We saw quite a lot of action since last Wednesday with the D-backs going 4-2 to even their record at 5-5. Arizona scored 13 runs on two occasions and tallied a total of 45 runs during the six game stretch. Kirk Gibson almost turned into the Hulk and Juan Miranda hit his first home run with the team. I love baseball.
So, like we do every Wednesday, join me after the jump to find out who's trending up, down, or sitting in neutral.
And here we go:
| Rotation | Trend | Notes |
| Ian Kennedy |  |
Ian made one of the best lineups in baseball in the Reds look absolutely embarrassing. He went eight strong innings and allowed only 6 hits, 1 walk, and only 1 ER while striking out 9. His key was simply to hit the strike zone more consistently. Despite only having 18/29 first-pitch strikes, he recovered to have an impressive 70% K rate. In other words, he was ballin'. The D-backs have now won both games in which Ian has started. |
| Daniel Hudson | |
Hudson was pegged for another loss despite throwing a pretty damn good game. The offense came out flat after their 13-2 shellacking the previous night but Hudson kept it close. He allowed 3 hits and 2 runs through seven while striking out 8. Save for the first inning and Dan had a 6 inning 1 hit shutout. He walked three, but when you're only allowing three hits in a game those walks become a little more harmless. He's due for a win soon. |
| Joe Saunders |  |
3 IP/ 6 hits/ 5 R/ 4 ER/ 5 BB... WTF Joe? He threw nearly as many pitches as he did in his last outing in only three innings of work. |
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Barry Enright |
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Enright mirrored his last start, allowing 4 runs through six innings. He was lit for nine hits and, just like in his last outing, couldn't quite muscle his way out of some jams. He kept the ball in the park though, and only allowed one free pass. |
| Armando Galarraga |
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5 home runs allowed in two starts. He's got an ERA+ of 65 and has the worst K% of any of our starters. Then again, he is 2-0. |
| Zach Duke |
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Still hurt: 15-Day DL retroactive to March 12 due to a broken left hand. He is expected to return in Mid-May. |
| Bullpen | ||
| J.J. Putz |
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Putz recorded two more saves to bring his season total to 3/3. He overcame some adversity in his outing against the Reds to preserve the win despite getting knocked around for three hits and a run. It's a promising notion to see your closer not give in to any pressure. |
| David Hernandez |
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Hernandez keeps rolling. After 5.1 innings his ERA still sits at 0.00 and he's struck out five. He's pitched in(to) the eight inning or higher in each of his five outings so it's pretty clear that he's viewed as a late-inning dude. |
| Juan Gutierrez |
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After having an OK start, Juan has abruptly plummeted down to the "we despise Guti" status that we once cherished a year ago. In his last three outings - including inherited runners - he has allowed a whopping 8 runs, 2 home runs, and 6 hits. Confidence doesn't seem to be his best trait. |
| Sam Demel |
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I'm trying to like Demel, I really am, but the guy just keeps getting hit. He allowed a pair of hits in each of his last two outings and a home run to top it off. His 2/3 BB/K rate isn't all that flattering in 4+ innings of work and he's just flat-out not getting the job done. BABIP is still way up there at .400 but he can help out his own cause if he can start missing more bats. |
| Aaron Heilman |
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Heilman hasn't seen much of the field this season and really hasn't done much with the opportunities when he has. He allowed home runs in each of his last two outings and has a 5.40 ERA after 5 innings of work. |
| Kameron Mickolio |
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Mickolio was doing relatively OK before St. Louis payed him a visit. He threw 37 pitches to get two outs against the Cardinals and allowed 4 runs off of three hits and a walk. He's striking guys out at a nice rate, but like much of our bullpen right now he just keeps getting pegged hit after hit. |
| Joe Paterson | |
5 games and only 1.1 innings pitched. Ah, the life of a LOOGY. Paterson had a crucial walk in his last outing to load the bases with a RHB on deck. Interim head coach Alan Trammel decided to leave him in and and Joey rewarded the decision with an inning-ending groundout. Impressive composure from the rookie. In his only other appearance dating back to the last trending article, he faced one batter and recorded one strikeout. It was a low leverage situation but he's doing a decent job filling in as our crafty lefty from the 'pen. |
| Starters |
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| Miguel Montero |
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Fielding still seems a bit shaky as Montero recorded another throwing error, but you can't knock him down anymore with the numbers that he's putting up. Since the last trending article Montero has posted a slash line of .444/.524/.778 with a home run and three doubles. After 33 at-bats, his OPS+ on the season now sits at 234. |
| Juan Miranda |
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Our maybe-future-1B has struggled since we last spoke but showed some life recently against the Cardinals. He's started 3 of the 6 games since April 6th and only manged two hits during the stretch. Fortunately, one of those was a three-run-homer. He's still seeing the ball well, drawing three more walks and helping boost his season OBP to .385, but he needs to show some more power to be an everyday first baseman. |
| Kelly Johnson |
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Not only is Kelly struggling to get hits, he's struggling just to put the bat on the ball - 11 strike outs in his last six games raising his BB/K rate to 3/14 on the season. He recorded five runs and had a stolen base so we definitely need to see him on the bases more often. Only good things happen when Kelly is on the basepaths. |
| Stephen Drew |
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Drew is healthy again and showing no lingering affects with a line of .381/.435/.524 in 21 at-bats. No triples so far, but he's got three doubles. |
| Melvin Mora |
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The illness is gone and Mora has been getting the majority of starts at 3B. He's been decent and helped knock in a couple of clutch RBIs, but I'd still prefer to see Roberts have more playing time. [Mora = -0.2 WAR / Roberts = 0.4 WAR] to start the season. |
| Gerardo Parra |
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Not much playing time for Parra as the team looks to play the hot hand in Willie Bloomquist. Parra only started two games and has only had 10 at-bats. He's doing well in the limited role with four hits and a double but has still been mostly quiet for the season. |
| Chris Young | |
Not only is Young making great catch after great catch, he's turned around his offense with some timely hitting and long home runs. His line of .385/.393/.885 is almost on par with Montero's and he's notched an impressive 10 RBIs while only striking out 3 times in 26 at-bats. After looking like the 2009 Chris Young early in the season, he's turned it around and completely earned the right for me to finally buy one of his jerseys. |
| Justin Upton |
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Just like Chris Young, Upton decided to turn things around after hearing what I said about him in the last trending article. What's most impressive about this past week from Upton (excluding the Fatburger bomb) is his 5/3 BB/K rate. |
| Bench |
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| Willie Bloomquist |
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Willie finally got a day off but it didn't slow him down. The 33-year-old continued his hit streak (now at 9 games) and stole a pair of bases. He's been spending time in LF and his defense doesn't seem to be much of a concern. I think he's a robot. |
| Ryan Roberts |
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Roberts started two games and has played in only four of the last six. In only 9 at-bats he's got a double and a home run and should get more playing time at 3B if Mora continues to disappoint. |
| Russell Branyan |
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Like Roberts, Russel started two games and played in four. Also similar to Roberts, he's got a pair of doubles and four hits in 10 at-bats. Branyan is already being rumored in potential trade deals come June. Also, he'll be playing in his 1,000th career game in his next outing. Hopefully the team recognizes this and gives him the start. |
| Xavier Nady |
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With Bloomquist in LF, Roberts at 3B, and Branyan at 1B, Nady just doesn't have a purpose right now. He's only played in one game since April 6th and did well with a couple of doubles and RBIs. Unfortunately for him, he's just not needed right now. |
| Geoff Blum |
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Still hurt: 15-Day DL stint retroactive to March 22 due to knee swelling. He is due back come Mid-April. |
| Henry Blanco |
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Blanco actually started in a game! He lived up to the hype and went 0-3. |