Pitching wasn’t exactly a strength of the Diamondbacks last season. The team finished 23rd by ERA, the same by FIP, 24th by xFIP, and an underwhelming 26th by fWAR, posting just 8.7 wins above replacement
level. It’s safe to say that even an average pitching staff, combined with the D-backs’ clearly better than average offense, would probably have got the team into the postseason. Injuries were obviously a key factor. If Corbin Burnes, Justin Martinez and A.J. Puk had simply repeated their 2024 numbers, that would have been an extra six fWAR for the team, and a likely playoff spot.
However, we are not here to rehash that particular autopsy report. We are here instead to select candidates for Arizona’s Pitcher of the Year, and despite the struggles overall, there were still some strong individual performances over the course of the season. To provide some objectivity to suggestions, below is a table which lists ley statistics for the Arizona pitchers who finished in the top ten either by bWAR or fWAR in 2025 (thirteen in all). Don’t feel obliged to limit suggestions to these players, but I would be slightly surprised if we end up with any nominations come from outside this list.
[If the image below is too small on your mobile device, try this link] I’m quite interested at the drastic differences in some cases between the two metrics. I know a factor is that fWAR is based off FIP rather than straight ERA, but that doesn’t seem to explain everything. For example, ERod being more valuable by fWAR than Zac Gallen, despite throwing fewer innings and with a worse FIP. Oh, well. I just crunch the numbers!
Usual rules apply:
- Go to the comments section.
- If your choice is already mentioned there, give it a “rec”.
- If your choice is NOT mentioned, leave their name as a new comment. Please feel free to make your case in the comment, to encourage further recs!
- One nomination per comment
- Duplicate nominations will get deleted.
- On Wednesday, I’ll tally up the recs, and use those as a guide towards a list of five or so nominees.
I tend to aim for three starting pitchers and two relief pitchers, but we’ll see how the nominations end up breaking down.
