The 2012 Pitties: Rookie of the Year

Patrick Corbin

Statistics: 107.0 IP, 4.54 ERA, 4.00 FIP, 86:25 K:BB, 0.7 bWAR, 1.5 fWAR
The prospect received from the Angels in the Haren trade reached the majors by the end of April, getting the victory against the Marlin in his major-league debut. Corbin's best spell came when he returned to the rotation at the start of August, with a 3.68 ERA in six outings that month. He did appear to run out of steam down the stretch (he threw a total of 186.1 innings, 26 more than last season), with consecutive starts of only three innings on the road in September, allowing five and six runs. But his final start was one of his best, holding the Rockies to one run over seven innings at Chase.

Adam Eaton

Statistics: 22 G, 103 PA, .259/.382/.412, .794 OPS, 111 OPS+, 0.8 bWAR, 0.8 fWAR
Our left-handed outfielder is the only member of Arizona's 2010 draft class so far to have reached the majors with the Diamondbacks - not bad for a player picked 571st overall! Though only a September call-up, he had a busy month, starting 21 of the last 26 games, taking advantage of Chris Young's injury. Eaton hit .400 over his first five games, tying Trent Oeltjen as the fastest player in franchise history to get ten major-league hits. Adam impressed on defense too - his double-play has already won the Play of the Year 'Pittie - and with Young no longer in Arizona, appears to have the inside track on our starting center field position for 2013.

Wade Miley

Statistics: 194.2 IP, 3.33 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 144:37 K:BB, 3.2 bWAR. 4.8 fWAR
Undeniably the surprise story of the year, it's already well-recorded how Miley only made the roster due to Takashi Saito's injury, and pitched so well from there, that he became an All-Star, and delivered the team's best-ever result in the Rookie of the Year voting. As with Corbin, Miley shouldered a career-high workload (up from 169.2 last year) and the September ERA of 5.40 perhaps cost him the RotY award. To that point, however, he was magnificent, with a 2.85 ERA, and lead the team in wins. Wade's control was particularly notable, a 1.71 BB/9 has been beaten by a qualifying pitcher in Arizona only by Dan Haren since 2004.

Bryan Shaw

Statistics: 59.1 IP, 3.49 ERA, 3,90 FIP, 41:24 K:BB, 0.3 bWAR, 0.4 fWAR
At times it seemed that Shaw took a step back, but a 120 ERA+ from a 24-year-old rookie is nothing at which to turn your nose up. Shaw was unscored upon in 51 of his 64 appearances, and was significantly better in his second stint with the team. That began on August 11, with his most impressive appearance of the year, against the Nationals, when he struck out Mike Morse, Adam LaRoche and Tyler Moore in order. From then on he allowed five earned runs in 21.1 innings of work, for a 2.11 ERA. He also picked up his first career major-league save, working the ninth inning of the April 8th contest against the Giants, which was just awarded Game of the Year honors.

Ryan Wheeler

Statistics: 50 G, 119 PA, .239/.294/.339, .634 OPS, 68 OPS+, -0.1 bWAR, -0.2 fWAR
Ah, Good Wheeler - we hardly knew ye. Little more than a year ago, we were cheering you on in the frozen landscape of the Arizona Fall League. Now, after streaking across the firmament of Chase Field - he made his major league debut on our 10th wedding anniversary - you are a Rockie, part of Colorado's masterplan to get all the Wheelers... There were initial struggles, Wheeler hitting only .179 in his first 20 games, as he adjusted to the majors, but his batting average was a very respectable .271 thereafter. He made only two errors, giving him a better F% than Ryan Roberts or Chris Johnson.

Also debuted for the Diamondbacks this season: Trever Bauer, Jake Elmore, Tyler Graham, A.J. Pollock and Tyler Skaggs. Did not debut, but still a rookie: Konrad Schmidt. I think all of these will still be eligible next year, along with Eaton and (I guess!) Wheeler from the list above.