2019 SnakePit Awards: Performance of the Year Nominees

Zack Greinke: April 2 vs. SDP - 2-for-4, two HR, 4 RBI, six IP, 3 ER, 10 K, 0 BB, W

Greinke came to Arizona with a reputation as a great-hitting pitcher, with six HR in 341 PA. But over his first two years here, his power was limited and he didn’t leave the yard. Zack made up for lost time in his second start, going deep twice at Petco, while also striking out double-digits. The only other since 1971 to do both, was MadBum for the Giants against us on opening day 2017 - Greinke was Arizona’s starter that day. Zack became only the second Arizona pitcher with two homers. The other, of course, was Micah Owings against Atlanta in August 2007. That outing won Owings the ‘Pittie for Performance of the Year that season, so perhaps Greinke can repeat?

Jon Duplantier: April 28 vs. CHC - +57.6% WP, 4 IP. 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

The highest Win Probability by a pitcher in a single game didn’t belong to a starter this year. It instead goes to Duplantier, who single-handedly kept his team in the game for the tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth against Chicago, with four consecutive zeroes. It included him escaping a bases loaded, no out jam in the 12th (above), part of a streak of 9.2 scoreless innings put up by the Arizona bullpen, after Luke Weaver left in the fifth. Unfortunately, the offense wasn’t able to break through, and the Cubs won with three runs in the fifteenth off Matt Andriese. But this was still the first scoreless outing in extras pitched by a D-back to last four innings and 58 pitches, since Josh Collmenter went four and 68 pitches in 2013.

Carson Kelly: August 9 @ LAD - 2-for-4, two HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, 11 innings caught

As nominated by Jack, this game saw Kelly drive in all three runs in a 3-2 win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Carson first tied the game with a two-run shot off Kenley Jansen in the top of the ninth inning, and then went deep again in the eleventh, off Julio Urias. The result was +64.7% in Win Probability for Kelly. He also caught all eleven innings, helping Robbie Ray and the bullpen hold Los Angeles to just two hits, while striking out ten, including five hitless innings of relief. This was also the game where he nabbed A.J. Pollock by alertly snagging a foul ball at the plate, which Pollock claimed had hit him on the hand in the bottom of the eleventh. Not today, A.J. Not today...

Alex Young: September 7 @ CIN - Game Score 89, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 SO, W

In only his 13th major-league appearance, Young delivered a Game Score of 89. That ranks in the top twenty ever by a Diamondback, and has been surpassed just once since 2011 (Patrick Corbin’s one-hitter against the Giants last year was a 92). It was the best score by any pitcher in their first fifteen games since Chris Heston of San Francisco in 2015, and was only the second such by a D-back even to pass 80 (Zac Gallen had reached 82 in his 13th game, three days previously). The best thing of all? He did it in front of 40 family and friends at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. “Every time family comes out here, you get a little adrenaline rush and you want to do a little bit better”, he said.

Christian Walker: September 28 vs. SDP - +71.2% WP, 2-for-3, two HR, five RBI, BB

Grand-slams are kinda rare: Arizona has averaged less than four a year over their entire history. And grand-slams down by three, probably the best and certainly the most dramatic kind, are even rarer: there have been only three by a Diamondback - curiously, all coming in September. Ryan Roberts had the most famous, his walk-off slam against the Dodgers in 2011, but Yasmany Tomas also hit one in 2013. Walker became the third - having already hit a solo shot earlier in the game. As a result, he delivered the highest Win Probability for a game by an Arizona hitter for more than three years. Christian’s +71.2% was the best since Jake Lamb’s +77.7% against LA in July 2016.