25-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Collmenter wasn’t one of the D-Backs’ top 30 prospects coming into the 2011 season according to Baseball America. But, when he was given a chance to start when the D-Backs suffered some injuries in the rotation, he ran with it. Collmenter has pitched in 31 games (24 starts) for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 10-10 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Collmenter pounded the strike zone this year as he whiffed 100 batters while only walking 28 in his 154 1/3 innings, while only giving up 137 hits. He will be the Diamondbacks’ #4 starter in the playoffs starting later this week.

25-year old lefty reliever Joe Paterson has been solid for the D-Backs so far this year. He has pitched in 60 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 0-3 with 1 save, a 2.97 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Paterson has only given up 28 hits in 33 1/3 innings this year while whiffing 28 batters and those are pretty solid numbers. He has also walked 15 batters and that’s a little too high of a number but he will continue to work on his control. One of the best things about Paterson is that the D-Backs took him off the division rival San Francisco Giants hands in the Rule 5 Draft last winter.

The Diamondbacks really fortified the back end of the bullpen over the winter and it’s one of the biggest reasons why they are closing in on a N.L. West title. 34-year old righty J.J. Putz has been outstanding as the closer this year for the D-Backs. Putz has pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 2-2 with 40 saves, a 2.39 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only given up 36 hits and 12 walks in his first 52 2/3 innings this year while whiffing 53 batters, and that is impressive. 26-year old righty reliever David Hernandez came over in the Orioles deal for 3B Mark Reynolds over the winter. He has been an outstanding set-up man and a stand in closer for Putz when he was on the D.L. Hernandez has pitched in 70 games (0 starts) for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 4-3 with 11 saves, a 3.31 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has only given up 45 hits while whiffing 70 batters in his first 65 1/3 innings as he has been impressive.

It was smart of the Diamondbacks to bring back 28-year old righty reliever/starter Micah Owings in 2011. Owings has pitched in 27 games (4 starts) for the D-Backs so far this year and he is 6-0 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has now pitched in 78 games (49 starts) in his first three years with the Diamondbacks and he is 20-17 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Owings has really excelled working out of the bullpen this time around for the D-Backs.

26-year old righty Ian Kennedy and 24-year old righty Daniel Hudson have really stepped up this year and they are leading the Diamondbacks to a possible N.L. West Crown. Kennedy has pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Diamondbacks and he is 18-4 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has only given up 166 hits while walking only 51 batters in his first 194 1/3 innings this year, which is pretty impressive. Daniel Hudson has pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the D-Backs this year and he was 15-9 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has given up 195 hits in his first 194 innings this year, but he has limited the damage by only walking 41 batters this year. These guys have been great this year but they have the potential to be even better, which means the D-Backs could be a good team for a long, long time.