So begins a new weekly installment we'll be bringing to you this season. Tune in every Wednesday to learn who is trending up, down, or sitting in neutral. It's a quick and easy way to get a rundown on any statistical action you may have missed out on. Or perhaps it'll be clarification to your "I think that guy has really stunk up the place lately" thoughts. Whatever the case is, it'll be here weekly to fit your bill.
So come and join us after the jump for a look at this week's opening week trends...
And here we go:
| Rotation | Trend | Notes |
| Ian Kennedy |  |
Our 26-year-old opening day starter showed flashes of good and bad in his lone start. He pitched 6 innings and only allowed six hits, but also walked three batters, allowed four runs (three earned), and had two wild pitches. It's a quality start but really not the type of outing that you want. |
| Daniel Hudson |  |
As much as we like to ooze and swoon over Dan Hudson, he had a pretty tame start to the season - 6 innings pitched allowing three earned runs on six hits and two walks for an ERA+ of 96. He did strikeout five, but at 101 pitches in six innings, he needs to be a little more economical. |
| Joe Saunders |  |
After a miserable Spring, Joe showed up and posted the best outing so far for any D-backs starter. He pitched 6 innings allowing only two earned runs on five hits and never looked out of place on the mound. He did walk three batters, which hurts, but overall he looked good and gave us a good shot at a win. At the very least, he's hushed some of that criticism for now. |
|
Barry Enright |
|
Enright was thrown around like a toy early in his season opener. He did eventually settle down and looked solid for his last three frames but the damage had already been done prior - 6 innings pitched with seven hits allowed, four earned runs, three walks, and only three strikeouts. He's responsible for breaking the perfect 3-3 quality start streak and needs to show better command before I can rank him more positively. |
| Armando Galarraga |
|
He fought hard for this spot and now he needs to back it up. We'll see how it goes. |
| Zach Duke |
 |
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 |
|
Only one inning pitched so far and it needs only one word to describe it - flawless. Putz had a perfect 9th inning while striking out two and recording his first save of the season. |
| David Hernandez |
|
Hernandez has looked solid and did a great job preserving a 6-6 tie game in the bottom of the 9th in the season opener. He's allowed two singles and two walks but has done a good job of getting groundball outs when he needs to. However, he did allow an inherited runner to score in the 4-1 Cubs loss so his rank could really go either way. I'm going to give him the "up" for now. |
| Juan Gutierrez |
|
Another one that could go either way but the big Gut has really done more good than bad up to this point. He was recently called upon to escape a one-out bases loaded jam against the Cubs and did so by striking out Alfonso Soriano and getting the relief pitcher to flyout. He, like much of the bullpen, is still riding a 0.00 ERA. |
| Sam Demel |
|
Demel was solid in his first two outings but got rocked in his last game against the Cubs. Despite what BABIP says or however unlucky you may think he had been, it's hard to rank someone with a 9.00 ERA and 3.00 WHIP any higher. |
| Aaron Heilman |
|
Another sort of mixed bag of results because of the super small sample sizes given to us. Heilman has only pitched one inning and allowed a couple of singles but still managed to strike out the side. For now, a 0.00 ERA can only mean one thing... |
| Kameron Mickolio |
|
One of only two relief pitchers to have an ERA above zero. He allowed two doubles and two earned runs which helped dig a bigger hole for the D-backs in the eventual 4-1 loss against the Cubs. Prior to that game, though, he had pitched a perfect frame against Colorado striking out one and only throwing six pitches. He gets a neutral due to the flip-flop of performances. |
| Joe Paterson | |
Joe has only pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing a hit and a walk but will most noticeably be remembered for the 4 pitch walk that plated the winning run in the 6-5 loss to the Cubs. I know it's early but he'll need to do better if he wants to stay on the roster. |
| Starters |
||
| Miguel Montero |
|
Montero has been hitting the ball well but has struggled a bit with the intangibles of being a catcher. He's got a slash line of .467/.529/.733 for an OPS+ of 262 in 15 at-bats but has already recorded two errors, 0-2 on catching baserunners, and has a passed ball. |
| Juan Miranda |
|
Miranda has started two of the four games and has gotten off to a decent start. His line of .375/.500/.375 in 8 at-bats is too small of a sample size to go into greater detail. |
| Kelly Johnson |
|
A bit of a slow start in Johnson's first 18 at-bats. He only has three hits for a batting average of .167 and hasn't walked since opening day giving him an OBP of .211. He's helped turn four double plays and has a stolen base so hopefully his offense starts to come around with the rest of his play. |
| Stephen Drew |
|
Day-to-day due to a lower abdominal strain that has been nagging our beloved shortstop. An MRI on March 29 revealed that it was only a strain and a recent pinch-hit opportunity against the Cubs suggests that he's almost back to 100%. |
| Melvin Mora |
|
Mora was on the opening day roster and went hitless in five at-bats and grounded into two double plays. His playing time has since been sneezed away with flu-like-symptons. Because that's $2M that could have been used on the draft, for now he gets a big red "down." |
| Gerardo Parra |
|
I was expecting Parra's line to look better based on what I remember from watching the games. However, he has a less impressive .214/.313/.286 with one stolen base in 14 at-bats. One has to wonder what Brandon Allen is doing right about now. |
| Chris Young | |
Young only has 3 hits in 17 at-bats with a 1/6 BB/K ratio. 'Nuff said, really. |
| Justin Upton |
|
Upton blasted his first home run of the season in the opener to help raise his slugging percentage to .444 but is still only batting .222 in 18 at-bats. He's tied for the team lead in RBIs with 3 and that's about all I can say for now. |
| Bench |
||
| Willie Bloomquist |
|
What else can you say about ol' Willie? He's filled in admirably with an OPS+ of 158 and is the MLB leader with 4 stolen bases (zero caught). The only player in the entire league with more than three! |
| Ryan Roberts |
|
Robert's hot Spring has carried into the season as he continues to put the bat on the ball and show good discipline at the plate. Unfortunately, most of his playing time has been at the expense of Mora's illness and he'll lose a good chunk of that when Mora is healthy again. |
| Russell Branyan |
|
Branyan played his 995th career game on Tuesday and continues to prove that he's worthy of a roster spot. He's hit some long flyouts so far, but none that have reached the seats. For now, he has two hits in 5 at-bats which just isn't rankable at this point. |
| Xavier Nady |
|
He helped drive in a run late in the comeback on Tuesday afternoon but he's still 0-4. |
| Geoff Blum |
|
15-Day DL stint retroactive to March 22 due to knee swelling. I'd trust that not many of us are really in a rush to see Blum actively contributing to the team. He is due back come Mid-April. |
| Henry Blanco |
|
Has yet to see the field. I'm unsure whether or not that should be deemed a good thing. |