The D-Backs are moving rookie Maz Scherzer to the bullpen through no fault of his own and that’s because Doug Davis will reclaim his starting job. Davis was out for a while as he was recovering from surgery to his thyroid due to cancer. He has pitched in 2 games (both starts) for the D-Backs this season and he was 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. Scherzer might move right into the set up man role for the D-Backs. He has pitched in 4 games (3 starts) for the D-Backs this season and he is 0-2 with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has whiffed 23 batters in only 19.1 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. Scherzer’s future is in the starting rotation but he should provide another power arm to the D-Backs’ bullpen for now.

The Diamondbacks weren’t sure who would be the closer for them after they traded Jose Valverde to the Astros but Brandon Lyon has stepped up. He has pitched in 21 games for the Diamondbacks this season and he is 1-1 with 12 saves, a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has walked 2 batters and whiffed 15 in only 20 innings this season. If he keeps this up all season, the D-Backs will not miss Valverde one bit.

Micah Owings is off to an outstanding start for the Diamondbacks as he might be the best athlete in all of baseball because of his ability to be an effective starting pitcher and a dominating hitter. Owings has started 6 games for the Diamondbacks this season and he is 4-1 with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. That isn’t the end of his production however as he is one of the better hitters around. He has appeared as a hitter in 12 games this season for the Diamondbacks and he is 9 for 21 (.429 avg, 1.119 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Owings has now played in 46 games in his major league career and he is 29 for 81 (.358 avg, 1.058 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 18 RBIs. The Diamondbacks were letting Owings take grounders at first base in spring training but they won’t likely use him there as Conor Jackson is off to an outstanding start to the season. Plus, Owings is too valuable in the rotation for the D-Backs to risk injuring him in the field.

Brandon Webb goes about his business without the spotlight but he deserves to be in one. He has turned into the ace for the D-Backs as he has pitched in 164 games (163 starts) in his career and he’s 65-55 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has worked 1,089 innings for the Diamondbacks and he has only allowed 988 hits, walked 368 batters and whiffed 880. He had control issues early in his career but he’s tightened that up and has become a much better pitcher. Look for him to continue contending for the Cy Young Award for the next few seasons.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are sitting in first place in the National League West with a 85-67 record, 1 game ahead of the Padres.  The Diamondbacks must keep playing well as the Phillies have gotten hot and they are only 2.5 games behind the Diamondbacks if the Padres overtake them in the division.  A big reason for the success of the Diamondbacks this season has been the pitching of closer Jose Valverde who has saved 45 of the Diamondbacks 85 victories (52.9%).  Valverde has worked in 62 games this season for the D-Backs and he is 1-4 with 45 saves, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  He has thrown 61.1 innings this season and he has allowed only 44 hits, walked 24 batters and whiffed 73.  The Diamondbacks knew that they would have a good starting rotation this season but Valverde and the rest of the bullpen has been a major surprise as they have saved a lot of close games because the D-Backs don’t score a lot of runs.