4 Diamondbacks most to blame for disappointing start to 2024 season

Nothing is guaranteed in sports, and the Arizona Diamondbacks — which reached the World Series in 2023 — have realized that ugly reality in 2024. The NL Champs are just 12-14 to begin the year in the tough NL West as they build on last season’s playoff success.

The club is second in MLB in runs scored per game but below average in ERA and 27th in save rate. Given these early struggles, here are the four Diamondbacks players most to blame for the team’s sluggish start.

Corbin Carroll

A 2023 All-Star and the unanimous 2023 NL Rookie of the Year, the speedy Corbin Carroll has hardly looked like the player who terrorized opposing teams last year. The youngster is batting just .208 through 24 games with an OPS of .582. Carroll, who had 65 extra-base hits a season ago, has two doubles and a homer in 112 plate appearances so far. This decrease coincides with a decline in solid contact. Carroll is currently in the 4th percentile in hard-hit rate and the 2nd percentile in average exit velocity after finishing slightly above average in both categories in 2023.

The one positive for the 23-year-old Diamondbacks outfielder is improved plate discipline. Corbin Carroll has 15 walks to 17 strikeouts on the season, improving his walk rate from 8.0% to 13.4% while dropping his strikeout rate from 19.4% to 15.2%. His ability to still get on base has helped him maintain his stolen base rate from 2023 (eight stolen bases so far).

Brandon Pfaadt

Young right-hander Brandon Pfaadt was one of the heroes of the Diamondbacks’ World Series run a year ago. Pfaadt threw 4.1 scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NLDS then continued his dominance with 5.2 more empty frames in the NLCS. He had a 3.27 ERA overall in the postseason across 22 innings. The youngster has been unable to translate that success into the 2024 season thus far. After five innings of one-run ball on Opening Day, Pfaadt has a 5.63 ERA in four starts since then.

More than half of his extra-base hits allowed this season have come on his sweeper, a pitch opponents are slugging .632 against. Brandon Pfaadt has not been bad this year. But with Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Ryne Nelson on the IL, plus Jordan Montgomery signing on late, the team has looked to its young pitching product to step up. He has yet to produce in 2024.

Scott McGough

Few baseball players can offer a more interesting path to the majors than Scott McGough. McGough pitched 6.2 innings for the Marlins in 2015 before returning to the minors. He spent 2019-2022 playing in Japan, where he was a lockdown closer for the Yakult Swallows.

His return to the Majors has produced mixed results. McGough had a 4.73 ERA last year and was 9-14 in save opportunities, giving him a WAR of 0.0. This season, his ERA has ballooned to 5.56 through 11.1 innings as the veteran is 0-2 in save chances to go with three losses. McGough will need to turn his season around if he wants to continue pitching in high-leverage situations.

Jace Peterson

An important utility player after joining the Diamondbacks late last year, Jace Peterson has been anemic at the plate this year. The former Oakland Athletic is just 1-22 to begin the campaign while providing below-average defense. His struggles highlight the overall troubles of this Arizona bench. Of the eight Diamondbacks players with less than 50% of possible at-bats, none have a batting average better than .250. Peterson’s shortcomings stand out on an Arizona bench that has not provided enough production this year.