Can the Magic in the Desert Continue?

Aside from the Cleveland Indians, the Arizona Diamondbacks have without a doubt been the biggest surprise in all of baseball. After tonight's 15-4 thrashing of the Florida Marlins tonight, the D-backs have won 7 in a row, 15 of their last 17 games and currently sit atop the NL West. But can the Snakes really be expected to continue their recent stretch of impressive play? I decided to take a look at the numbers to find out.

The first and most blatantly obvious set of statistics that jumps out at you when looking at the D-backs improvement this season is the performance of the bullpen. New GM Kevin Towers went into the winter set on improving what was an atrocious bullpen in 2010, and this season we've begun to see the fruits of his labor.

The D-backs' bullpen currently sports a 3.33 ERA, good for fourth in the National League. They're averaging the second-best K/9 rate and have the sixth-lowest BB/9 rate.

If we take a trip back in time, to the bullpen of just a season ago, it's incredible to see the comparison:

5.74 ERA, 6.79 K/9, 4.59 BB/9, and an insane HR/FB ratio of 12%. Not to mention they were the only bullpen in the National League with a negative WAR at -2.1.

It wasn't going to take much to improve the D-backs' bullpen over last season, but Kevin Towers has turned it into one of the stronger 'pens in the NL. J.J. Putz has done a tremendous job in the closer's role and despite still needing to improve his command, David Hernandez has performed well in the setup role since coming over from Baltimore.

In addition to the bullpen, the D-backs have gotten spots of good starting pitching from Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, and perhaps the most surprising success story in all of baseball, Josh Collmenter. Even though offseason addition Armando Gallaraga is already out of a job and Barry Enright is in the minors, the club is hoping adding a veteran like Zach Duke (who pitched 7 shutout innings in his season debut) to the fold will help take some of the pressure off the bullpen in the long term.

Unsurprisingly, the D-backs' offense has been one of the better offenses in the National League, but unlike previous years, they're relying less on mashing the ball all over the yard. They're third in the league in stolen bases, something that has helped soften the blow of losing a consistent power threat like Mark Reynolds over the winter. And despite having subpar performances to begin the year from Justin Upton, Chris Young and Kelly Johnson, the club has still managed to find ways to score runs when they need to. Johnson has hit much better in the month of May, however, and Upton still has as much power as any hitter in the game when he's able to square the ball up.

One also can't underestimate the importance of the presence of manager Kirk Gibson and his coaching staff. Alan Trammel, Don Baylor, and Eric Young have brought a gritty, win-now attitude that is one of the first things you notice when you flip on a D-backs broadcast. I'll admit to the fact that at the beginning of the season, I thought this club was almost guaranteed to lose 100 games. And although I understand that we're just getting into June, this club looks like they are primed for continued success. With each win, they are able to gain even more confidence, and if Justin Upton or Chris Young get on a tear in the near future, they could be hard to stop.

Kevin Towers could become a buyer at the trade deadline (though I wouldn't expect a blockbuster deal) despite not having much of a farm system to speak of. It won't be long before the system could get a huge boost, however, with the Snakes currently holding two selections in the top 10 of next week's First-Year Player Draft.

The D-backs are also helped by an increasingly weak division, with the Giants having lost practically their only source of offense in Buster Posey, the Rockies looking consistently inconsistent, and the Padres and Dodgers not posing much of a threat at all. Nobody gave them a chance at the beginning of the year, and it could be just the type of thing that a Kirk Gibson club uses to their advantage.

The stars may be aligning for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it means we could be seeing the start of something special in the desert.