Putting a Bow on Corbin Carroll's Storybook Rookie Season

The Diamondbacks rookie outfielder left a remarkable impression in his first full season in the big leagues.

It's not very often a rookie can completely change the dynamic of an entire baseball team, but most rookies aren't like Corbin Carroll. His rookie season has been nothing short of fantastic, almost storybook like. He entered the season as the No. 2 overall prospect on MLB and Baseball America and has made good on that promise. In the 2023 season, Carroll hit .285 with 25 home runs, 54 stolen bases, and a team-leading .868 OPS while leading his team to their first postseason berth in six years. 

Highlights of his rookie year include Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant attending a game in his jersey and being selected to his first All-Star Game, played in his hometown of Seattle. Carroll's most impressive in-season highlight came on September 19th, when he became the first ever rookie in major league history to record a 25 home run, 50 stolen base season, achieving both feats in the same game. That's a prestigious power-speed club that only eight other players have achieved in 12 different seasons. César Cedeño is the only other player in MLB history to do it in his Age 22 season. His season ended with a plunge into the Chase Field pool after the D-backs clinched a postseason berth on Saturday.

Adding in all of his contributions his 5.5 Baseball Reference WAR ranks second in franchise history behind right-hander Brandon Webb's 6.1 in 2003 and leads all National League rookies by nearly a full win. As has been the case in nine of the last 10 NL Rookie of the Year winners, the player with the most bWAR has gone on to win the award. With Carroll cruising to win the award that means the Diamondbacks will add an additional pick right after the first round in next year's draft. That will enable to them to add another blue chip talent at the top of the draft to develop into a possible major league contributor down the road.

General manager Mike Hazen praised his star rookie in March after signing him to a then-record $111 million extension, calling him the model player of the organization with his work ethic and relentless drive to improve himself. Manager Torey Lovullo echoed similar sentiments yesterday, describing Carroll's season as "anywhere between impressive and magical".

"He just got after it every single day. He just never took his foot off the gas pedal. That's his personality, and he fits in what I want this organization and our team to be known as. He's going to be a trend setter for a long time."

Even after an impressive rookie season, Carroll is merely scratching the surface of his potential. Given his overall ceiling of a potential .300 average, 30 home run, 60 stolen base threat anchoring the top of the D-backs lineup for potentially the next seven-plus seasons, there will be years where he is at the top of the NL Most Valuable Player Race. Having that type of talent in your organization is key for assembling a World Series contending roster, which will be the next step for Hazen and Lovullo with this current core of players.