After wrapping up the week with a series split against the San Diego Padres, the Diamondbacks head into mid-June four games below .500 but just one game behind a National League Wild Card spot.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In Will Leitch’s Week 9 MLB Power Rankings, the Diamondbacks moved up one spot to #20. Earlier this season, they were ranked as high as #10, with their season low at #21 just last week.
Commenting on this week’s ranking, Leitch noted, “Corbin Carroll is slowly starting to work his way back toward his former self, if not back to his Rookie of the Year/fifth-place-in-MVP voting form of last year. There’s at least some tangible proof now: He’s back up over the Mendoza line. He still hasn’t homered in over a month — he has two this season after hitting 25 last year — but he logged his second multihit performance of the series in Sunday’s finale against the Padres.”
Expanding on Leitch’s focus on Corbin Carroll, the 23-year-old is hitting .333 over his last five games, with seven hits, two stolen bases, six runs scored, and just one strikeout. Carroll’s overall batting average this season has risen to .204, the highest since May 9th.
In the Power Rankings, Arizona is placed one spot ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates and one spot behind the Chicago Cubs, both of which are also just outside a Wild Card spot in the National League.
As for the top five in Will Leitch’s rankings, the Phillies remain in the #1 spot. While the Phillies have faced only six teams with records above .500 — the lowest in all of baseball — they are still on pace for 112 wins, having lost just two series since the first week of the 2024 season.
Following the Phillies, the New York Yankees are #2, recently embarking on an eight-game winning streak, including sweeps over the Giants and Twins.
Rounding out the top five are the Dodgers at #3, Orioles at #4, and Guardians at #5.
Do you agree with these rankings?
