MLB Playoffs 2023: Why Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll is a star - ESPN

The Arizona Diamondbacks were hosting the Kansas City Royals in May 2022, and D-backs ace Zac Gallen couldn't help himself. He had watched a 21-year-old phenom make his presence felt over the field against his team for two straight days and wondered what it would be like to have a talent like that on his side.

«I saw Bobby Witt Jr. play and I joked with our front office, 'Hey where's our guy that's young, comes up and plays like that?'» Gallen recalled. «They immediately said, 'Just wait, he's on his way.'»

Four months later, Corbin Carroll arrived in Arizona — and he hasn't stopped proving his front office right since. Now, under the bright lights of the MLB postseason, the rest of the baseball world is about to see what Gallen and his D-backs teammates have seen for just over a year now.

Carroll was called up to the big leagues for the final month, getting his first taste of the majors and giving Arizona a look at what was to come when he slugged .500 with an .830 OPS in 32 games.

This season Carroll took his game to new heights. After signing an eight-year, $111 million deal during spring training, he blew past Witt's rookie numbers and became the first player in major league history to amass at least 25 home runs, 10 triples and 50 stolen bases in a single season. Add 30 doubles and stellar outfield play to his résumé, and Carroll is the runaway favorite for National League Rookie of the Year. He has risen to the occasion early in his first postseason as well, putting up an otherworldly 1.655 OPS.

As Carroll makes his October introduction to a national audience with every hard-hit ball, dash around the bases and incredible play in the field, we asked five of his teammates to describe what it's like to witness the