Diamondbacks' 34-year-old journeyman with .388 average has been biggest surprise in MLB
There hasn't been a bigger surprise this season than this D-Backs journeyman.
Diamondbacks' 34-year-old journeyman with . 388 average has been biggest surprise in MLB originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Arizona Diamondbacks are 16-16 on the season, and it's thanks in large part to their poor pitching staff so far in 2026. The offense has been fine, with Corbin Carroll leading the way. But, there's a different player who's been performing at elite levels for the D-Backs this season: 34-year-old journeyman infielder Ildemaro Vargas.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale called Vargas the biggest surprise in baseball, as the veteran D-Backs infielder leads all of the Major Leagues with a . 388 batting average this season for one of the more stunning starts to a year in baseball. MLB's biggest surprise has been Ildemaro Vargas "Biggest surprise, Ildermaro Vargas, Arizona Diamondbacks," Nightengale writes.
"He has had three different stints with the Diamondbacks, playing parts of 10 different seasons with six different teams, and signing a minor league contract this winter when no one else would give him a big-league deal. " After being a bottom-of-the-roster option at-best this offseason, Vargas has become someone the Diamondbacks couldn't afford to go without this season. He had a 27-game hitting streak to begin the season, and did so on just a $1.