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Ketel Marte, Christian Walker heating up for Diamondbacks

© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

In a week where teammates Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were named finalists for All-Star starter spots, Ketel Marte and Christian Walker have stolen the show offensively for the Diamondbacks. Fans have been showering the power hitters with praise, especially after today’s win against the Giants.

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Ketel Marte

D-back fans are heavily advocating for Marte to join Carroll and Gurriel in Seattle based on his recent play. After his second straight two-hit performance with a home run today against the Giants, Marte has reached base safely in his last 19 games.

He has homered in five of his last 10 games, including four of the last six, giving him 14 home runs on the year.

For the month of June, Marte is hitting .333 with a .458 OBP and .628 SLG. He’s recorded 26 hits, six home runs, 27 runs and 20 RBIs this month.

As of the latest All-Star ballot on June 20, Marte was sixth in voting among NL second basemen. On the year, he has played 73 games, going 83-of-282 (.294 average) with 14 home runs and 42 RBIs. He has an .373 OBP, a .518 SLG and .890 OPS, which are each good for second among NL second basemen.

Christian Walker

His 2022 Gold Glove-winning teammate at first base, Christian Walker, might have an even better case than Marte for being the MLB Player of the Month for June. He now has a 10-game hitting streak after an RBI double today, his 13th double of the month.

For the month, Walker has gone 32-of-86 in his at-bats for an incredible .372 batting average with three homers, 18 RBIs and only seven strikeouts.

Walker got off to a slow start this season, only hitting .237 in May and .245 in April, but his hitting this month has propelled his 2023 batting average to a career-high .282.

Because of his slow start, Walker was not listed on the June 20 All-Star voting update in a stacked NL position group, but his play as of late gives him an outside shot of getting in.

The Others

Marte and Walker aren’t the only bright spots for the D-backs lately. Outfielders Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy have really stepped up their games after being re-called from Reno. Shortstop Geraldo Perdomo has shown that he has arrived to take over the lead-off spot for the future.

Thomas has recorded a hit in five of the six games he’s started since coming back up from the minors. He has fixed his swing and is seeing great results because of it. After a three-hit game this afternoon, Thomas is hitting .400 since his return with three doubles, a homer, three RBIs and six runs.

McCarthy was re-called much earlier than Thomas on May 26, but has also upped his game a lot in the big leagues. After hitting .143 in his first 18 games, he was optioned to Reno. Since his return, he is hitting .307 and has stolen 14 bases in that span. His quickness and trickiness have been positives for the D-backs at the plate, on the base paths and in the field.

Perdomo gave the Diamondbacks a much-needed insurance run against the Giants today on an RBI single in the ninth inning of their 5-2 win. Perdomo recently transitioned from being primarily the ninth hitter to the lead-off spot. With the D-backs struggling to find a lead-off hitter early on, Perdomo has gone 16-of-45 as the No. 1 batter.

Perdomo is hitting .356 as the lead-off guy compared to .226 batting ninth. No matter what spot he is in, he has always seemed to step up in big moments, and it helps when he can get on base has a heavy artillery behind him, as Marte, Carroll, Walker and Gurriel are usually the next four batters.

Perdomo was eighth in the last All-Star voting among NL shortstops. Like Walker, he has an outside shot to get in, as his position group is very strong in the NL.

All-Star Finalist Voting Starts Tomorrow

Despite a rough past few games, Corbin Carroll and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. have more than proven they could be All-Star starters next month. Voting for the starter finalists starts tomorrow morning. Vote for the outfield duo at dbacks.com/vote.

With the halfway point of the season just around the corner, the D-backs (now 47-32, 2.5 game lead for first in NL West) have exceeded all expectations so far, and it hasn’t just been one player, their whole lineup is stepping up top to bottom.

Diamondbacks avoid sweep, defeat Giants 5-2

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Brendan Mau is a college sports insider and general assignment reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on Twitter via @Brendan_Mau

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