbers will remain modest, McCarthy is already benefiting significantly from the incendiary hitting going on around him. He has 19 RBI in 77 AB in the second half with just 21 RBI in 212 AB in the first half. His first- and second-half mechanics are not as drastically different as some of those above, but he is benefiting from an overall team improvement.
He does appear to be taking a more aggressive approach at the plate. Perhaps that has been the major change Joe Mather and the rest of the D-backs coaching staff have made across their lineup.
McCarthy's K% is down from 17.8% to 14.5% in the second half. His BB% has taken an even steeper dive from 9.3% to 3.6%, and that certainly does deserve a bit of pause and concern. However, McCarthy could be a steal as a free-agent add, particularly for those in need of AVG and/or SB support with more RBI upside than most contact hitters.
Geraldo Perdomo, 2B/3B/SS - 25% Rostered
At the age of 24, Perdomo has already put together an impressive workload, including two full seasons in 2022 and 2023. The major upside for Perdomo has been regular at-bats at the top of the lineup against (the relatively rare) left-handed pitcher. Unfortunately, he otherwise generally bats ninth, which somewhat limits his value.
Either way, Perdomo's unique profile to consider is his relatively high run production. Run opportunities are obvious when batting leadoff, but even batting ninth has its opportunity given he is followed by Carroll, Marte, Pederson, and Bell. He can also add a bit of speed with 16 SBs last year and four SBs so far this year.
Perdomo is a bit unique in this article in that his counting stats, K%, BB%, and overall performance have been relatively similar in the second half so far compared to the first half of the 2024 season. Expect similar production for the remainder of the season. His contact, consistency, and fielding will keep him in the regular lineup with ample opportunity.
Geraldo Perdomo lays all the way out to make the play 🤯 @MLB pic.twitter.com/i2W0eP56Kf
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) November 2, 2023
His .325 BABIP is a bit on the high side, meaning the balls he puts into play may not fare as well over the coming months. On the other hand, his 7.6% BB% is down quite a bit from his 10.9% BB%, so he may be able to average out a similar OBP if he can improve his BB%.
He is not a league-winner, but at 25% ownership, he can be a steal for specific category needs in runs and stolen bases.
Adrian Del Castillo, C - 5% Rostered
With Gabriel Moreno out indefinitely with a left adductor strain, a particularly tough injury for someone crouching all game, the catcher role belongs to Del Castillo, quite possibly for the remainder of the season.
Del Castillo has played just six games this year at the time of this article, and before this, he has not had an MLB opportunity. His minor league stats might be able to paint a bit of a picture for those in need of a flier or second catcher.
In 2023, Del Castillo played 100 games for the Triple-A Reno Aces. He posted 86 R, 24 HRs, and 70 RBI in 395 AB. It seems unlikely that ADC will post more than 10 HRs in the remainder of 2024 based on his minor league power output, but if he can approach 8-10 HRs, that would be fantastic output from a catcher position that has dwindled a bit across the league throughout 2024.
His sample size is a bit too limited to draw many conclusions at the MLB level. Nonetheless, opportunity is a key feature for catchers in particular. Del Castillo seems likely to see ample opportunity for the remainder of 2024.
Those who have suffered catcher injury losses or just want to take a flier while they continue to wait on the likes of J.T. Realmuto should keep an eye on Del Castillo. The D-backs are on fire, and inevitably those flames will benefit Del Castillo.
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