Where has the Diamondbacks offense ranked in the last 10 seasons?

There are a lot of complex offensive stats that show a team or a players worth at the plate.  But the bottom line is, whatever team scores the most runs, that is the best offense in baseball.  Here is how the Diamondbacks compare to the rest of the league in runs scored since 2013…

2013: 14th in runs scored

In 2013, the Arizona Diamondbacks went 81-81, finishing 2nd in the NL West and just barely missing the playoffs.  On offense, the D-backs were led by first basemen Paul Goldschmidt.  In 2013, Goldy hit 36 doubles, 36 HRs, and drove in 125 runs.  He also finished the season with a .952 OPS which ranked him 5th in the entire MLB.

An unsung hero for the D-backs offense in 2013 was SS Willie Bloomquist.  In 48 games that season, Willie had a batting average of .317 and an OBP of .360.  He also tallied 14 RBIs and 16 runs.  With the exception of Goldschmidt, this 2013 Diamondbacks offense lacked power…

2014: 25th in runs scored

Speaking of lack of power, this 2014 Arizona offense flat-out stunk.  To put into perspective how bad this offense was, the team leader in HRs had 19, the team leader in RBIs had 72, and the team leader in runs had 75.  No wonder they lost 98 games!  To no surprise, Paul Goldschmidt led the offense in 2014 with a .938 OPS.  Outside of him, however, there wasn’t much production…

A surprisingly good season in 2014 came from the bat of A.J. Pollock.  In 75 games that season, Pollock hit 19 doubles, 7 HRs, 24 RBIs and finished the season with an .851 OPS.  It seems like the 2014 season gave Pollock confidence, as ever since he has been an exceptional hitter.

2015: 8th in runs scored

Talk about a quick turnaround, in just one season, the D-backs offense went from 25th best to 8th best.  Unfortunately, the offensive breakthrough couldn’t make up for the lackluster pitching in 2015 as the Diamondbacks would still finish under .500.  Leading the way as if there was any question, Paul Goldschmidt.  In 2015, Goldy hit 38 doubles, 33 HRs, 110 RBIs, and he had an OBP of .435.

There were many players that had a great offensive season in 2015.  Outfielders David Peralta and AJ Pollock had a combined OPS of .880.  The catching duo of Wellington Castillo and Jarrod Saltalamacchia had a combined OPS of .810.  Outfielder Ender Inciarte batted .303 and got on base nearly 34% of the time.  Goldschmidt led the surge, but in 2015, it was genuinely a group effort on offense…

2016: 10th in runs scored

“Just keep swinging, just keep swinging.”  That’s what Dory says in Finding Nemo right?  Well if that isn’t what she says I guess it’s close enough.  From 2015-2016, the Arizona offense continued to produce.  Do you know what else continued?  The losses…

In 2016, the Diamondbacks lost 93 games.  Arizona boasted another balanced offense in 16’ as  they had 5 players with an OPS above .800.  Leading the way was Goldschmidt but close behind him was Jean Segura.  Segura hit 41 doubles, 64 RBIs, and scored 102 times that season.  He also finished the year with 20 HRs and an .867 OPS.  Two other big factors in the offense were outfielder Yasmany Tomas who hit 31 homers, and 3B Jake Lamb who drove in 91 runs… 

2017: 8th in runs scored

“Just keep swinging, just keep swinging.”  That’s what Dory says in Finding Nemo right?  Well if that isn’t what she says I guess it’s close enough.  Wait did I already say that?  Anyways, the D-backs offense continued trucking along in the 2017 season, once again producing enough runs to be in the top 10 in all of baseball…

Finally, success!  The 2017 D-backs were a force to be reckoned with as they won 93 games, finishing 2nd in the NL west and making the postseason for the first time since 2011.  They won in their one and only wild card game against Colorado. The final score was 11-8; an entertaining shootout for the fans!  Unfortunately, their celebration would be very short as they would lose in the next round to the Dodgers in the NLDS.

That year on offense, the D-backs were led by outfielder J.D. Martinez and none other than, first basemen Paul Goldschmidt.  Martinez hit 29 HRs and 65 RBIs in just 62 games!  He also recorded an insane 1.107 OPS in that time period.  Goldschmidt continued to rake as he hit 36 HRs and 120 RBIs; he also finished the season with a .967 OPS.  A lot of people probably forget this name, but outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker recorded a 1.020 OPS in 41 games that season.  Once again, the D-backs had a very deep and balanced offensive attack on their side…

2018: 19th in runs scored

Here comes the pain, another bad offense.  The D-backs would end up going 82-80 in 2018, once again, just missing the postseason.  Arizona was a team that struck out a lot that season.  In fact, they had 5 players that struck out over 100 times.  That’s not good…

Per usual, Goldschmidt was leading the offense, sailing smoothly.  But there were certain players that season that anchored the offense down to the bottom of the ocean.  To name a few, Jarrod Dyson, Jeff Mathis, and Chris Owings.  All of these everyday players had an OPS under .575; is that bad?  I think that is bad…

2019: 11th in runs scored

Season #1 without the Diamondbacks legend, Paul Goldschmidt.  It is amazing how one player carried an offense so much over the years.  A trend continued for the D-backs in 2019, having a good record (85-77), but missing the playoffs.  85-77 is what I predicted the Diamondbacks would go this season, hopefully, 85 wins is enough…

Despite losing Goldy, this Arizona offense performed well.  Led by current Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte, this offense ranked 11th in runs scored.  Ketel was lights out in 2019, hitting 36 doubles, 32 HRs, and 92 RBIs.  He also finished the season with a .981 OPS.  2nd on the team in that category was 2B Wilmer Flores.  In 89 games that season Flores slashed .317/.361/.487 for an OPS of .848.  Unfortunately, Flores would only play one season with Arizona as he signed with the Giants in 2020…

2020: 18th in runs scored

Eww, the Covid year.  The year of no fans in the stands.  The year teams couldn’t mob their teammates on a walk-off hit.  What a weird time huh?  The Diamondbacks struggled offensively in that weird year, and finished the season with a 25-35 record, placing dead last in the NL West.

Surprisingly, outfielder Kole Calhoun led the way in the Covid-plagued season.  He hit 9 doubles, 16 HRs, and 40 RBIs in 54 games.  Outfielder Tim Locastro also had a nice season as he got on base nearly 40% of the time in his 33 games played.  Alright, enough about this season, time to move on!

2021: 25th in runs scored

Introducing the worst Diamondbacks offense in the last decade!  Hopefully, there are brighter days ahead for this offense because 2021 brought some dark times for most Arizona hitters; and dark times as an organization overall.  The Diamondbacks lost 110 games in 2021, I don’t think I need to say more.

I just gave praise to Locastro for the 2020 season, now allow me to shoot him down.  Locastro had one of the worst offensive seasons in franchise history in 21’.  In 55 games played, Locastro slashed .178/.271/.220 for an OPS of .491.  Nick Ahmed struggled as well, striking out 104 times and recording an OPS under .620…

2022: 14th in runs scored

Now for last season.  The Diamondbacks were a middle-of-the-road kind of offense in 2022.  They had some good stretches and some really bad ones.  They ended up finishing the season with a 74-88 record, in hopes that 2023 would be the year they turn things around…

In 2022, Christian Walker had a breakout season.  He hit 36 HRs and 94 RBIs, finishing the season with an OPS of .804.  He will no doubt slot into the cleanup spot in the lineup for the 2023 season.  Also enjoying a nice season last year was third basemen Josh Rojas.  He led the team in OBP and he had a very good eye at the plate.

What is exciting for this Diamondbacks team in 2023 is the youth.  An outfield of Corbin Carroll, Jake McCarthy, and Alek Thomas oozes with potential.  Along with the youth, Arizona has veterans that could show out this season.  Walker could have a 100 RBI season, Ketel Marte could regain MVP form and Zac Gallen could win the CY Young.  Not to mention that there are several new faces in the building with the goal of showing that they were worth purchasing.  All of these reasons should have Diamondbacks fans excited for the 2023 season.  A full year of Corbin Carroll, let me go grab my popcorn first…