We're into the month of May already, which means there's still a lot of baseball to be played, but we're no longer just getting started.
It also means it's time to hand out the month awards for March/April for the Arizona Diamondbacks:
Most Valuable Player: Ildemaro Vargas
Yes, Corbin Carroll is doing Corbin Carroll things, but how can you choose anyone but Vargas?
One of the final players to make the Opening Day roster, Vargas was forced into an everyday role when Carlos Santana and Pavin Smith went down with injuries. All he did was put together a 27-game hitting streak -- yes, I realize one of those games was in May -- the longest ever by a Venezuelan-born player.
What was great about the streak was how happy his teammates were for him. They clearly enjoyed it every bit as much as he did. When he did an MLB Network interview Friday in Chicago, everything stopped in the visitors' clubhouse and everyone gathered around the TVs to watch.
"I think [it] was awesome to see the [streak] in person,” Ryne Nelson said. “I’ve never seen anything like that. But just a guy like him, what he brings to this clubhouse? He’s always happy, he’s always smiling, he’s always having a good time and to see the way he plays, I think it was really fun and I was happy for him."
Starter of the month: Eduardo Rodriguez
Michael Soroka has also pitched very well, outside of his start against the Brewers last week, but Rodriguez has been the most consistent, though he, too, had some issues in Milwaukee.
Rodriguez has been able to carry over his performance from the World Baseball Classic, when he helped lead Venezuela to the championship, to the regular season, and that's a great development for the Diamondbacks.
Rodriguez signed a four-year, $80 million deal before the 2024 season and was injured for much of 2024 and didn't have the results the D-backs hoped for the first two seasons of the deal. What they've seen from him this year is more what they expected.
Reliever of the month: Juan Morillo
Paul Sewald deserved consideration here as did Taylor Clarke, but it's hard to argue with what Morillo has done.
Morillo has electric stuff, but the issue at times last year was his command, something the Diamondbacks wanted him to work on during the offseason. This year he's throwing strikes -- 19 strikeouts vs. four walks in 15 2/3 innings through Sunday -- and has quickly earned manager Torey Lovullo's trust.
While Sewald is used in save situations, Morillo is who Lovullo calls on to face the toughest parts of the lineup in the seventh or eighth. Morillo's ability to get out lefties has also been crucial for the Diamondbacks, who did not have a lefty in the bullpen through much of the month.
"You can see the way I use him," Lovullo said. "That speaks for itself. He's just got a really nasty streak in him when he gets on the mound, he's looking to get the biggest outs possible. And I like that. And he's had a lot of success in the areas of improvement that we've asked. He's checked each box systematically."
Best win of the month: April 26 vs. Padres (Mexico City)
This was a tough call between the Mexico City win and the March 31 game over the Tigers in which Jose Fernandez hit two homers and the D-backs scored six runs in the eighth to win, 7-5.
Asked for his opinion, Lovullo admitted some recency bias in choosing the Mexico City game.
In that game, the Diamondbacks were coming off a loss the night before and fell behind 7-1 after the top of the sixth only to roar back with a run in the bottom half of the inning, six in the seventh and four more in the eighth to win, 12-7.
The big blow came from Tim Tawa, who hit a grand slam in the seventh.
Worst loss of the month: April 13 at Orioles
This one was a reversal of the best win with the Diamondbacks leading 7-1 after the top of the sixth only to watch the Orioles come back and score five in the bottom half of the inning and go on to win, 9-7.
While Lovullo acknowledged that was a tough loss, the one he considered the worst was the third game of the season when the Diamondbacks fell to the Dodgers, 3-2, when Will Smith hit a two-run homer in the eighth.