One year after winning the National League pennant, the D-Backs won five more games than 2023. But even with 89 wins, it wasn’t enough to steal a playoff spot. Arizona’s season unceremoniously ended after a wild season that saw the D-Backs score — and concede — a ton of runs. Here’s our 2024 Diamondbacks recap.
The Offense
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 886 | 1st |
| Home Runs | 211 | 5th |
| OPS | .777 | 2nd |
| Whiff% | 22.2% | 2nd |
| Hard Hit% | 39.1% | 14th |
The Pitching
| Stat | Number | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 4.79 | 27th |
| Relievers’ ERA | 4.41 | 25th |
| Strikeouts | 1,313 | 26th |
| Whiff% | 24.0% | 26th |
| Chase% | 29.2% | 8th |
The Good
The D-Backs did something not seen since 2011. Arizona led the Majors in runs scored but failed to make the playoffs. The last time that happened was 2011 when the Red Sox — with 875 runs scored — led the league in the same category. Boston was eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the regular season.
Almost the exact same happened to the Diamondbacks, who were eliminated after a make-up doubleheader on September 30 that allowed the Mets and Braves to clinch a playoff spot. But, Arizona didn’t fail to make it back to October because of their bats.
Five D-Backs hit 22 or more home runs, with Ketel Marte and Eugenio Suarez going over the 30-home run marker. For Suarez, the third baseman overcame a slow first half to help pace the Arizona offense. As we noted in November, Suarez hit .301 with 20 home runs over the second half, and eight of those home runs came in September.
As for Marte, he set career-highs in home runs (36) and RBI (95), putting up nearly-comparable numbers to his breakout 2019 campaign. No second baseman in baseball hit more home runs than Marte.
Christian Walker, now a free agent, likely would have hit more than 26 had he not miss time on the IL.
Aside from those three, Joc Pederson hit 23 home runs over 132 games at the team’s primary DH. Jake McCarthy, with 25 stolen bases, was a sparkplug along with Corbin Carroll in the second half. And, former first-round pick Pavin Smith posted a .896 OPS over 60 games and came up with clutch hits throughout the season.
As for the D-Backs’ pitching, there weren’t a ton of positives, as will be addressed in the next section. However, arguably the biggest plus was the rise of reliever Justin Martinez.
Martinez, a righty with premium velocity and regular hit 100+ MPH, was Arizona’s most effective reliever. The 23-year-old struck out 91 over 72.2 IP and took over as closer in the second half.
The Bad
For a team to miss the playoffs with the most runs scored, that squad would also likely need to give up a lot of runs. That was indeed the case in 2024, as only the Marlins (755) and Rockies (867) gave up more earned runs than Arizona (741).
The Diamondbacks’ rotation heading into 2025 got some upgrades. Arizona signed Eduardo Rodriguez earlier last winter, and then added 2023 playoff hero Jordan Montgomery later on. Montgomery, a command-over-stuff lefty, was left on the board until two days before Opening Day 2024 amidst many teams looking to avoid big deals.
It was all a part of Arizona trying to put together a strong, overall rotation that would be deeper than in 2023. Sure, the D-Backs had enough starting pitching to win in October of 2023 — but remember, Arizona only relied on three starters: Brandon Pfaadt, Zac Gallen, and Merrill Kelly.
Consistency, though, proved to be elusive in 2024 for their starters.
Rodriguez and Kelly spent most of 2024 on the IL. Pfaadt struck out 185 over 181.1 IP but got unlucky in some respects, which led to a 4.71 ERA. Even staff ace Zac Gallen had troubles with command at times, which led to his highest BB/9 (3.3) since 2021.
As for Montgomery, it felt like everything went wrong for the lefty. Montgomery saw decreases in pitch movement, a velo dip of nearly two MPH, and a 6.23 ERA over 25 appearances after a short ramp-up.
Because of how Montgomery’s contract was structured, the lefty made enough starts (21) to get a $22.5MM vested option for 2025. He took that option, unsurprising after a down season. However, D-Backs owner Ken Kendrick blasted the contract as a “horrible” deal after Montgomery’s poor season and took responsibility for it.
As of now, Montgomery is still on the Diamondbacks’ roster.
Another issue last season, aside from the rotation, was Corbin Carroll. Carroll hit 17 home runs and posted a .919 OPS after the All-Star break, washing away a terrible first half where he only hit .212/.301/.334. Carroll’s pop-up rate jumped to 12.1% last season as a whole, as the outfielder was gaming for more pop throughout the season.
Early Projected Lineup for 2025
- C: Gabriel Moreno
- 1B: Pavin Smith
- 2B: Ketel Marte
- 3B: Jordan Lawlar
- SS: Geraldo Perdomo
- OF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF), Corbin Carroll (CF), Jake McCarthy (RF)
- DH: Eugenio Suarez
- SP: Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery
- RP: Justin Martinez, A.J. Puk, Kevin Ginkel, Ryan Thompson, Joe Mantiply, Ryne Nelson, Seth Martinez, Kyle Nelson
Arizona saw three of the team’s key hitters from 2024 — Christian Walker, Josh Bell, and Joc Pederson — head to free agency this winter. Pederson and Walker’s contributions were well-known, while Josh Bell (.796 OPS, 11 XBH over 41 G) was a fine fill-in option while Walker was on the IL.
How the D-Backs replace Walker, should he not come back in 2025, will be a storyline to watch. Pavin Smith is a natural first baseman but profiles as a platoon bat. Smith has significantly better splits versus righties (.427 SLG, .760 OPS) compared to left-handers (.310 SLG, .600 OPS).
Another storyline is whether Jordan Lawlar, who ascended to the Majors in 2023 for his debut, can grab a roster spot. Lawler was hurt for a healthy chunk of 2024 and only played in the Minors. But when healthy, Lawlar’s flashed elite tools.
The other obvious storyline will be the D-Backs’ rotation. Can Pfaadt, Rodriguez, and Montgomery put together strong seasons to push Arizona back into the playoffs? For Montgomery, a normal spring would help. And as for Rodriguez, health will be critical.