FanPost

-Insert Obligatory Mid Season Report Card Here-

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Without being too cliche, the Arizona Diamondbacks' glass appears to be half full instead of half empty. The team is young, healthy, exciting, and they show a willingness to fight and adjust. Unlike last year, our team has remained relatively healthy and we have had some big players returning from serious injuries. Healthy is good, but it only gets you so far; but talent is a big factor in getting you further. The Diamondbacks are showing glimpses of what could be a very fun four or five year run by showcasing young talent that is clearly getting better.

With all that being said, the first half of 2015 is in the books and the Diamondbacks have a 40-41 record. A massive improvement over 2014, and a very modest start to the TLR and DS era. Listed below are the grades that I have decided to give for each player on the team for the first half. The grade is based mostly on stats, however I tried to take into account second half improvement potential and other subjective intangibles. Without further adieu, let's begin with our superstar. Shall we?

Paul Goldschmidt - 1B: Grade A+

  • First half stats: .349/.466/.623 20hr 66rbi 15sb 57r 102h 65bb 5.7bWAR
  • Projected stats: 40hr 132rbi 30sb 114r 204h 130bb 11.4bWAR

America's first baseman has had a first half that has been for the ages. He is on pace for a bWAR total that only the Iron Horse has ever achieved when it comes to first baseman (and that was only one time). He is essentially on pace for a season that remarkably resembles 2012 triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera's season. He is getting on base at a rate that would rank in the top 90 best seasons ever, by any position. I could go on for days about my "husband", but I think we will all agree that he deserves his A+.

Chris Owings - 2B: Grade D

  • First half stats: .241/.266/.333 2hr 19rbi 9sb 33r 63h 10bb -0.4bWAR
  • Projected stats: 4hr 38rbi 18sb 66r 63h 20bb -0.8bWAR

Poor Chris Owings has had a very rough start to the 2015 campaign. As many of us have noted, he may be still struggling with his shoulder, but even if that's not true something doesn't seem quite right with him. The abysmal walk rate and the astronomically high K rate are not encouraging, but there are signs of him turning it around at some point. I gave him a D and not an F because he has not been abhorrent defensively this year while playing a new position. He also has 9 stolen bases in 10 attempts which is not bad at all. Overall though the struggles are real, and if he is not too careful he will eventually have some players (*cough* Brandon Drury *cough*) looking to replace him.

Nick Ahmed - SS: Grade C+

  • First half stats: .237/.304/.355 6hr 20rbi 4sb 29r 54h 21bb 1.8bWAR
  • Projected stats: 12hr 40rbi 8sb 58r 108h 42bb 3.6bWAR

Ahmed struggled mightily to begin the year, but has seen a significant turnaround and is now producing at a very honorable clip. He was suffering well below the Mendoza line only to see his average become more "average" by bringing it up to .237. His defense was NEVER an issue as evidenced by his 1.5 defensive WAR (Baseballreference.com), which is only surpassed by four other players in all of baseball. Overall, I have been surprised and inspired by Ahmed and only gave him a C+ because the first part of the season was so wretched. If he continues this pace, I would imagine by year end he will have earned a B+ or A- grade.

Jake Lamb - 3B: Grade Incomplete/B-

  • First half stats: .280/.353/.430 2hr 15rbi 2sb 13r 30h 11bb 0.5bWAR
  • Projected stats: 4hr 30rbi 4sb 26r 60h 22bb 1.0bWAR

Lamb's first half is partially given an incomplete grade because he missed a significant chunk of time with injury. This also affects his projected stats in a large way because if he is healthy and producing he will likely triple or even quadruple the counting statistics by merely playing more games. The power with Lamb is certainly enticing if not entirely consistent, but seems to possess the ability to hit 20+ home runs a year with even more doubles likely. OBP and average seem pretty good for a 23 year old in just his first full season. Lamb struggled initially after coming back from injury, but looks like he is finding his groove again.

A.J. Pollock - CF: Grade A-

  • First half stats: .304/.348/.465 10hr 38rbi 18sb 53r 95h 22bb 3.5bWAR
  • Projected stats: 20hr 76rbi 36sb 106r 190h 44bb 7.0bWAR

A.J. Pollock is deserving of joining at least Paul Goldschmidt as the Diamondbacks' All Stars for 2015. He is on pace for an MVP-like 7.0 bWAR and nearly 200 base hits. The 20 home run and 36 stolen base rate is very indicative of his power/speed potential. It sure is nice having him patrolling center field every day. I gave him an A- simply because I think that he still has some potential in reserve that he has not yet tapped into.

I am gonna break this segment up into a couple pieces, and check out some pitchers next time. Overall though, I think that we as Diamondbacks fans have a lot to look forward to not only this year but also for the years to come!