The reigning 2023 NL Rookie of the Year endured a sophomore slump, but then rediscovered his all-star form to help keep Arizona in the playoff hunt.
Overview
- Rating:
- 2024 stats: 158 G, 684 PA, .231/.322/.428, 107 OPS+, 3.4 bWAR
- Date of birth: August 21, 2000 (age 23 season)
- 2024 earnings: $3,625,000
- 2025 status: $5,625,000 in year two of 8-year/$111 million contract.
Voting overview
2024 Review
Coming off his dominant 2023 performance which garnered Carroll unanimous consensus as rookie of the year, Carroll entered the 2024 season with all eyes on him. Would he continue to tear up the league, using his blazing speed and unlikely pop to continue assaulting the record books while leading his team to a second consecutive playoff berth? Or, would he suffer a sophomore slump, fighting to keep himself from slipping so far that fans would be reminded of great rookies of the past that failed to ever find their form again, a la Angel Berroa. As fortune would have it, Carroll managed to spend a significant portion of the season in both camps.
It didn’t take long for fans to recognize that there was something different about Carroll in 2024, something that eventually led to significant worry in some corners of Arizona fandom. Carroll’s swing had been overhauled, ostensibly to protect his surgically repaired shoulder. As a result of the altered swing, the pop disappeared from Carroll’s bat. What followed was a miserable stretch of performances by Carroll. At the end of April, Carroll played in 29 of 31 games the team played. Despite being a lineup fixture, he was batting below the Uecker line (.193), had scored only 13 runs in that span (despite starting the season with two in the first game), and had managed only one home run in 114 at-bats. Strikeouts were up, lack of hits resulted in Carroll being unable to impact the game on the base paths. Even Carroll’s defense started to show some cracks. About the only thing Carroll had going for him is that he continued to take his walks at a clip above league average.
The month of May was no better. Strikeouts continued to rise, walks remained steady, but the power was gone, as was Carroll’s ability to terrorize opposing batteries by swiping bases. The month of May saw Carroll manage only one more home run and only one stolen base, all while hitting an abysmal .202. With a sub-.300 OBP for the season and with the team struggling to find consistency at the top of the order, Carroll found himself dropping down in the order. Further struggles put Carroll on the hot seat, with many fans and pundits calling for the dynamic outfielder to be sent back to Reno to get himself right.
The month of June was only marginally better. While the batting average and on-base percentages came up, those gains came from Carroll turning into a slap hitter who relied on his legs to manufacture hits. This increased presence on the bases allowed him to steal five more bases in June. He was still, however, not the dynamic presence he had been the year before. By this point, almost everyone was worried about Corbin Carroll.
At the close of the first half, Carroll was batting an anemic .213 with only five home runs (three of which came in the final week of the half) and 18 stolen bases and he endured a 51-game span between home runs. While his defense improved, it still wasn’t enough to make Carroll a positive contributor. Instead of being an all-star lock as many expected, Carroll was fighting for his 26-man roster life.
Baseball though, is a funny sport. After watching the all-star festivities from the outside, Corbin Carroll returned to action in July with a renewed sense of purpose and vastly improved results. Carroll caught fire offensively and torched the competition for a period last a solid eight weeks. This stretch included a span of five home runs in five days in late-August, highlighted by a two-homer, five RBI night against the New York Mets.
Carroll’s post All-Star Game explosion continued all the way through the month of August, a month in which he posted an eye-popping 1.042 OPS. 16 of Carroll’s 28 hits went for extra bases, including 11 that had Corbin rounding them entirely. This led to Carroll being named the NL Player of the Month for August.
Carroll cooled down somewhat in September, but found himself still making a significant impact on Arizona’s winning ways, where they rode down the Dodgers in the NL West, turning the division into a contest, at least temporarily.
At the end of the season, Carroll’s numbers were perfectly respectable. He was neither the sophomore bust that Angel Berroa was, nor was he the next Mike Trout. He was simply, a high quality outfielder worth more than three wins above replacement. Carroll finished the season having appeared in 158 of Arizona’s 162 games and he rewarded his manager’s loyalty in sticking with him by turning his season around and reminding the world why he is one of the most exciting and dynamic players in the game today.
Looking Ahead to 2025 and Beyond
There is no player on the Arizona roster that is a more sure-fire bet to be part of the team’s plans for 2025. Having adjusted to the leagues adjustments to him, Carroll showed that he is still a year-in-year-out 30/30 threat, having finished close to that mark for a second consecutive season, this time despite having a full half season of being offensively. A healthy return of Alek Thomas will likely put Carroll in right field full-time in 2025, unlike his playing time in 2024 which had him bouncing around the outfield a bit to cover for injuries and lack of performance. With the imminent departures of Christian Walker, Joc Pederson, and Randal Grichuk, the Diamondbacks are going to be looking to Carroll to get going faster in 2025, as they will need him to step up his early season offensive contributions to make up for the loss of 60+ home runs from the lineup. While 2024 saw Carroll dial back his running game somewhat, it still appears that fans should be looking forward to Carroll making yet another assault on making the 30/30 mark in 2025. The 2025 season is the final season for Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly in the desert and likely for Eugenio Suarez as well. That will leave Carroll as the key player around which the team will build for at least another five seasons, and hopefully six or more.