With three days until Opening Day, The Athletic’s Jim Bowden ranked all 30 teams’ lineups ahead of the 2026 season, and the Arizona Diamondbacks landed in the bottom half.
Bowden ranked the D-backs’ lineup No. 17, expecting Arizona to decline after finishing sixth in runs scored last year.
While the Diamondbacks’ only true loss from last year’s lineup is Jake McCarthy, who was traded to the Colorado Rockies, they also traded away two important bats during the 2025 season in Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez.
The combined loss of those two power bats in Arizona’s lineup is the main reason for Bowden’s lowered expectations in 2026, despite a powerful trio at the top of the lineup.
“The Diamondbacks dealt Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez at the trade deadline last year and have yet to replace that power, which is why they’ve dropped so much in this ranking. However, I still love the top of their lineup. Corbin Carroll broke his hamate bone in spring training, but he is already back and hitting homers. When healthy, he remains one of the best overall players in the game with speed and power to burn, though like with Lindor, his power could be down early on as he continues to recover from the injury.”
Bowden added that Geraldo Perdomo was fourth in National League MVP voting last season and Ketel Marte has been the Diamondbacks’ best overall hitter over the last five seasons.
While the top of the D-backs lineup can compete with the best of MLB, it’s really about four of the next six hitters in the order that concerns Bowden.
“It’s the rest of the lineup beyond those three that concerns me, as they’re counting on declining veterans to pick up the slack, including 39-year-old Carlos Santana and 34-year-old Nolan Arenado. Catcher Gabriel Moreno still has more upside and is a breakout candidate. Another potential breakout player to monitor is Jordan Lawlar, who has been moved from the infield to center field, and I still think he has the potential to develop into an All-Star if given the opportunity.”
Moreno, when he’s been healthy, has been a very strong young bat in Arizona’s lineup. He’s hit better than .280 in two of the last three seasons with an OPS of at least .733 every season in the majors. He’s had at least a 2.3 WAR for three straight years with the Diamondbacks, according to Fangraphs.
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Lawlar, as Bowden noted, is a player the D-backs are hoping for a breakout from this season. The youngster hit .326 in 16 spring training games with four home runs.
While the Diamonbacks’ lineup may lack some of the firepower it had for the first half of the season last year, Arizona’s lineup still produced after the trade deadline.
The D-backs ranked sixth in runs scored before the deadline and ranked eighth in MLB from the deadline to the end of the season.
Arizona may have traded its big boppers, but other guys stepped up, and that’s exactly what the Diamondbacks are hoping for in 2026. Of course, a resurgence from the 34-year-old Arenado and some pop from the 39-year-old Santana wouldn’t hurt.
The D-backs ranked third in the NL West in Bowden’s lineup rankings, with the Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 1) atop the division and the San Diego Padres (No. 13) ranked a few spots ahead of Arizona.
The San Francisco Giants (No. 18) slotted in right behind the D-backs, and the Rockies were ranked last.
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