Arizona
The season opens with a revamped Cubs roster facing off against a Diamondbacks team determined to start fast after
The Arizona Diamondbacks will host the Chicago Cubs for their opening game of the season on Thursday March 27. It’s the first of a four game series between the two National League playoff hopefuls.
The Cubs opened their season with a two game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo Japan, dropping both contests by scores of 4-1 and 6-3.
On December 7 the Cubs traded Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees for right-hander Cody Poteet. Six days later they landed one of the best players in baseball, when healthy, Kyle Tucker. The Astros received Isaac Paredes in the deal.
The Cubs made another trade with the Astros in late January, snagging Ryan Pressly to be their closer in exchange for minor leaguer Juan Bello.
Chicago also signed left-hander Mathew Boyd and former Diamondback Carson Kelly to free agent contracts. Just as spring training was starting they signed DH/First Baseman Justin Turner.
The Diamondbacks biggest move of the offseason was to sign star right-hander Corbin Burnes to a six year, $210 million dollar contract, but he will not pitch in this series. They also traded for first baseman Josh Naylor, replacing Christian Walker who left via free agency.
Thursday, March 27, 7:10 P.M. MST
Left-hander Justin Steele will start for the Cubs. Last year he made 24 starts, and posted a 3.07 ERA along with a 3.23 FIP in 134 innings. His record was 5-5 and he produced 1.9 WAR.
Steele pitched the second game in Tokyo on March 19 and allowed five runs on five hits, including two homers in four innings of work, taking the loss
Zac Gallen will take the mound for the Diamondbacks, having been tabbed by manager Torey Lovullo for the opening day start. Gallen went 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA in 2024. He made 28 starts and threw 148 innings as he fought hamstring issues several times last year.
Friday, March 28, 6:40 P.M. MST
Right-hander Jameson Taillon is now entering his third year with the Cubs. He was very good last year, going 12-8 with a 3.27 ERA, albeit with a somewhat higher FIP of 3.92. He made 28 starts and pitched 165 innings, frequently going deeper in games.
Merrill Kelly is fully recovered fromt the shoulder issues that plagued him last year when he was limited to just 13 starts and 74 innings. He went 5-1 with a 4.03 ERA. Kelly struck out 16 batters in 15 spring innings while only walking five, but allowed some hard contact too, including three homers in succession to the Giants in his last spring tuneup.
Saturday, March 29, 5:10 P.M. MST
Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga pitched well on home soil in the Tokyo opener, tossing four hitless, scoreless innings against the Dodgers. He did walk four batters, and struck out two. As a 30 year-old rookie, the effervescent lefty was fabulous in 2024, going 15-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 29 starts, 173 innings.
Righty Brandon Pfaadt led the D-backs in innings pitched last year with 181.2 innings. While his ERA was an elevated 4.71, he pitched better than that, as evidenced by 3.61 FIP and 4.4 strikeout to walk ration. A solid spring led to him winning a rotation spot over Ryne Nelson.
Sunday, March 30, 1:10 P.M. MST
The Cubs have yet to name a starter for Sunday afternoon’s matchup. Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will start for the D-backs. He too lost significant time last year due to a shoulder injury, and was not great when he came back. Making 10 starts, he posted a 5.05 ERA with a 4.57 FIP in 50 innings.
Rodriguez looked very sharp in spring, striking out 12 and walking just two in 10 Cactus League innings. He seems poised to reprieve his bend but don’t break style. Signed to a four year, $80 million dollar contract prior to the 2024 season, Rodriguez was coming off a career best 3.30 ERA in 153 innings in 2023 while going 13-9 with 3.2 WAR.
In addition to Pressly closing, Porter Hodge had a sensational rookie debut in 2024, posting a 1.88 ERA in 43 innings. Ryan Brasier, formerly of the Dodgers, is a Cub now as well.
The D-backs will play the matchups between Justin Martinez and lefty A.J. Puk for ninth inning save chances. Kevin Ginkel will open the season on the IL with shoulder inflammation. Ryan Thompson and lefty Joe Mantiply will freqent the late inings as well. As of this writing it looks like Shelby Miller and Bryce Jarvis have both made the bulllpen, although that is unoffical. Ryne Nelson will be the long man. New addition Jalen Beeks has signed to be the third lefty in the pen.
In addition to Tucker the potentially potent Cubs offense is led by Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson. First baseman Michael Busch smacked 21 homers in his first full major league season in 2024. Last year the Cubs finished seventh in the NL with 4.54 runs per game.
The D-backs led all of MLB with 5.47 runs per game last year. Despite losing Walker and Joc Pederson, they are still projected to have one of the top offenses in the league. Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte will take turns batting leadoff and second, creating a dynamic duo atop the order.
Series split. The Diamondbacks offense is likely to be better against right-hand starters than left, and the Cubs are starting two lefties this series in Steele and Imanaga. The D-backs bullpen may be in flux suddenly with the Ginkel injury. While the D-backs appear to be the superior team on paper and in all projection system, taking three of four is difficult.
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
Arizona is ranked 18th in the nation when it comes to racial equality in the classroom, according to WalletHub.
The personal finance website compiled its 2026 list of Best States for Racial Equality in Education by looking at differences between Black and white students when it comes to test scores, college attainment and high school graduation rates.
The rankings are based on a weighted average of six metrics, but did WalletHub not provide a breakdown of each category.
However, statistics from the Center for the Future of Arizona support the idea that Arizona has work to do when it comes to racial equality. African American students in Arizona have an average college attainment rate of 38%, while white students have an average rate of 54%.
That difference is also evident in other education areas, with a gap of 11 percentage points between Black and white high schoolers in graduation rate.
WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo called the high school graduation rate the most “alarming” data set for the Arizona. He said if the study included the state’s large Hispanic population, the results might have been different.
“It would be interesting, if those numbers were included, where the gaps would be. Again, Arizona has a high Hispanic population, as [does] New Mexico, and New Mexico was at number three. So maybe Arizona could take a look at what their neighbors are doing there to kind of bridge those gaps,” he said.
How can Arizona increase racial equality in the classroom?
Lupo said Arizona can boost its ranking and improve racial equality in schools by increasing the representation and funding for public education.
“One thing [to] do is to build more diversity within the school system. More Black administrators and more Black teachers kind of create more of a familiarity for Black students and more mentors. … Increased funding and a more concerted effort to increase diversity among the school systems, I think, would go a long way in bridging that gap,” he said.
WalletHub ranked Wyoming, West Virginia and New Mexico as the best states for racial equality in the classroom, with New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin at the bottom of the list.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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