Designated Hitter
Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk
The Diamondbacks look like they’ll have a platoon at designated hitter. They signed a pair of DH/OF options this past off-season in veterans Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk. They both complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses very well and allow the D-Backs to play match-ups.
Pederson will likely start when there is a right-hander on the mound. Last year, he hit .241/.351/.435 with a .337 wOBA, and 115 wRC+ when facing opposite handed pitching. This was actually a down season for him as he had a .894 OPS, .380 wOBA, and 151 wRC+ in 2022 against right-handed pitching. It’s also the third lowest single wRC+ he has posted against RHP in his career. But even if he hits to this level, he’ll be a nice complement to Grichuk.
Grichuk, a right-handed batter, slashed .328/.388/.607 with a .415 wOBA, and 155 wRC+ against Southpaws. Overall, he was one of the best hitters in baseball when facing lefties. He ranked 9th in OPS, wOBA, and 12th in wRC+ among batters with at least 130 plate appearances vs LHP. On top of that, he only had a 12.7% strikeout rate and .279 isolated slugging percentage, both of which were top 20 among batters vs LHP.
Between Pederson’s numbers vs RHP and Grichuk’s numbers vs LHP, you get a batter with a .265/.361/.483 with 22 home runs in 507 combined plate appearances. That rate of production is similar to that of Triston Casas or Isaac Parades last season. If that’s the kind of production the Diamondbacks can get out of a Pederson vs RHP and Grichuk vs LHP platoon, they won’t regret going after J.D. Martinez or Jorge Soler.