How this works
Every other day, from now through to Christmas, we'll open up discussion on a particular player who made a meaningful contribution to the 2014 Diamondbacks. [I've drawn the line at 125 PA or 20 innings] There will be two sections. Firstly, a poll where you rate them from 5 ("Highly satisfied") down to 1 ("Very dissatisfied"): it's entirely up to you what criteria you use for the number. Secondly, the comments below, where you can talk about the reasons for your vote, etc. Things to discuss include, but are not limited to:
- Pre-season expectations
- 2014 performance: strengths and weaknesses, etc.
- Health and other mitigating factors
- How they'll help the team in 2015, their role, etc.
Three days down the line, we'll collate the votes, calculate a final average score, and write up the consensus of SnakePit thought into an appraisal. Here is a quick overview of today's candidate for your consideration.
Additional bonus! Going forward. we'll also have a "Comment of the Thread" for the appraisal, so please rec the comments you find insightful, funny, or whatever.
Evan Marshall - RHP
Evan Marshall made his rather unheralded debut on May 6th of 2014, bringing with him his 96 mph fastball and a devastating slider. Though he had strong AAA numbers, the 2011 4th round draft pick spent most of his minor league career being overshadowed by the likes of guys like Sherfy, and Barrett. Barely a month into the season, the Diamondback pitching staff was a complete mess, on pace to be one of the very worst complete pitching staffs in baseball history. The shuffle brought Marshall up to the Show, and he never looked back. While he allowed two runs in his fourth outing, those runs were unearned. He did not allow an earned run until his ninth outing, a single run that catapulted his ERA from nil to 0.93.
Marshall allowed an earned run in only eleven of his 57 outings in 2014, and by the All-Star break had firmly established himself in the roll of seventh inning/set-up man. By the end of the season, he had made a case for himself as one of the better set-up men in the National League. Despite his very capable numbers, Marshall's most memorable moment of the season likely came on June 17th against the Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix. Marshall was ejected from the game for intentionally hitting Brewers slugger Ryan Braun in the rear with a 95 mph fastball - one pitch after missing behind Braun with a 94 mph pitch. All sorts of ugliness ensued.
June 17th notwithstanding, Marshall went on to have a strong enough season that, by the time he threw his last pitch of the season on September 28th, the incident was largely forgotten. As a young, cheap, effective power pitcher with sustained success in high leverage situations, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which Marshall does not figure prominently in Arizona's 2015 bullpen.