The Arizona Diamondbacks infield featured the most effective first basemen within the league in 2022.
Nonetheless, the remainder of the group struggled.
General, the Diamondbacks infield — sans catchers — slashed .232/.307/.381 with a Twenty first-ranked .688 OPS. They ranked twenty seventh in hits, nineteenth in dwelling runs and seventeenth in runs batted in.
What grade do they deserve for the 2022 season? Let’s check out every key contributor earlier than figuring out the ultimate grade.
Ketel Marte
The 28-year-old transitioned again to the infield after spending 2021 primarily in heart area.
He additionally entered the season with a contract extension, signing for $76 million over 5 years starting in 2023.
This season, the switch-hitting second baseman slashed .240/.321/407 with 12 dwelling runs, 52 runs batted in and a 1.4 in FanGraphs’ WAR (fWAR). His .240 common is the worst of his profession and the .321 OBP is his worst since 2016 with the Seattle Mariners.
Defensively, Marte struggled as properly. His -6 defensive runs saved (DRS) tied for twenty second amongst 29 second basemen with a minimal of 500 defensive innings. He additionally had the ninth-most errors on the place regardless of being 18th in innings.
The second half did a quantity on Marte, as he posted simply .195/.257/.345 after the All-Star Break. Nonetheless, he did put up .271/.363/.449 in his first 82 video games.
Geraldo Perdomo
The 22-year-old shortstop had some brilliant spots in his rookie season. Nonetheless, he struggled general and needed to stick it out on the MLB degree with fellow shortstop Nick Ahmed lacking all however 17 video games.
In 500 plate appearances, Perdomo slashed .195/.285/.262 with 5 homers, 40 RBIs and a 0.6 fWAR.
He additionally produced -3 DRS and 14 errors on protection.
Perdomo turns 23 in October, so he’s nonetheless extremely younger. And plenty of prospects that battle have the prospect to go right down to Triple-A and work out the kinks. Nonetheless, the shortstop wasn’t afforded that chance.
He nonetheless was a .411 OBP hitter within the minors by 2019. There’s nonetheless loads of time for him to determine it out offensively on the MLB degree.
Josh Rojas
The 2022 season was a productive one for Rojas, regardless of lacking 37 video games.
In 510 plate appearances, he slashed .269/.349/.391 with 9 dwelling runs and 56 RBIs. He additionally improved on final 12 months with 23 stolen bases, a 2.7 fWAR, .269 common and .349 OBP — all higher than his 2021 totals.
His slugging proportion dropped to .391 from .411, as his energy manufacturing dipped, significantly his doubles energy. That being stated, he completed with solely two fewer homers in 40 much less plate appearances.
Christian Walker
Walker was the most effective first basemen within the league this season after a disappointing 2021.
In 160 video games, Walker hit a career-high 36 homers and drove in a career-best 94 runs. He additionally slashed .242/.327/.477 with a 4.1 fWAR, which was third amongst MLB first basemen.
After the All-Star Break, he was on one other degree. Whereas his stroll fee was solely 6.4% (after 13.5% within the first half), he hit .285 with a .496 slugging proportion, each top-seven on the place post-break.
Walker was the whole bundle on the place, offering a whole lot of thump within the coronary heart of the order with by far the perfect defensive output. His league-leading 17 defensive runs saved and 14 outs above common each yielded double-digit leads on second place.
Emmanuel Rivera
When Rivera first arrived in Arizona, he was hitting the daylights out of the baseball. In his first 88 plate appearances, the 26-year-old slashed .293/.398/.587 with 5 homers, 12 doubles and 13 RBIs.
Nonetheless, issues ended chilly for Rivera. In his last 60 journeys to the plate, he slashed .140/.167/.211 with simply two extra-base hits and a strikeout fee of 35%.
General, he posted a 1.0 fWAR with a .227/.304/.424 slash line in 39 video games after getting traded from the Kansas Metropolis Royals for Luke Weaver. He additionally has workforce management by 2027, so the D-backs can’t lose from a return-on-investment perspective.
Remaining Grade: C-
All in all, the D-backs infield struggled to maintain constant manufacturing exterior of Walker.
Whereas Rojas was productive, he nonetheless missed almost 40 video games. Nonetheless, their two finest infielders in 2022 had been 31 and 28 years outdated.
Whereas neither Walker nor Rojas is outdated, their offensive ceilings may very well be reached or near it.
Marte’s second-half struggles, Perdomo’s general consistency points and Rivera ending the season as poorly as he did couldn’t be overcome by the extent of manufacturing from Walker. And that is with out mentioning Sergio Alcantara or Pavin Smith, who each both struggled or bought harm.
