Look, I know what you’re thinking. How can the Diamondbacks possibly have a shot to contend when postseason baseball starts next month? But it is not such a crazy thought to have that the Diamondbacks will go deep in the postseason this year.

For one, the Diamondbacks have fared pretty well against many of the other teams contending for a postseason berth. The Diamondbacks played the defending World Series Champion Astros in early May and won the series, winning two of the three games – including a victory against Astros ace Justin Verlander. That was also Verlander’s first loss of the season.

The main question heading into October for the Diamondbacks has to be the starting rotation. Two of the five starters have been inconsistent, with many of those inconsistencies happening right when the Dbacks gain some ground for the division lead. Zach Godley has the most wins for the Diamondbacks, currently sitting at 14, but his 8 losses have come when he can’t locate his curveball – which is his best pitch – and the losses come when the Diamondbacks have a close division lead. Luckily the Diamondbacks top three starters, Zach Greinke, Patrick Corbin, and Clay Buchholz – who was signed as a free agent in May – have been the anchor the Diamondbacks need for their young and improving rotation.

In this day and age of baseball, more and more, it comes down to how effective  a teams’ bullpen is. The Diamondbacks bullpen has been at or near the top of the league in bullpen ERA all season long. Also, if their starter can last 6 innings in a game, the game is basically over, because the Diamondbacks have two of the best setup men in baseball with Yoshihisa Hirano and Archie Bradley.

Finally, when you look at the Diamondbacks lineup, there are many strong power hitters and consistent hitters. We all know about Paul Goldschmidt and how he is always going to hit 30+ home runs and have a batting average in the high .290’s to the low .300’s. However, not just Goldy helps the Diamondbacks, 1-8 in the batting order can cause damage on any starting pitcher.

All in all, the Diamondbacks have a good shot to go deep in the postseason and potentially win the World Series.