The Arizona Diamondbacks Are the Hottest Team in Baseball. Here’s Why

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been the hottest team in major league baseball over the past two weeks, and there are plenty of signs that their recent success is sustainable.

The Diamondbacks have won 12 of their last 14 games to advance to the NL wild card position — and into the 2023 World Series — while rebounding from a so-so start.

The starting rotation has been slowly regaining strength, with defending NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll coming off an early slump and Ketel Marte continuing his MVP form throughout the season. First baseman Christian Walker’s recent oblique injury hasn’t slowed them down.

Buoyed by a windfall from the 2023 postseason, the Diamondbacks have boosted their payroll to a record $174.9 million, and the new group is playing with the relentless confidence that carried them to a seven-game NLCS victory over Philadelphia a year ago. The teams open a four-game series in Arizona on Thursday night.

The Diamondbacks have won seven straight series and have won or split the last 11.

There are several factors at play here.

Starting the rotation becomes healthier

Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who signed a four-year, $80 million contract extension to bolster the starting rotation with experienced players, returned Wednesday, and right-hander Merrill Kelly could be close to returning from a shoulder strain.

Rodriguez used just 65 pitches to get into the sixth inning of his season debut Wednesday, a 5-3 victory over Cleveland in the second game of a doubleheader. He had not played since spring training because of a shoulder injury,

“That’s how I remember it … it was a very clean, easy pass,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo told reporters.

Rodriguez bolsters a rotation that has relied on recent reliever Zac Gallen and second-year right-handed pitcher Brandon Pfaff, while future free agent Jordan Montgomery has struggled.

Arizona is 24-9 since Gallen returned from a nagging hamstring injury on June 29. Gallen was third in the 2023 NL Cy Young voting and fifth the year before. Kelly pitched four innings in a rehab start Tuesday and without a setback might only need one or two more.

Ketel Marte, MVP candidate

Marte finished fourth in the 2019 MVP voting, behind Cody Bellinger, Christian Yelich and Anthony Rendon, and has been putting up similar, if slightly better, numbers this season, while also threatening Los Angeles Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani’s position as the consensus MVP candidate.

Marte has 29 homeruns and 80 RBIs and is on pace to set career highs in both categories after having 32 homeruns and 92 RBIs in 2019. His 6.0 WAR, as calculated by baseball-reference.com, leads the NL, just ahead of Ohtanie.

Arizona’s current streak has coincided with one of Marte’s. He has 10 homeruns and 23 RBIs in his last 15 games, including five homeruns in six games in August.

His offensive contributions are augmented by his play at second base. Marte has 11 defensive runs saved, according to Fangraphs.com, second among NL second basemen behind Milwaukee’s Brice Turang.

Corbin Carroll is back on track

Choosing the best NL rookie of the year in 2023 was a big challenge for most players, but after a rookie season in which he hit 25 homeruns and stole 54 bases, there are positive trends visible.

Carroll has four home runs, a .576 slugging percentage and a .924 OPS over the past two weeks. With Marte and Joc Peterson, Carroll helped the Diamondbacks overcome the loss of Gold Glover Walker’s 23-home run loss.

Aggressive forward strengthening

General manager Mike Hazen responded strongly by adding players to the bullpen and a replacement for Walker before the trade deadline, much like he did before the trade deadline in 2023 when he added key players Paul Sewald and Tommy Pham.

The acquisitions of veteran relievers AJ Puk and Dylan Floro at the deadline added bulk to a bullpen that had been up and down. First baseman Josh Bell, who hadn’t been a target until Walker went down, provided an unexpected pop.

Bell has hit four home runs — with two home runs in two games — since joining the team on Aug. 2.

Hazen’s offseason acquisitions have helped build an offense that currently leads the league in runs scored (594), ranks second in OPS (.758) and fifth in home runs (137).

With the added financial flexibility, Hazen signed free-agent outside hitters Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk, in addition to Montgomery. Pederson, the primary DH, is third on the team with 16 homeruns and leads the team with a .935 OPS, a career best.