Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks have been the lowlifes of the West for the past two seasons and now they have lost their slugger in Mark Reynolds to Baltimore. Young pieces surround the offense like, Stephen Drew, Chris Young, and Justin Upton mixed with some Vets like Xavier Nady and Melvin Mora solidify the offense. The offense was one of the most powerful in the NL last season but without Reynolds the team will take a hit.
The weakness to Arizona is the pitching. Between them and the Pirates, the worst of the pitching stats were complete. Even with pitchers who can perform like Ian Kennedy and Joe Saunders but the rest of the staff is shaky. Andres Galarraga has the ability since we've seen him pitch what should have been a perfect game last year. The bullpen acquired J.J. Putz from Chicago and he should be the closer.
After seeing the rest of the teams in the division I don't see how the Diamondbacks could compete with the other teams: 5th in the NL West
Lineup
1. CF Chris Young
2. RF Justin Upton
3. SS Stephen Drew
4. 3B Melvin Mora
5. LF Xavier Nady
6. 2B Kelly Johnson
7. 1B Juan Miranda
8. C Miguel Montero
Colorado Rockies
Here comes some partiality. The Rockies are one of my favorite teams in all of baseball and I may show some bias here. Just a warning.
After a stellar year, Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki lead a talented young team into title contention. CarGo could easily win the triple crown and Tulo is all around one of the best players in the league. Behind the leadership of first baseman Todd Helton, this team is primed to make a deep run this season. The pieces they lost are replaced by just as good young players. Dexter Fowler is easily the quickest player in the NL. One of the top offenses in 2010 will be at it again.
Ubaldo Jimenez was the breakout pitcher of 2010 posting 19 wins and an ERA under 3. When it comes to pitching though the team was average at best. Jeff Francis going to the Royals opens up the door for Esmil Rogers to take the fifth spot. Huston Street finished last season strong and if he stays healthy it should carry over in to this year.
The Rockies are the sleeper when it comes to this division. They have been in the hunt for the title for the last few seasons and are coming on strong still: 2nd in the NL West
Lineup
1. CF Dexter Fowler
2. 2B Jose Lopez
3. LF Carlos Gonzalez
4. SS Troy Tulowitzki
5. 1B Todd Helton
6. 3B Ian Stewart
7. RF Seth Smith
8. C Chris Ianetta
Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles
The Dodgers struggled offensively in the 2010 season. With the Manny issues and eventual trade the team just never had the fire power to sustain a run. Loney, Kemp, and Ethier look to lead a team that needs to score some runs in order to get a good position. It looks bleak but they need some to step up and get at least some runs to help out the pitching.
That brings me to the pitching. Two young slingers for this team make up the large part of the staff. Lefty Clayton Kershaw and righty Chad Billingsley head up a solid staff that includes Ted Lilly, Jon Garland, and Hiroki Kuroda. Kershaw only had 13 wins but had an ERA under 3 while Billingsley had 12 wins. At the end of games there is closer Jonathon Broxton, who can get saves if they team puts him in position.
The underlying question for this team is whether the offense can produce enough to compete and in my opinion they won't: 3rh in the NL West
1. SS Rafael Furcal
2. 2B Juan Uribe
3. 1B James Loney
4. CF Matt Kemp
5. RF Andre Ethier
6. 3B Casey Blake
7. LF Jay Gibbons
8. C Rod Barajas
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres traded away their biggest piece in Adrian Gonzalez this off-season. They received 4 prospects in return but it looks as if the Padres are back to rebuilding once again. With Ryan Ludwick the only power in the lineup there isn't much to go off now especially with an offense that was one of the worst in the NL even with Gonzalez. They acquired Brad Hawpe to try to fill the hole but his offense is not near Adrian's. Chase Headley is the other part of this team that could do some damage but don't expect much from this offense this year.
On the pitching side of things Matt Latos is the go-to-guy for the staff. Two new guys in Aaron Harang and Dustin Mosely while Charles Richard is coming off a 14 win season. Heath Bell is the brightest spot outside of Latos. He dropped 47 saves last year as the Padres finished second in the highly contested division.
Look for some spark but not much. The Padres drop again: 4th in the NL West
Lineup
1. CF Cameron Maybin
2. 2B Orlando Hudson
3. 3B Chase Headley
4. LF Ryan Ludwick
5. 1B Brad Hawpe
6. SS Jason Bartlett
7. RF Will Venable
8. C Nick Hundley
San Francisco Giants
Defending World Series Champs. Enough Said.
Key Loss: World Series MVP Edgar Renteria
Key Acquisition: Miguel Tejada
Besides this change the team looks exactly the same if not better than last year and that means danger for the rest of the league. Buster Posey is primed for another great year. Pablo Sandoval is slimmer and down 240 lbs. Aubrey Huff is coming off one the best years of his career. Same with Cody Ross. The Giants are finding ways to make lesser names champions.
The Giants also return one of the best pitching staffs in the NL from a year ago. Tim Lincecum is a perennial Cy Young Candidate and Matt Cain is getting there as well. Lincecum: 16 wins, Cain: 13 wins, Sanchez: 13 wins, and Baumgarner has 7 wins in 18 starts. Putting these guys together make for something special that isn't being noticed because of the "Phab Phillies." In the bullpen the word is still "Fear the Beard." Brian Wilson is coming of a breakout season where he posted 48 saves and 93 strikeouts on his way to helping the Giants win it all.
The season looks up for the Giants and look at them to be a World Series contender again: 1st in the NL West
Lineup
1. CF Andres Torres
2. RF Cody Ross
3. C Buster Posey
4. 1B Aubrey Huff
5. 3B Pablo Sandoval
6. SS Miguel Tejada
7. LF Pat Burrell
8. 2B Freddy Sanchez
Why does this make me arrogant?
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