As the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season nears its conclusion, the Arizona Diamondbacks are fighting for their playoff lives.

Heading into Friday’s slate of games, the Diamondbacks were fourth in the National League Wild Card standings. Right now, they trail the San Diego Padres for the third and final spot to make it to October as a Wild Card team.

The Diamondbacks have the talent to do well; it just has not been an easy season for them. Speaking of talent, where does theirs rank?

Recently, ESPN Insider Kiley McDaniel released his annual star talent rankings for all 30 MLB teams.

McDaniel ranks each club by the strength of their core talent, identifying players who are under contract for at least two more full seasons. Additionally, he breaks down each team’s roster into three categories: elite, plus and solid talent.

This season, the Diamondbacks landed in seventh place on the list, a slight step down from their No. 6 ranking in 2025. Despite the small regression, Arizona remains in the top 10, which is encouraging given that it placed 20th in 2022, 13th in 2023 and 14th in 2024.

Moreover, the Diamondbacks are just one of four organizations on the list with two players in the elite talent category, joining the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. The players who earned elite status for Arizona were Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Moreno and Ketel Marte occupy the plus category, and several other players on the 40-man roster, as well as prospects, fall into the solid category. 

In McDaniel’s view, the Diamondbacks are in a middle ground, stuck between never rebuilding and never going all in to add more, and he believes they are doing a good job navigating the grey area. However, could it be time for Arizona to do more?

As previously mentioned, the Diamondbacks are fighting for their playoff lives. There are only 15 games remaining, and they remain in a power struggle with the Padres to punch their ticket as a Wild Card team. 

To make matters more interesting, Arizona’s last series of the regular season will be against San Diego on the road, and it very well could decide which team has a postseason. If the Diamondbacks do not make it to the playoffs with this group, what could it mean?

For Arizona, certain personnel have been in the building for a long time. Whether it's general manager Mike Hazen, manager Torey Lovullo, or players like Marte, the organization has been building with the same faces for quite some time.

If the Diamondbacks fall short this year, it might be time for them to make some sort of change. But for now, the talent they possess is notable.