Diamondbacks earn 'A-' grade while weathering a storm of injuries originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Arizona Diamondbacks came into the new season with a few players who wouldn't be ready at the start. Corbin Burnes, Justin Martinez, and A.J.

Puk are all recovering from Tommy John and are eyeing summer returns. Then, in Spring Training, Corbin Carroll broke his hamate bone, but was ready to go by Opening Day. Since then, the club has seen Jordan Lawlar, Gabriel Moreno, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Carlos Santana, and Pavin Smith hit the IL.That's quite a lot for a team to go through only 20 games into the season.

However, they have been able to keep things moving, and currently have a winning record. MORE: Diamondbacks urged to get Corbin Carroll help due to lackluster offenseDiamondbacks earn 'A-' grade while weathering a storm of injuriesThe offense hasn't really taken much of a hit as Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte have done well. Carroll leads the team with his .311 batting average, 11 runs batted in, .394 OBP, and 19 hits, while Marte leads the club with four home runs.

The pitching staff has also looked the part, especially between Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka. Paul Sewald has also done great in the ninth, saving six games so far. Injuries like this typically really hurt a team, but not the D-backs.

Because of how they have weathered the storm, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller gives them an excellent early-season grade. "Diamondbacks (11-8): A-Losing Jordan Lawlar to a fractured wrist just one week into the season was a tough blow for an Arizona team that now has six key position players–not to mention Corbin Burnes, A.J. Puk and Justin Martinez–on the IL.

Even so, they've won eight of their last 11 with help from strong starts by Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Soroka. Corbin Carroll performing like an early top candidate for NL MVP hasn't hurt, either."If you were to ask the fans if they thought the team would only be 3.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers with this many injuries, they might think you were crazy, but here we are.Arizona will need Soroka and Rodriguez to continue to be dominant on the bump and Carroll to continue to perform at an elite level for this to keep up. Or at least until the team sees some of these players get off the IL.More MLB news:Rangers earn mediocre early-season grade as offense looks to find consistencyAthletics secure 'B-' grade behind solid pitching and road successAngels fans should feel pretty good about their team's early-season gradeMunetaka Murakami cannot save the White Sox from this 'D-' gradeRays proving the critics wrong with an 'A+' grade to start the season