Happy times! Mostly…
Not an enormous amount of commentary on the open nominations thread, which is fine for the exercise of my executive privilege to select the candidates! Below are the five who have been chosen, with a little help from DbacksEurope, LeftFieldCorNWer and 1AZfan1! Get your votes in now, and I’ll announce the winner and talk about his performances some more on Saturday.
Kevin Ginkel, April 16: Enters 10th inning of 11-11 game, strands Manfred Man, gets W
Fun fact: MLB Video will not let you create a reel with the word “Manfred” in the title. Huh. Anyway, a relief pitcher’s job has become harder in extra innings, courtesy of the Manfred man: you always start with a runner in scoring position. It’s even tougher when the game has been a scorefest. Through nine innings here, the Cubs and D-backs had combined for 25 hits, 13 walks and 22 runs. But Ginkel steadied the ship, the key being the second out where a grounder to Eugenio Suarez eliminated the Manfred Man. Arizona scored their ghost runner. While a W doesn’t always go to the best pitcher, Ginkel was +31.2% in WP, on a day when everyone else combined for -99.0%.
Ketel Marte, June 2: 3-for-3, DBL, two HR, BB, HBP, +65.4% WP
You want your leadoff hitter to see a lot of pitches, and ideally get on base. That’s exactly what Marte did against the Mets. Five times up, on base all five times, and saw more pitches (22) than anyone else in the line-up. He began with a lead-off home-run as the first batter of the game. Ketel then added a hit-by-pitch, walk and a double, but his biggest at-bat came in the ninth, with the Diamondbacks trailing 4-3 and Gabriel Moreno on base. He homered off former D-back Jake Diekman, a two-run shot which game Arizona the lead. Don’t know how often the same player hits a go-ahead home-run in the first AND ninth innings, but add in the defense highlighted above, and game performances don’t come much more clutch.
Brandon Pfaadt, July 21: 7 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 SO, +46.6% WP
Over the past decade, only one other time has a D-backs starting pitcher posted a Game Score above 80, in a game the team lost. Pfaadt deserved the W here, but got no help from the offense, or the bullpen who blew the shutout and conceded the tying run with one out in the ninth. A second inning single and seventh inning walk were the only base-runners Pfaadt allowed against a strong Cubs line-up, one of two games for Pfaadt this year with a Game Score of 81. The fact this was in a game where Arizona’s hitters went 2-for-32, so he had to be in top form, gives it the edge. This contest was part of a spell where the team went 14-4, with three of the four losses by one run. What might have been…
Ryne Nelson, July 30: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 9 SO
DbacksEurope mentioned this one, but I’ll keep his comments for a possible nomination in another category. However, it’s worth noting how Nelson made the short-list both as a starting pitcher AND as a reliever (the latter for five shutout innings out of the bullpen on May 22). Suarez may get the headlines, but Nelson’s in-season turnaround was little less impressive. He had an ERA above six through the end of May, After that? 7-2, also with a save(!), and Nelson’s ERA and FIP were both a hair above 3.50. His season peaked in this stellar outing against Washington, which we’ll be seeing as a possible Game of the Year candidate. He tied his career high with nine Ks, and didn’t allow a runner past first-base.
Pavin Smith, September 8: 3-for-4, three R, three HR, BB, eight RBI
At times, it felt Smith was the Designated Scapegoat for fans, especially on social media. But he had the last laugh, hitting as many home-runs in the first @@@ innings, as oft-mentioned alternative Blaze Alexander has in his career. To quote 1AZfan1, “I’ve been critical of Pavin Smith in the past, but he turned a corner I didn’t think was there for him this year. I feel like I owe him and his fans (my Sister in Law was sure to remind me of my past criticisms of him during his solid year ) a mea culpa. I’d like to nominate Pavin’s Sunday Night Showcase on September 8th against Justin Verlander including his second Grand Slam of the season, as Performance of the Year. Good job on proving me wrong!”