A lot of off-season buzz for the Diamondbacks was centered around this young man; outfielder Corbin Carroll. He is currently ranked second among all prospects in baseball only trailing Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson.
Carroll will likely develop into one of if not the best Diamondbacks position players by the end of the season. With his blazing speed, compact swing, and high baseball IQ, he has already shown that he can be a force to be reckoned with in the MLB.
On September 7, 2022, Corbin Carroll smoked his first career home run in San Diego. What was most impressive about it was that it came off of all-star Yu Darvish who in 2022, was second in the league in quality starts with 25. It only made sense that Carroll would hit his first homer of 2023 at Petco Park.
Diamondbacks #1 prospect hits his first homer of the season
.@corbin_carroll knots the game up in the 7th! pic.twitter.com/cVGcOM86yV
— MLB (@MLB) April 4, 2023
What a Monday night for Carroll. He finished the game going 3-4 with 2 runs and an RBI. All 3 of his hits were over 100 MPH off the bat. This kid is a certified stud.
Allow me to paint the scene of how important Corbin's first dinger of 2023 was. The Diamondbacks were down by 1 in the top of the 7th; Carroll was leading off the inning. According to Statcast, before his home run, Arizona had a 30% chance to win the game; after his home run, Arizona’s chances of winning, 50%.
After quickly falling behind in the count 0-2, Carroll worked it back to 2-2, and on the 6th pitch of the at-bat, Corbin got a changeup high in the zone (probably not where the pitcher wanted it), and he did not miss it. When I say he smoked it, I mean it. The home run was 105.7 MPH off the bat. Almost 106 MPH?!
This home run would tie the game and give the Diamondbacks new hope late in the contest! Unfortunately, Arizona's bullpen blew it in the bottom of the 9th; but it is nice to see Carroll living up to his expectations. Fans should be ecstatic that they get to watch this young ball player play a whole season in a D-backs uniform. Count on many more of these moments going forward.