Top Seasons By A Diamondbacks Starting Pitcher Nos. 6-10
We are in the final stretch of our series on best individual seasons by a Diamondback at every position. Today we are covering starting pitchers 6-10.
First some words about some of the statlines showing. The WAR figure is aWAR, or the average of Baseball Reference (bWAR) and Fangraphs (fWAR). bWAR begins with RA-9, or runs against per nine innings, then adjusts for ballpark and league context, the defense behind the pitcher, and the strength of opponents. fWAR is based on the components of FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching, i.e. walks, strikeouts, and home runs. Hits on balls in play, or non homers, are not included in FIP as the view point there is pitchers have little control over the rate of balls in play that fall in for hits.
I also include and consider WPA, or win probability added. This stat helps us go beyond a pitcher's won-loss record, and allows us to get a sense for how much the pitcher's performance in the highest leverage moments impacted the team's chance of winning. If a pitcher had a lot of run support, they likely had lower average leverage to deal with. This stat then helps mitigate the outsized effects of good run support and good bullpens on a pitcher's won-loss record. It's closer to what the pitcher himself can control. But we don't throw out the W-L completely in our considerations. So balancing WAR with WPA helps address that issue when evaluating individual seasons.
These are not just straight WAR rankings. Subjective factors, team success, post season, etc, are all taken into account as well.
Number 10: Robbie Ray, 2017
Robbie Ray was having a good season going into the game on July 28th, 2017. He was 9-5 with a 3.15 ERA. A scary moment took place when he was hit on the head by a 108 MPH line drive in St. Louis. He missed four weeks of the season but when he came back on August 24th he was even better, going 6-0 with a 2.28 ERA over his final eight games, all Diamondbacks victories. Ray led the league with 12.1 K/9, but also walked 3.9/9. His 163 ERA+ was the second highest in franchise history for a qualified pitcher.
Had he not missed five starts he might have had a chance at 20 wins and a much higher ranking on this list. As it was he had an excellent season, showing the talent within. Unfortunately the next time Ray pitched this well was in 2021 for the Toronto Blue Jays when he won he Cy Young.
Number 9: Omar Daal, 1999
Omar Daal was the number two starter behind Randy Johnson on a 100 win division champion. Taken from Toronto in the 1997 expansion draft, Daal might have been better on a per inning basis in 1998, posting lower ERA and FIP than he did in 1999. But with 50 more innings pitched in his second season with the D-backs he was able to become a 16 game winner, and had WAR+WPA total of 7.0
Daal's best game of the year came on August 15th when he threw a 7-hit shutout against the Brewers at Chase Field in a 4-0 D-backs win.
Number 8: Patrick Corbin 2018
Patrick Corbin had a better year in 2018 than he did in his pre Tommy John surgery all star season of 2013. His ERA and ERA+ were the best of his tenure with the D-backs, as were his WAR totals. His FIP of 2.47 was extremely low, speaking to the underlying quality of the innings he pitched.
His WAR + WPA total of 7.9 was the 8th best in franchise history, helping him conveniently slot into the 8th spot of this list. It was his final year before free agency and he rode his slider to a big contract with the Washington Nationals. He pitched well there in 2019, helping that team to a World Championship before falling apart the last three seasons.
Number 7: Zack Greinke 2017
Zack Greinke may not quite have lived up to his $34 million per year contract with the Diamondbacks, but he was very good for the team from 2017-2019. His best season as a D-back was 2017 as he led the pitching staff to the post season. His ability to change speeds and locate a wide repertoire of pitches with pin point command made every Greinke start a must see pitching clinic.
Many of his stats are similar to Corbin's in 2018, the big separator being his 147 ERA+. 2017 was the last pre-humidor season in Chase Field and the park played very homer friendly. Starting the next year Chase Field became more or less a neutral ballpark after being considered a hitters park for most of the team's existence.
Number 6: Zac Gallen 2022
It was very hard not to move Zac Gallen up to 5th or even 4th on this single season ranking list. His franchise record scoreless streak of 44 1/3 innings was thoroughly dominant, as described in "Zac Gallen's Scoreless Streak by the Numbers" His season ending ERA is the second best and ERA+ the third best among Diamondbacks starting pitcher seasons.
Only the low innings total and his rather average first half of the season, and the fact that most of the games he pitched in had no bearing on a pennant race keep him from moving up a couple of spots on these lists. Regardless Zac's season, and scoreless streak accomplishment should be celebrated as among the best in Diamondbacks history.
Honorable Mention
Miguel Batista had several good seasons with the D-backs, and statistically his 2003 regular season was his best, with 4.3 WAR and a 132 ERA+. He had just a 10-9 record and 0.8 WPA however, keeping him on the outside looking in for this top 10 list.
