Series Preview # 41 : Diamondbacks vs Rangers

Momentum Matters

The Diamondbacks have momentum and the Rangers do not.

• The Rangers are 4-5 in their last 9 games. They are feeling a let down from their 8 game winning streak.
• The Diamondbacks are 7-2 in their last 9 games. They are feeling momentum after their 9 game losing streak.

Players to Watch: This season’s All-Stars.

These two teams had a total of eight All-Stars this season.

Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks’ starting pitcher. He is competing for this season’s Cy Young. There is not a clear-cut leader. However, Jack Sommers wrote an excellent article that shows Zac Gallen in the lead by bWAR and the Tom Tango predictor model.

What to watch: Will he win the Cy Young?

Geraldo Perdomo, Diamondbacks’ shortstop. His batting strength is getting on base. His hard hits are at the first percentile per baseball Savant.

Great defense is his wheelhouse. This season, although Geraldo Perdomo has 1 out above average at shortstop (Baseball Savant). I am concerned that his range at shortstop fell from negative 1 DRS last season to negative 8 DRS this season. As a result of that weakness, this season his overall DRS at shortstop is negative 5.

Next season, assuming Nick Ahmed is not re-signed, Geraldo Perdomo will likely play shortstop until Jordan Lawler, who was recently promoted to AAA, is ready to play in the Majors At that point, he may move to second base or third base

What to watch: How good is his defense, especially if he plays second base or third base?

Corey Seager, Rangers’ shortstop. On 15 August against the Angels, Corey Seager his 2 home runs and a single, for a total of 5 RBIs. For the season, he has 22 home runs and 32 doubles in 77 games.

What to watch: Do the Diamondback pitchers neutralize his power at the plate?

Adolis Garcia, Rangers’ outfielder. This season, he has 30 home runs and 24 doubles.

What to watch: Do the Diamondback pitchers neutralize his power at the plate?

Marcus Semien, Rangers’ infielder. This season, he hit 19 home runs, 29 doubles, and 4 triples.

What to watch: Do the Diamondback pitchers neutralize his power at the plate?

Jonah Heim, Rangers’ catcher. On 13 August he was activated after straining the tendon in his left wrist.

What to watch: Will his performance be back at the All-Star level in this series?

Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers’ starting pitcher.

What to watch: Will he return from the IL for this series after a right forearm strain?

Josh Jung, Rangers’ third base.

What to watch: Will he return from the IL for this series after fracturing his thumb? .

Players to watch: Recent call-ups from minors.

JP Martinez, 11 August, Rangers. In his first five games, he played all three outfield positions. His .361 wOBA is the eighth highest on the Rangers.

What to watch: Where does he play in the outfield?

Buddy Kennedy, 12 August, Diamondbacks. In my two articles (part 1 and part 2) that looked at who might play third base in the next two seasons, Buddy Kennedy was overlooked. Nevertheless, he has an opportunity to compete for the position.

What to watch: Will he outplay the competition and secure third base next season?

Bryce Jarvis, 13 August, Diamondbacks. In his debut, he pitched 27 4-seam fastballes with an average velocity of 95.4 MPH. His .273 strikeouts per batter faced was excellent, as was his .226 balls-in-play per strike. His .118 whiffs per pitch was good but fell short of .130 which would have been excellent).

What to watch: Does he continue to show glimmers of greatness? Will he be a top-of-rotation pitcher next season?

Players to Watch: Three hot Diamondbacks’ batters.

The top 3 batters from 1 to 16 August were:

• Christian Walker, .501 wOBA, 6 home runs.
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr, .418 wOBA, 4 home runs.
• Buddy Kennedy, .353 wOBA, 0 home runs.

Pitching Matchups.

At the time of writing, the matchups were TBD. Recently, the Diamondbacks have been creative with the use of openers. Possible matchups follow:

Monday 6:40 PM Arizona Time, Jordan Montgomery (2.50 ERA, 2.82 FIP) vs Slade Cecconi (3.48 ERA, 4.91 FIP).

Jordon Montgomery. At the trade deadline, the Cardinals traded him to the Rangers. With the rangers he pitched very well with a 2.50 ERA in 3 starts. He pitched 6 innings in each start.

Slade Cecconi. He was called up to the Majors on 2 August. He has started 2 games and had one relief appearance. He has potential to join the rotation or be a high-leverage reliever. I’m encouraged that he has only allowed 1 home run in 10.1 innings.

Tuesday 6:40 PM Arizona Time, Jon Gray (3.52 ERA, 4.16 FIP) vs Zac Gallen (3.17 ERA, 3.06 FIP).

Jon Gray. Looking at his splits, relative to the league, batters perform better when they hit ground balls (sOPS+ of 104 vs 64 for flyballs and 68 for line drives). And relative to the league, batters perform better when they hit the ball to the infield instead of the outfield (sOPS+ of 141 vs 75). The Diamondbacks could take advantage of that split with their aggressive baserunning.

Zac Gallen. With only 1 earned run in his last 13.2 innings, and only 1 home run in his last 4 games, Zac Gallen has momentum. The Diamondbacks will likely win this game.