Arizona Diamondbacks 2016 First-half Awards

Most valuable player: Paul Goldschmidt

On May 15, Goldschmidt was batting .222 with a slugging percentage only 40 points above his on-base figure. There had been many pieces, and not just here, concerned about Paul, and wondering if, perhaps, he was carrying an injury or something. Now? Well, reports of his death were clearly greatly exaggerated - which I guess is kinda appropriate, considering Mark Grace called him, "Jesus Christ in a baseball uniform" Now, he's virtually back on pace for another .300 BA, 30 home-run, 100 RBI season, and seems a lock to represent the D-backs at the All-Star Game again. Normal service has been resumed. Honorable mentions: Zack Greinke, Jake Lamb, Jean Segura.

Least valuable player: Shelby Miller

The tent-pole trade acquisition this winter has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster, from a debut where he allowed six earned runs in six innings. His ERA as a Diamondback has never been below six; Miller's walk, home-run and hit rates are all career highs, while his strikeout rate has never been lower. Mechanical issues? Mental issues? Physical issues? D) All of the above? Who knows. But if his current form continues, there's a real possibility he could be a DFA candidate for next year, when he'll be in his second year of arbitration, so consequently even more expensive. Unlikely to happen, but... Honorable mentions: Silvino Bracho, Brandon Drury, Peter O'Brien

Pitcher: Zack Greinke

Like Goldschmidt, Greinke got off to a slow start - an Opening Day disaster saw Zack last only four against the Rockies, allowing seven earned runs. He was inconsistent through the middle of May, posting a 5.26 ERA in eight starts, but then reeled off seven consecutive wins, with a 1.90 ERA, truly being the pitcher we signed up. Up until tweaking his oblique He has been about the only stable thing in our starting rotation of late - and let's not forget his hitting, where he has helped turn our pitchers into the most productive men at the plate in the National League. Honorable mentions: the A bullpen of Tyler Clippard, Daniel Hudson and Brad Ziegler.

Rookie: Archie Bradley

Well, this is awkward. On the position player front, not one eligible candidate is above replacement level, whether you measure by fWAR or bWAR. Drury hasn't been bad at the plate, but his defense is unloved by the metrics - having to play in the outfield is likely part of the problem there. On the mound, things are a bit better: Wagner looked good in a short stint, and I wonder why we didn't see him promoted back up, instead of Zack Godley. Barrett has been busy and effective out of the bullpen, as other young prospects e.g. Bracho and Burgos, have apparently floundered. But Bradley's decent success since his return from Reno is the most promising for the future. Honorable mentions: Jake Barrett, Tyler Wagner

Unsung Hero: Chris Herrmann

"Chris who?" was the likely, and understandable, reaction when we dealt for Herrmann in November. And it seemed justified, as he opened his D-backs career with one hit over our first 17 games, batting .050. But since then, he has become an indispensable Swiss Army knife, playing not just behind the plate, but at first, and also starting in both right- and even center-field. There's also evidence to suggest he has been better at managing the pitching staff than Welington Castillo, with a catcher's ERA for Herrmann this season of 4.18, compared to Castillo's figure of 4.90. Daniel Palka is doing well in AA or Minnesota, but Chris has absolutely filled an important role for Arizona. Honorable mention: Barrett.

Game: 9-7 vs Giants (11 inn), April 18

There's a few candidates here: I enjoyed the 12-2 thrashing of the Yankees. Beating Jake Arrieta in Chicago was also a remarkable and impressive feat, and our sole walk-off win, against Trevor Cahill at Chase was fun. The first two games in Coors will also stick in the mind. But the Diamondbacks' opening game of the season against the Giants was memorable in a number of ways. It was our biggest comeback of the year to date, as we rallied from four down. Down to our last strike, Lamb's home-run tied it up, then we scored two in the 11th, and Brad Ziegler put the tying run on base, purely so he could end it with a double-play. You couldn't script it better.

Performance: Zack Greinke, June 7, CGSO

Following on the heels of seven shutout innings against the Astros, Greinke went one - or, rather, two - better against the Rays, spinning the only complete-game of the year to date. Indeed, Zack has all three games where a D-backs starter has got through eight innings in this season. The resulting Game Score of 81 hasn't been surpassed by a Diamondback since Josh Collmenter's 27-up game in May 2014. Perhaps surprisingly, it was only Greinke's third complete-game since coming to the NL. Honorable mentions: Rubby De La Rosa, 4/28 (7 IP, 2 H, 10 K); Yasmany Tomas, 6/24 (10 TB, +44.2% WP); Brad Ziegler, 6/13 (1.2 IP save).

Play: Brad Ziegler, game-ending double-play, April 15

This had close throughout, with never more than one run separating the teams from beginning to end. Arizona had taken the lead in the top of the ninth, after Lamb stole second and Phil Gosselin singled him home. But the bottom of the ninth began with two hits off Ziegler, to put runners on the corners, and thus the tying run on third, with nobody down. Brad got a K for the first out, then intentionally walked the next man to load the bases and set up the double-play. At the risk of repeating myself: you couldn't script it better. Honorable mentions: 4/18 Lamb, last-strike homer; 5/4: Drury, diving catch into stands; 6/6: Robbie Ray, home-run; 6/24 Ricke Weeks Jr. game-saving catch at wall.