26-year old righty swinging outfielder Chris Young has made his first All-Star Team. He has played in 80 games this season and he is 79 of 299 (.264 avg, .807 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 15 homers, 57 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. This is an amazing development as Young played so poorly in 2009 that he got demoted during the season. Young played in 134 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 92 of 433 (.212 avg, .711 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 15 homers, 42 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The D-Backs hope that Young stays focused all season long and his selection to the All-Star Game will likely give him the confidence boost he needs to do so.

22-year old righty swinging RF Justin Upton finished in a tie with Ryan Zimmerman and Huston Street for 25th in the N.L. MVP voting. He played in 138 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 158 for 526 (.300 avg, .899 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 26 homers, 86 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He has now played in 289 games in his three years with the Diamondbacks and he is 278 for 1,022 (.272 avg, .836 OPS) with 153 runs scored, 43 homers, 139 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Upton along with Reynolds gives the D-Backs hope for the future. It would be interesting to be a Fly on the Wall at Christmas time at the Upton’s house as Justin might be telling his bro B.J. that he is better than him and it would be hard to argue that point.

26-year old righty swinging 3B Mark Reynolds finished in a tie with Yunel Escobar for 20th in the N.L. MVP voting. Reynolds played in 155 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 150 for 578 (.260 avg, .892 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 44 homers, 102 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He has now played in 418 games in his three years with the Diamondbacks and he is 381 for 1,483 (.257 avg, .839 OPS) with 247 runs scored, 89 homers, 261 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. Reynolds reminds me of Mike Schmidt, the Hall of Fame 3B from the Philadelphia Phillies as he whiffs a lot but hits a ton of homers. Look for Reynolds to lead the league in homers very soon but his average will likely never get over .275 because of all the K’s. Still, he is a player the Diamondbacks should build around in the future.

29-year old righty starter Dan Haren finished fifth in the Cy Young Award voting in the National League. Haren started 33 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 14-10 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Haren only allowed 192 hits in 229 1/3 innings last season while whiffing 223 batters showing just how nasty he was last season. He has now pitched in 196 games (187 starts) in his major league career and he is 79-62 with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Look for him to continue leading the way for the pitching staff of the Arizona Diamondbacks for quite a while as he is a workhorse.

22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Gerardo Parra finished in a tie for 8th place for the Rookie of the Year Award in the N.L. He played in 120 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 132 for 455 (.290 avg, .729 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 5 homers, 60 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Parra took advantage of Eric Byrnes being banged up and Chris Young not hitting well and he will be in the OF to stay for the D-Backs in 2010 and beyond.