Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks second year LHP Pat Corbin in on a meteoric rise. With Monday night's 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies, the Diamondbacks improved to 9-0 in his nine starts. He has a 7-0 record and has worked at least six innings and given up two runs or less every time. We take a look at each of this starts this season and where he stands in the National League in several statistical categories. MLB Power Rankings: D-Backs No. 1 in NL West? | MLB team payrolls | A trip to all 30 MLB stadiums

There are some that cross over into the mainstream, such as Justin Upton, Paul Goldschmidt, or Brandon Webb. Others still are bought that were already in the mainstream, like just about anyone on the 2001 World Series team. Yet even if most baseball fans have heard of Aaron Hill, they probably don't realize how great he was last year. They probably don't realize how good Parra was in 2011 or is this year. 'Underrate' is one of those words people like to use fast and loose because it's largely a matter of perspective. It requires the position to believe a player isn't as good as they are simply by lack of reputation. Fans of the team obviously will be less likely to underrate their own. Of course, the flip side to this coin is overrating, because we want to believe our players are always really, really good, even when they're slipping helplessly into Miggy Time. Non-fans are also guilty of overrating players, because they're relying on reputation as a substitution for knowledge (see, most national fans opinions about Trevor Bauer). Yet there are players that we as fans underrate. I'll admit I'm guilty of underrating Gerardo Parra. I've always felt his bat was a little light, and although he can rake, I didn't think he'd keep it up. Yet here were are, almost to June, and he's put up a slash of .316/.381/.492, and has a bWAR of 3. He's already earned as much Wins Above Replacement as he did for his entire 2011 season. Another player I find myself underrating, if we're looking at all-time Diamondbacks, is Jay Bell. Sure, I remember him scoring the winning run in the 2001 World Series, but I forget that in 1999 he was money in the bank and had one of the best all-time Diamondback seasons. Of course, it was virtually out of line with the rest of his good career, but I'll admit I don't think Jay Bell when I think of players with nearly 5 bWAR in a season. Sometimes we consider a bad player to be underrated simply because we like him for extraneous reasons. Sure, Willie Bloomquist is Doomquist and No Offense Willie Bloomquist, the current inspiration for Diamondbacks TOOTBLAN, and probably a hundred other negative things we could say, but I can't help that I root for him a little more because he went to ASU. He's not really underrated, though, he's just awful and I have weird criteria for who I root for. So what about you? What are some of your underrated Diamondbacks on the 2013 squad and all-time? Poll How confident are you with how the Diamondbacks are performing? A (90 to 100) B (80 to 89) C (70 to 79) D (60 to 69) E (tuna casserole) 8 votes | Results

South Bend's Alex Glenn hit two home runs last night flashing some of the power potential projected for this 22-year-old outfielder. That gives him 5 for the year to go with 20 RBI, a .256 BA and a .778 OPS. Those aren't electric numbers but they keep him on the radar as a breakout candidate who has a nice combination of power, speed and athleticism. Glenn was drafted in the 12th round of the 2012 draft and had a nice rookie season between the AZL Rookie League and Missoula combining for 10 home runs, 40 RBI and an .889 OPS in 187 at bats. He's playing well enough to deserve a watchful eye going forward and he's someone I really like to keep moving up the system. I wouldn't quite put him in Keon Broxton's class as far as athleticism and defense go and he's basically the same age and playing two levels lower. But he still has potential. Around the leagues, Reno fell 4-0 as Chase Anderson was decent but the offense was pretty bad. Mobile got 2 home runs from Keon Broxton and a good start by Mike Bolsinger in their 4-2 win. Keith Hessler pitched Visalia to a 5-2 win. And Alex Glenn's two home runs led South Bend to a 9-1 rout of Dayton. Snake Stars3 Stars: Alex Glenn, South Bend 3 for 5, 3 R, 2 HR (5), 3 RBI2 Stars: Keon Broxton, Mobile 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI1 Star: Keith Hessler, Visalia 7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 ER, W (3-1)0 Stars: Michael Perez, Visalia 0 for 4, 3 K Triple A: Reno 0 @ Round Rock 4. Chase Anderson started and was good enough to keep his team in the hnt with 4 runs allowed on 6 hits and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts over 7 innings. But the offense did not show up picking up just 4 singles on the night. Adam Eaton had one of the singles and played CF. Double A: Mobile 4 @ Pensacola 2. Keon Broxton broke out of his prolonged slump with 2 home runs accounting for all four of the team's runs, and Mike Bolsinger had a fine start allowing 2 runs in 5+ innings. Bolsinger allowed 8 hits and no walks but had no strikeouts. The bullpen added 3+ innings of scoreless relief with Eric Smith getting his 3rd save. High A: Visalia 5 @ Modesto 2. Keith Hessler had a terrific start going 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7. Tom Belza went 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBI, and Jake Lamb hit his 5th homer of the year and walked twice. Low A: South Bend 9 Dayton 1. The Silver Hawks pounded Dayton as Alex Glenn clubbed 2 home runs. Brandon Sinnery had another fine outing going 6 innings allowing 1 run on 6 hits and a walk with 3 strikeouts. Breland Amadova went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI.

Quotes of the Day "I'm just getting ahead with my fastball, and I think most of the strikeouts were on sliders. Just able to get ahead with my heater, strike them out with my slider and just keep them off balance." - Patrick Corbin “I think in the spring, I came in with the same mind-set that I have now. I wanted to go out there and make sure I was ready for every start. I try to go out there and pound the strike zone, and so far I’ve been able to do that. I know there are a lot of starts left, and I just want to make sure that I can keep it going.” - Patrick Corbin “If you’ve got an uptick in velocity like that, you can get away with a few more things. The way he’s throwing now, he doesn’t even need to get away with stuff. He’s locating, with plus velocity, with a plus slider, and executing game plans. It’s a pretty unbeatable combination.” - Brandon McCarthy on Patrick Corbin Diamondbacks Links Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies - Recap After walking the first batter of the ballgame, Patrick Corbin shifted into cruise control, fanning 10 Rockies over 9 innings for his first complete game in the majors. Corbin's complete game was the second in three nights for the Diamondbacks' pitching staff as Brandon McCarthy went the distance on Saturday in Miami. The Diamondbacks starters are now 8-3 with a 2.24 ERA over their last 14 games. Arizona Diamondbacks' Pat Corbin throws complete game in series opener against Colorado Rockies Nick Piecoro traces the origins of Patrick Corbin's career with the Diamondbacks, noting that Corbin was somewhat lost in the shuffle of the Diamondbacks' highly rated pitching prospects - being ranked only the 7th best pitching prospect in the D-Back's system prior to this year. Corbin wins with dominant breaking ball - Stats & Info Blog - ESPN Mark Simon of ESPN breaks down Corbin's start from last night, noting that the lefty threw 74 of his 97 pitches for strikes despite only half of his pitches being thrown inside the pitch f/x strike zone. On the topic of swing-and-miss, opponents have taken 94 cuts at Corbin's breaking ball and have come up empty 54 times. 10 Degrees: Dubious run? Little reason to doubt bargain of D'backs' Goldschmidt standard - Yahoo! Sports The central conceit of this article is a little distracting (McKayla Maroney's incredulous visage is used to represent the dubiousness, or "doobs," of a player's early numbers), but Jeff Passan brings us a lot of good info on Patrick Corbin and Paul Golschmidt. On Corbin's hot start, Passan quotes an NL scout as saying, "I thought he was a [No.] 4 or 5. I've seen him twice now, and I think he's at worst a 3 and very easily could be a 2. He's got command, that sinker is a kamikaze and he's fearless." Yet, Passan notes, the numbers do not necessarily bear the scout's take out. "[The numbers] say his .259 BABIP is too low, especially for a groundball pitcher. (True.) And they say his strand rate – the percentage of players left on base at the end of innings – is absurd at 89.2 percent. (Yup. Only Jeremy Guthrie and Matt Moore's are higher.) And they worry his home runs-per-flyball rate is unsustainably low. In essence, while a 1.52 ERA and 6-0 record say Corbin is a much better pitcher than last season, the peripherals say otherwise." He is much less dubious of Paul Goldschmidt's hot start, however, writing that "at 25, Goldschmidt is entering his prime years, and as much fun as it is seeing Bryce Harper and Mike Trout and other no-doubt talents ply their trade, watching the evolution of a player like Goldschmidt is a different sort of treat. He wasn't supposed to be this, not even close. That he is – and that McKayla isn't doobsing him – makes his story all the better." Angels fleeced D'backs in Haren deal - MLB - Yahoo! Sports Also from Passan, a reaction to the Dan Haren deal. Passan highlighted this

Apr 6, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin (46) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1st inning at Miller Park. Image Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports Well the Colorado Rockies offense was rolling against the San Francisco Giants, but none of the pitchers they faced during the weekend had the stuff of Patrick Corbin and he helped Arizona defeat Colorado 5-1. Corbin was extraordinary once again, and showed once again why he is the best left-handed starter in all of baseball. Corbin threw a complete game, gave up three hits, one run, walked one, and struck out ten. The offense for Arizona continues to improve, and Didi Gregorius was once again the main reason they were able to score runs in this game. They scored their first run in the second inning from Miguel Montero grounding into a force out. The third inning they scored two more runs from singles by Paul Goldschmidt and Eric Chavez. Gregorius continued his strong start on offense by hitting a double in the fourth inning that scored a run and a single in the sixth that brought one more run home. Rockies starter Jon Garland did not have a good start in this game, and he allowed base runners in every inning that he pitched. Garland went six innings, gave up eleven hits, five runs, and walked one batter. Colorado did have some momentum from their previous series with the offense clicking on all cylinders, but they were shut down in this game. Their lone run in the game came from a double by Jordan Pacheco in the eight inning. Corbin has accomplished plenty in his starts this season, but this performance put him in an elite class of pitchers. He became just the third visiting pitcher to record a complete-game win with at least ten strikeouts at Coors Field. The only other pitchers that can lay claim to accomplishing this are Kevin Brown and Pedro Martinez. Another reason why Corbin has been successful this season is because of his breaking pitch. He has 39 strikeouts this season with that pitch and this is the third-most of any pitcher in the NL. He only trails the Pittsburgh Pirates A.J. Burnett with 44 strikeouts and Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw  who has 42 strikeouts in this category. He also has the highest miss rate in the majors at 58 percent. The Diamondbacks are 9-0 in Corbin’s starts this season. Corbin extended his streak to nine starts where he has pitched at least six innings and allowed no more than two runs.

Ed Szczepanski-USA Today Sports When you think of Coors Field, the first thing that come to mind is high-scoring games, and pitchers having an inflated ERA due to the high altitude. Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Patrick Corbin just destroyed that notion in his start against the Colorado Rockies on Monday. Corbin has had a very remarkable start to this season, and his legend continues to grow every time he steps on the mound. The best aspect about his success is that he was not blessed with a great fastball or a knee-buckling curveball. He has worked hard to become the best pitcher that he could possibly be. That hard work is paying huge dividends, and he has become one of the best left-handed pitchers in MLB this season. Corbin can add another accolade to his already impressive resume, he is only the third visiting pitcher to throw a complete game with 10 or more strikeouts at Coors Field. The only other pitchers that have done this are Kevin Brown and Pedro Martinez, which already puts him in elite status. Another thing that made this start great was his approach and the way that he attacked the Rockies line up. He also did something that is not easy to do in Colorado, and that is he kept the ball down to hitters. Corbin has pitched tremendously this season and if keeps it up, he could find himself earning some hardware when the season is over. He is also a big reason why Arizona is first in the division. Chris is the Diamondbacks writer for RantSports.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter. Like Chris on Facebook. Add him to your network on Google.

DENVER -- Looking to examine an area of the club he called a "work in progress," manager Kirk Gibson said he printed out a sheet detailing all of the Diamondbacks' steal attempts so far this season. It's been an area that needs improvement. With just 15 steals in 29 attempts, the Diamondbacks have a 52 percent success rate, the worst in the majors. Most clubs aim for a rate between 75 and 80 percent.

Record: 26-19. Pace: 94-68. Change on 2012: +6 Initially, it looked like this was going to be a wobbly version of Patrick Corbin that we saw today, as he walked the Rockies' lead-off hitter and went to a full count on the next guy: 13 pitches and no outs. However, he got Dexter Fowler to line into a double-play, and it seemed to settle Corbin down. It wasn't until two outs in the fourth that he allowed his first hit, and he had faced one over the minimum to that point, the only other Colorado base-runner reaching on an error. Neither runner got past first base, and Corbin settled right back down after the hit, retiring the next eleven Colorado hitters in order. He lost the one-hitter with a double that just stayed fair down the left-field line with one out in the eighth, and the shutout one batter later on another double. But he retired the final four he faced, to notch the second complete game by a D-backs left-hander in three days. He threw 97 pitches, more than three-quarters of them (74) for strikes, got strike one on 24 of 31 batters faced, and had more swinging strikes (19) than called ones (18) or pitches fouled off (17) tonight. He was also very economical, his 97 pitches tonight is the least for a complete game with 10+ K by an NL pitcher since June 2005, when Chris Carpenter took 95. Really, watching Corbin work through the first seven innings, was the most dominating outing by a D-backs left-hander since the golden days of Randy Johnson. We haven't had many great southpaws in our history - after RJ, next on our WAR list are Brian Anderson, Doug Davis and Omar Daal, but I suspect that list will be changing quite a bit before long! Corbin's slider seemed particularly savage: witness the three-pitch K's, all on swinging strikes of Dexter Fowler in the sixth inning. None of the pitches reached even 80 mph, but the swings were progressively worse, and Corbin dotted the inside corner in a way strangely reminiscent of Johnson's "Mr Bitey." After going down in order for their first stab at the pie, the Diamondbacks got on board in the second. Eric Chavez drove the ball to the gap in right-center, and took advantage of a misfield there to end up on third-base with a triple [Troy Tulowitzki nodded approvingly]. Martin Prado had a chance to improve his RISP numbers, and get a tally for SnakeLines, but grounded out. After a walk to Jason Kubel, it looked like Miguel Montero had hit into an inning-ending double-play. However, the throw to first was high, lifting Todd Helton off the bag and Montero managed to reach base, as Chavez scored. A.J. Pollock singled, and Corbin ran the count to 3-0 but grounded out with two on. No matter. The Arizona offense seemed to have found its "on" switch. They added two the next time up, on RBI singles by Goldschmidt and Chavez [Goldie getting to motor from first to third in between, as the Rockies' catcher demonstrated his defensive indifference on two wild pitches], and one apiece in the fourth and sixth innings, both of those being driven in by Didi Gregorius. Every Arizona starting position player except one had a hit by the middle of the fifth - no prizes for guessing who the exception was - and after the first, we had one or more hits in every inning. Through the middle of the eighth, the Diamondbacks had outhit the Rockies by the margin of 14-1. By the time things had finished, we'd racked up 16 hits, one off the season high - and that came in the 16-inning marathon against St. Louis, so this was probably more impressive. Got to think that we should probably have scored more runs: since the start of last season, 36 NL teams have had exactly 16 hits in a game, and only two scored five or fewer runs. But it's probably significant that only two went for extra bases, with the other 14 all being singles. Gregorius, Chavez and A.J. Pollock had three each, Jason Kubel reached three times on two hits and a walk, and even Miguel Montero had a pair of late hits, so hopefully that augurs wel

DENVER -- The rave reviews keep rolling in for Diamondbacks left-hander Pat Corbin. He was called "nasty" in a tweet by Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones. Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers said a scout told him Corbin was just a tick below Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, a Cy Young Award winner.

Patrick Corbin was majestic tonight, carving up the Rockies with a devastating mix of first-pitch strikes and sliders which the hitters facing him seemed completely unable to pick up. After a shaky start, walking the first batter he faced, he settled down to absolute dominance, and came into the eighth inning having allowed one hit. He lost the shutout there, on a pair of doubles, but retired Colorado 1-2-3 in the ninth, to finish with ten strikeouts, three hits and just that solitary walk. The win improved his record to 7-0, and the solitary run allowed lowered Corbin's ERA for the season to 1.44. His WHIP is now also below one. The offense enjoyed themselves, though you'd normally expect 16 hits to lead to more than five runs - however, 14 of those were singles. There were particularly good nights for Eric Chavez, A.J. Pollock and Didi Gregorius, who each got three hits, and Jason Kubel also reached base safely, with two hits and a walk. The win gives us a two-game lead over the Rockies, though the Giants are currently winning over the Nationals in San Francisco: if that sticks where it is, we'll be one up on them. We face Colorado again tomorrow night, with Kennedy taking on Chacin. First pitch in that one is 5:40pm, Arizona time.