Probably NOT Jordan Montgomery, I suspect…
This is going to be interesting, because there was no clearly outstanding pitcher on the Diamondbacks this year. There can be little argument with the statement that, while the offense was a unstoppable behemoth, the pitching was much more suspect. The D-backs finished first in runs scored, but also 26th in runs allowed. The four teams below them lost an average of 105 games each, so it was very much, “There but for the grace of the hitters go Arizona.” If you think you can make a case that there should be no award in this category, please go ahead and do so. There is precedent for that, with nobody being honored in the 2016 Rookie of the Year category.
If you are interested in making a case, here are a couple of pages of useful stats:
You can click around to see various metrics and sort by your chosen one to see who did well or not so well. Your decision as to who merits a nomination will depend on which metrics you put your trust, and how you balance them out. For example, is someone who throws a lot of innings with a moderate ERA, more deserving than another pitcher who threw fewer frames, but had a lower ERA? There are really no wrong answers here. Well, unless your approach comes up with the result of “Jordan Montgomery”, in which case you might want to check your working, and possibly rethink the methodology. Let’s go with not many wrong answers, to be safe.
But just for your interest, and to show how there’s no clear-cut winner in this category, here are a few metrics, along with who was the #1 Diamondback pitcher in them.
- bWAR: Zac Gallen
- fWAR: Brandon Pfaadt
- Saves: Paul Sewald
- WHIP: A.J. Puk
- ERA (min 40 IP): Justin Martinez
- FIP (min 40 IP): Joe Mantiply
- Win Probability: Bryce Jarvis
- Shutdown/Meltdown ratio (min 10 SD): Ryan Thompson
Really, you pays your money and you takes your choice. There are likely other stats which were led by other pitchers still. This one should be interesting, because you likely should not just make your case for the player, but also why the chosen metric should be seen as of value. Usual rules apply:
- Go to the comments section.
- If your choice is already mentioned there, give it a “rec”.
- If your choice is NOT mentioned, leave their name as a new comment, and make your case for them.
- One nomination per comment
- Duplicate nominations will get deleted.
- On Wednesday, I’ll tally up the recs, and use those as a guide towards a list of five or so nominees.