Two D-backs That Could Determine 2024 Season Success
The Diamondbacks will be looking to make the postseason in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 22 years. In order for them to be successful in that endeavor, they will need to get contributions from up and down their roster. With the moves they've made in free agency to raise the floor of the team, these two players very well could determine the ceiling of this team.
Hitter: Alek Thomas
Thomas is very much the missing link in this lineup. His tools and minor league track record would have suggested a player who should have performed better than the .230/.274/.359 slash he's accumulated in his first 813 career plate appearances. Despite the weak performance at the plate, he's been worth 2.4 bWAR on the strength of his defense and baserunning. That's very much why the team still sees him as a core player to build around instead of panicking on a guy who hasn't hit major league pitching well in two seasons.
That doesn't take into account his postseason success. Thomas already has a big home run under his belt, with a game-tying shot in the 8th inning of NLCS Game 4 off one of the best closers over the past 10 seasons. He had two hits off well-struck balls against a very good left-handed starter in the World Series. The flashes have been there, it's just a matter of consistency at this point.
Entering what could be a pivotal year, Thomas has reportedly shown improvements in his swing in the eyes of his manager, Torey Lovullo.
"The swing plane looks great, he looks like accomplished a couple things he wanted to this offseason. Slow down the forward movement, get a little bit more time to read the pitch. I think his lower half has been in a pretty good position, he looks like he's locked and loaded. I saw his BP and he hit the ball very, very well."
Getting Thomas to become a key cog in the lineup will lengthen it out more and allow Lovullo to use his roster more aggressively in key situations. Being able to stay in the lineup vs. lefties is also important, as he was 11-for-77 (.143) at the plate against same-handed pitchers.
"He’s an unbelievable talent... we’re all in on him improving day-by-day, and he accepts coaching, so this should be something where we see him continue to improve through the course of his career," said Lovullo, "Specifically left on left we want to see him improve in that area, and just be consistent with his barrel awareness, and track the baseball, and slug when he can, and put down the bat when he can and take a walk."
Pitcher: Brandon Pfaadt
Pfaadt was a key factor in the D-backs postseason run, as evidenced by his final four postseason starts. Over that stretch, he allowed just four runs in 19 1/3 innings against three of the best lineups in baseball in big games. The combination of stuff and positive track record on baseball's biggest stage is why he's a rotation lock in 2024 despite putting up an unsightly 5.72 ERA in his rookie season.
His bread and butter is using the sinker and sweeper to attack hitters horizontally, but will mix in a four-seamer to attack the top of the zone. In the offseason, the D-backs asked him to work on landing his pitches in the right spots more consistently and get to his changeup more. For Pfaadt to reach his ceiling, the changeup will be the key pitch to master. Not only does it play well off his bread and butter combination, but comes at a different speed for hitters to have to gauge.
"[He's setting out to] continue working on the command of all his pitches. Land all of his pitches, and be able to get to a changeup consistently. And he’s going to be just fine, he’s in a really good spot continuing to learn and grow," Lovullo said.
The D-backs have a solid foundation at the top half of their rotation. Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly have been excellent the past two seasons and the team went out to sign Eduardo Rodríguez to provide a veteran presence in the middle of the rotation. That's given them the freedom to go with young arms for the final two roster spots, although very few pitchers with 20 career starts are as battle tested as Pfaadt was. Continued growth in his first full year in the major leagues could give the D-backs one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball.
