Three reasons to watch the Diamondbacks in 2015

The Arizona Diamondbacks weren’t very good last season, which is a little like saying the moon’s not a great place for a Pizza Hut. The Diamondbacks were so not very good that some well-known people lost their jobs, and other well-known people were brought in to fix the big mess. But you can fix only so much in a few months, especially on a budget. Which is why the Diamondbacks are widely expected to finish last again this season, or maybe next to last. I still came up with three good reasons to watch them, though!

1. Josh Collmenter is the Diamondbacks’ No. 1 starter.
Seriously! According to this depth chart, anyway. This is really interesting for at least a couple of reasons.

One, in Collmenter’s short career he’s already been demoted from the rotation to the bullpen at least twice. Just two seasons ago, manager Kirk Gibson used 10 starting pitchers ... and somehow Collmenter wasn’t one of them. He opened last season as the Diamondbacks’ sixth starter, not actually going into the rotation until after Randall Delgado opened his season with a couple of clunkers. But once Collmenter got in there, he pitched plenty good enough to stay; in a late-May start against the Reds, he pitched a shutout while facing only 27 batters. Collmenter might seem an unlikely Opening Day starter, considering his history as a 15th-round draft pick who’s had to fight for every chance. But he’s now established himself as a solid major-league starting pitcher.

Two, Collmenter doesn’t throw a baseball like anyone else in the major leagues:

... and now you know why they call him “Tomahawk.” And now you know when and where to find him.

2. Paul Goldschmidt might be even better than you thought.
Yes, he finished second in MVP balloting in 2013, thanks to a bunch of big hits and the traditional overrating of slugging first basemen. Just a flash in the pan? You might think so! Goldschmidt didn’t finish second in 2014, or 22nd; he didn’t appear on a single MVP ballot.

But that’s largely because he missed the Diamondbacks’ last 50 games of the season, with a broken hand. Of course we don’t know if he’s now fully healed, or ever will be. But the early signs are good, so let’s take a moment to notice just how good Goldschmidt was before the injury.

Many of us still remember the seasons when hitting 60 home runs might not even lead your league. Those days are gone. While Goldschmidt hit “only” 36 homers in 2013 and probably wouldn’t have reached 30 last season even without the injury, that doesn’t mean he’s not a tremendously productive hitter. Goldschmidt’s wOBA over the last two seasons is .403, which is third highest among major leagues with at least 1,000 plate appearances; only Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout have done better.

What does it mean? It means the Diamondbacks’ lineup just might include, almost every day, the National League’s best hitter.

Okay, so I exaggerate a little. You gotta like Giancarlo Stanton for that title, or maybe Andrew McCutchen instead. Joey Votto, if he can ever stay healthy. But Goldschmidt’s a terrific hitter who just turned 27, and you don’t want to miss him.

3. Hey, it’s a third baseman you’ve never seen before!
Okay, I was tempted to go with Mark Trumbo here, and will recommend that you watch him play a few games in the outfield this spring. Since it might be the last time he ever plays out there. But instead I’ll go with my better nature and suggest that you scout Cuban native Yasmany Tomas, who’s never played an inning of organized baseball at that position but is generally expected to play third base for the Diamondbacks on Opening Day.

Then again, Tomas’s defense is questionable, with some observers figuring he’ll wind up in one of the outfield corners and . . . now we’re back to Mark Trumbo. When Tomas signed with the Diamondbacks, Jeff Sullivan took his best shot at coming up with a sort of projection and . . . now we’re back to Mark Trumbo again.

So Trumbo, Tomas; Tomas, Trumbo. You can watch one or the other, but I’m going to do my best to see them both. Just seems like the thing to do, when you’re in Phoenix.

Arizona Diamondbacks
2014 record: 64-98
Playoffs: N/A
Projected 2015 record: 74-88
Key additions: SP Jeremy Hellickson, OF Yasmany Tomas, P Robbie Ray, SP Rubby De La Rosa, P Allen Webster
Key subtractions: SS Didi Gregorius, C Miguel Montero, SP Wade Miley