Diamondbacks Player Spotlight: 3B Jake Lamb
By Blake Benard
I said it at the beginning of the year: Jake Lamb for Rookie of the Year.
Well things started out really promising for the Diamondbacks rookie third baseman until the worst thing that can happen to a rookie, happened. Injury.
On April 21st the Dbacks placed Lamb on the 15-day DL due to a stress fracture in his left foot. While it was originally supposed to be a quick stint, Lamb would’t be reactivated until June 6th, missing nearly two months of action. This injury was very similar to one that former Dbacks outfielder Mark Trumbo suffered at the beginning of 2014.
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The most disheartening thing about his injury was its timing. Lamb was utterly raking up until his injury. Through ten games, Lamb was hitting .414 with one home run and nine runs batted in. He was showing a knack for power with five extra base hits and he could flash the glove over at third base. In other words he was the perfect third baseman.
Now it’s pretty much back to square one. Since returning, Lamb has hit .200 with two double and one RBI but due to Yasmany Tomas’ transition to the outfield, he has been reinserted into the starting third base job. The Diamondbacks love what they have seen in Jake Lamb and there’s no doubt he will continue to get significant playing time as the year progresses.
With Lamb’s return the Diamondbacks offense become an even bigger offensive juggernaut. Even with his absence, Paul Goldschmidt, Yasmany Tomas, AJ Pollack, and Ender Inciarte have propelled this team to be one of the best offensive threats in baseball. Inserting Jake Lamb back into an already devastating lineup will create much more stability in the bottom of the lineup, which is the only weakness the Diamondbacks have seen.
Now the real question: Is he still a Rookie of the Year of the year candidate? While there’s still plenty of time in the year, you can most likely count him out of the running. The only way Lamb could reinsert his name into the discussion would be if he helped lead this team into playoff consideration. Regardless only time will tell.
We still have almost four months of baseball left to be played and I for one am looking forward to seeing the player that Jake Lamb can become.