Inspiration.
In August, the Diamondbacks are strongly competing for a Wild Card. Several starting pitchers remained on the injured list. The batters are excellent, aren’t they? Let’s look at the batters.
Looking at Batters Two Ways.
OPS. OPS is one combined measure of on-base percentage and slugging (average number of bases per at bat). In August (games through 25 August), the top four batters were Jose Fernandez (1.053), Corbin Carroll (.917), Gabriel Moreno (.847), and Geraldo Perdomo (.838).
RBIs per PA. Runs-Batted-In (RBIs) per plate
appearance (PA) is a measure of tangible impact. In August (games through 25 August), the top five batters were Gabriel Moreno (.200), Nolan Arenado (.174), Ildemaro Vargas (.171), and Jordan Lawlar & Jorge Barrosa (tied at .154).
These two lists are different. Perhaps they measure two different things.
Let’s look at both of these measures at the same time. To simplify the view, the table only shows the 9 batters with best OPS, the table looked at OPS in August compared to April-July, and it defined high impact as at least .1 RBIs per PA. That view is shown in the following table:
The combined view provides significant insights. In August, Tim Tawa’s OPS broke out AND he had a high impact. This view supports the ideas expressed in this AZ Snake Pit article.
Nolan Arenado, despite his intercostal injury, improved his OPS and made a high impact. More recently, in batting practice on 27 August, he jammed his thumb. Hopefully there will be no long-term impact from the thumb injury.
Players who improved their OPS, but fell short of a high impact were Perdomo, Fernandez, and Carroll. In the off-season, my expectation was for Perdomo continue his 2025 breakout. It did not happen until August, when his .838 OPS approached last season’s .851.
Players with consistent OPS and high impact in August were Moreno and McCann. Interesting that they are both catchers. An MLB Network video stated:
- In 2026, Moreno’s .399 batting average to the non-pull side was the 6th highest in MLB.
- In 2025/2026, Moreno’s .348 batting average against 96+ MPH pitches was the 3rd highest in MLB.
- In 2025/2026, Moreno’s 173 wRC in high leverage situations was the 4th highest in MLB.
Perhaps when Marte returns from the injured list, he needs to improve his RBIs per PA. That makes sense because this season his performance is down from the previous two seasons.
Honorable mention to Jordan Lawlar. In August (through 25 August), his .560 OPS kept him off the table. Nevertheless, his .154 RBI’s-per-PA qualified for high impact. And his homer on 26 August increased his impact.
Honarable mention to Nootbar, whose grand slam on 29 August boosted him solidly into a high impact batter (1.45 RBIs per PA).
Compared to Other Teams.
So, the Diamondbacks batters improved in August. In August, how did their OPS compare to other teams? The .734 team OPS tied with the Rangers for 8th best in MLB. They compared favorably.
Batting Splits for Five Batters.
OPS splits for LHP and RHP may be significant for some batters. The following table shows (for August 1-25) their OPS vs right-handed pitchers and left-handed pitchers.
The table shows that recently the best options against LHP are Vargas and Lawlar.
The best option against RHP is unclear. The table is games through 25 August. On 28 August, Nootbaar hit a homer, double, and single, raising his OPS against RHP from .575 to .691. On 29 August Nootbaar hit a grand slam, raising his OPS against RHP from .691 to .791. Gurriel Jr. is in the table twice because his batter was better in April to June compared to July. Which version of Gurriel Jr. will return from the injured list? Therefore, either Nootbaar, Kepler, or Gurriel Jr. would be the best option against RHP. Specific pitcher-batter matchups could impact the choices.
Summary.
A combined view of OPS and RBIs per PA provided insights.
In August, Tim Tawa’s OPS broke out and he had a high impact
In August, Nolan Arenado, despite his intercostal injury, improved his OPS and made a high impact.
In August, players who improved their OPS, but fell short of a high impact were Perdomo, Fernandez, and Carroll. Perdomo’s OPS improved to almost last season’s breakout level.
Players with consistent OPS and high impact in August were Moreno and McCann. A few statistics show Moreno as one of the best batters in MLB.
Despite a low OPS in August, Jordan Lawlar made a high impact.
Nootbar’s batting was on fire at the end of August. His grand slam on 29 August boosted him into a high impact batter.
Batting splits in August show the best options against left-handed pitchers are Vargas and Lawlar. The best option against right-handed pitchers is less clear.
The .734 team OPS tied with the Rangers for 8th best in MLB.
