With the Arizona Diamondbacks coming off of a surprising run to the World Series in 2023 where they lost in five games to the Texas Rangers, a lot of eyes will be on the Diamondbacks to see if they can follow up on their successful 2023 campaign in 2024. As spring training starts up, we'll be making our Diamondbacks bold predictions.
The Diamondbacks will not sneak up on anybody this year, and they will try to follow up on their successful run in 2023. It will not be easy, as they are in a division with the World Series favorite Los Angeles Dodgers, along with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, who could both be good teams in 2024. However, the Diamondbacks still have a lot of young talent to help them remain competitive this season.
As the team is reporting to spring training, there might be some sentiment that the Diamondbacks could regress this year. The team did win just 84 games in the regular season after a torrid start in 2023. The start to the 2023 season, along with the surprising World Series run shows the upside for the young Diamondbacks.
It will be interesting to see how the Diamondbacks fare in the 2024 season with no one being surprised by their ability as a team. With that being said, it is time to get into our bold predictions for the Diamondbacks in 2024.
Corbin Carroll wins the National League MVP
Pretty much anyone who followed MLB in 2023 knows that Corbin Carroll is the star player for the Diamondbacks. He had a terrific 2023 season, hitting .285 with a .362 on-base percentage, 25 home runs and 6.0 WAR, according to FanGraphs.
Corbin Carroll is an outfielder who can produce a ton on offense and steal a ton of bases. From a defensive perspective, Corbin Carroll is a capable defender, but he grades out better in a corner spot. That is where he is projected to play for the majority of the time in 2024, and that should maximize his production according to WAR.
Going into his second full season in MLB, Carroll will be even more equipped to face major league pitching. With Shohei Ohtani not pitching this year, this is a golden opportunity for Carroll to add an MVP award. There will be stiff competition in the form of players like Ronald Acuna and Mookie Betts, but Carroll has MVP upside.
Diamondbacks win 90+ games, but fail to repeat postseason success
When it comes to the regular season, this Diamondbacks team will be better equipped to go through the grind of 162 games. The group knows what it is like now. PECOTA projects the Diamondbacks to be the fourth best team in the National League behind the Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. Based on these projections, the Diamondbacks would be the top wild card team in the National League.
PECOTA has Arizona projected to get 84.9 wins on the season. We have the Diamondbacks reaching 90 on the season. The Dodgers will likely run away with the National League West after their monster offseason and adding Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Regardless, the Diamondbacks should be in for a successful season. However, it is hard to replicate postseason success. Unless they run into a team that has a rotation that is falling apart, like the Dodgers' did in 2023, expect the Diamondbacks to go no further than the divisional series in 2024.