25-year old righty Ian Kennedy has been the D-Backs best starting pitcher so far this season. He has started 16 games for the Diamondbacks this year and he is 3-6 with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Kennedy has only given up 83 hits in 100 1/3 innings for the D-Backs while whiffing 89 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. Kennedy has walked 40 batters this season so he will need to tighten his control to remain effective because sooner or later walks will get you. He is looking so much better than he did in his career with the Yankees. In three years with the Yankees, Kennedy pitched in 14 games (12 starts) in which he was 1-4 with a 6.03 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He seems much more relaxed with the D-Backs than he did in the pressure cooker in the Bronx.

26-year old righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson threw major league baseball’s fourth no-hitter of the season tonight at Tropicana Field. Jackson threw a stunning 149 pitches and only 79 of them were strikes. He walked 8 batters while whiffing 6 tonight as he was far from perfect while still being amazing. Jackson is now 5-6 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 16 starts this season making this game even more stunning. Jackson pitched three years with the “Devil” Rays pitching in 87 games (63 starts) in which he was 19-26 with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. The Rays had to be upset as this was the third no-hitter they have suffered in the last two years. At least it was an old friend that did it to them this time.

26-year old righty swinging CF Chris Young really looked awful last season. He played in 134 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 92 of 433 (.212 avg, .711 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 15 homers, 42 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. This year though Young has looked like the player the D-Backs hoped he would turn out to be. Young has played in 70 games for the D-Backs this year and he is 72 of 259 (.278 avg, .824 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 12 homers, 49 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The Diamondbacks hope that Young keeps playing like this because they have a lot invested in him.

If the Diamondbacks are getting ready to throw in the towel and in my opinion it’s way too early for that they could trade 30-year old lefty swinging 1B Adam LaRoche. If the D-Backs keep LaRoche he could finish with monster numbers as he has been a pure second half hitter to this point of his major league career. LaRoche has played in 59 games this season for the D-Backs and he is 54 of 209 (.258 avg, .826 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 9 homers and 41 RBIs.

The Diamondbacks have traded 28-year old righty swinging LF Conor Jackson and cash to the A’s for 24-year old righty reliever Sam Demel. Jackson played in 42 games for the D-Backs this year and he was 36 of 151 (.238 avg, .657 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He played in 526 games in his six years with the D-Backs and he was 492 of 1,775 (.277 avg, .781 OPS) with 253 runs scored, 46 homers, 247 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Jackson just hasn’t been the same player for the D-Backs since contracting Valley Fever last season. 23-year old lefty swinging Gerardo Parra will likely take over as the starting LF for the D-Backs. He has played in 43 games for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 27 of 110 (.245 avg, .678 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. Sam Demel is pitching great in AAA this year and he will likely get a call up soon from the D-Backs. He has pitched in 22 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 2-0 with 6 saves, a 1.26 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Demel has now pitched in 151 games (0 starts) in his 4 years in the minors and he is 9-8 with 42 saves, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. This will likely go down as a good trade for both teams as the A’s needed offensive help while the D-Backs needed help in the pen.