Not a whole lot has gone right for the 55-78 Arizona Diamondbacks this season. But the Snakes may have found something in center field.
Rookie nERD is below average, but is comparable to Hamilton's and not a whole lot worse than the other rookies listed above. And while some of his offensive numbers don't indicate Inciarte has been an "impact" player, his month of August show a player who is on the rise.
| Name | Team | WAR | PA | HR | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Martin | Pirates | 1.4 | 90 | 2 | .347 | .444 | .507 | .416 | 171 |
| Nolan Arenado | Rockies | 1.4 | 109 | 5 | .347 | .417 | .600 | .439 | 168 |
| Starling Marte | Pirates | 1.4 | 90 | 4 | .363 | .433 | .613 | .455 | 198 |
| Ender Inciarte | Diamondbacks | 1.3 | 110 | 2 | .311 | .355 | .447 | .354 | 121 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | Marlins | 1.3 | 110 | 8 | .302 | .445 | .616 | .442 | 186 |
| Jhonny Peralta | Cardinals | 1.3 | 102 | 4 | .319 | .373 | .521 | .392 | 153 |
| Christian Yelich | Marlins | 1.3 | 114 | 1 | .351 | .439 | .474 | .403 | 158 |
| Aramis Ramirez | Brewers | 1.3 | 96 | 2 | .400 | .438 | .567 | .437 | 180 |
| Buster Posey | Giants | 1.3 | 104 | 6 | .316 | .356 | .561 | .399 | 163 |
This month, Inciarte trails only FanGraphs has listed Inciarte as the third-best defensive center fielder in the National League this year, behind only Lagares and Hamilton (minimum 300 plate appearances). His 11 Defensive Runs Saved is second (trailing only Lagares' insane 30 DRS), and his eight outfield assists is second-best among NL rookies, only one behind Hamilton.
Inciarte doesn't walk a lot, with just a 5.0% walk rate this season, and a 5.9% walk rate since becoming Arizona's full-time leadoff hitter back on June 28. The league average is 7.6%. However, his season-long strikeout rate of 11.9% (it's 11.8% since June 28) is better than the league average, which is 20.9%. He puts the ball in play and likes to swing the bat, with a contact rate of 86.8%, higher than the league average of 78.7%. Inciarte also keeps the ball on the ground, with a ground ball rate of 54.5%, higher than the league average of 45.7%.
Arizona is actually lucky to still have Inciarte. Last year he was exposed to the Rule V draft and was selected by Philadelphia. He managed to make it through spring training and stayed on the Phillies' roster until he was waived three days into the 2013 season so Philadelphia could make room for Our projections see him finishing up the year with a .266/.319/.391 slash line, with a wOBA of .309, and an OPS of .710. There is still some work to do and some rough edges to smooth out, but Inciarte has emerged as one of the more promising young center fielders in the National League.
That's welcome news for an Arizona franchise that has not had a lot go right so far this season.