Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #24: 4/24 vs. Royals

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves:

• Recalled LHP Tommy Henry from Triple-A Reno.
• Optioned RHP Drey Jameson to Reno.

I’m going to presume this is a schedule-based move, rather than Henry actually replacing Jameson in the rotation. Looking at the schedule, it doesn’t appear the D-backs need a fifth starter for a couple of weeks. This movie sets Henry up as the fourth starter behind Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson, with the fifth spot being instead given to an extra bullpen arm until Arizona needs a starter. With the bullpen having worked eight innings last night, they certainly could use all the help they can get for now.

Ranking the power rankings

Time to scope out the five major media power rankings and what they have to say about Arizona this week. All are through yesterday’s games except, as we’ll see, ESPN, which came out before the weekend.

• MLB.com: #14 (Last week: #16)
• CBS Sports: #14 (#11). “ They’ve lost four of five and have fallen into a first-place tie. The Dodgers and Padres are better suited to win this year, too. Is the party over already? I guess at least there is some good news: They are finally done with Madison Bumgarner. He can take his nonsense elsewhere.”
• USA Today: #13 (#15). “Earning their way on: Last in majors with 45 walks, fourth in NL with .261 average.”
• Fox Sports: #12 (#13). “Remember when Zac Gallen went on that ridiculous scoreless innings streak last year? He’s at it again. The D-backs’ ace has 29 strikeouts and one walk without allowing a run in 20.2 innings over his last three starts.”
• ESPN: #13 (#14). “The D-backs know they boast a dynamic offense and a solid defense and can only hope for a much-improved bullpen. But they’ll have a tough time contending in a thoroughly competitive NL West if they don’t get significant starting pitching contributions outside of Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Some encouragement might be found in Drey Jameson, the 25-year-old right-hander who has allowed just four runs in 16 innings this season. Jameson, who cracked Kiley McDaniel’s most recent Top 100 Prospects list, has yet to be fully stretched, lasting no more than four innings. His walk rate has also been an issue. But contributions from young starting pitchers like him could be key for the D-backs this season.” [Well, that aged like milk...]

Composite NL West Standings

If we average the rankings across the five, we find that the Dodgers have overtaken the Padres at the top of the standings. The D-backs inch up marginally, the Giants enjoy something of a rebound this time, and as for Colorado... Well, we call them the Cellarado Rockies for a reason!

1. Dodgers, 8.8 (9.0 last week)
2. Padres: 9.6 (7.6)
3. Diamondbacks: 13.2 (13.6)
4. Giants: 23.4 (25.4)
5. Rockies: 27.6 (26.2)