First
Look: NL West
So
the last 3 weeks we’ve looked at the AL and saw who looks good and what moves
each team has made. Starting this
week we look at the NL starting with the NL West.
Los Angeles Dodgers:
Pitching-This is a surprising
strength for the team since last year the starting pitching was actually pretty
weak. As dumb as calling a team
where Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are the 1-2 pitchers but after that last
year the team’s pitching got kind of spotty. Hyun-Jin Ryu had a great season last year and proved himself
to be a reliable starter and could easily be a number 2 starter on other
teams. Chad Billingsley is
defiantly not the pitcher he was from a few years ago but he is a very sturdy
number 3 starter on some teams but does pan out to be a above average number
4. The fifth rotation spot that
will be a 3 pitcher battle between Paul Maholm, Dan Haren and Josh Beckett;
personally Maholm and Haren are the two that will get the spot since Beckett is
just flat out BAD. Now lets look
at the bullpen, the pen isn’t as good as the rotation but it has its
strength. Kenley Jensen is easily
the best of the bunch and will start the season as the closer. One thing to keep an eye on is the fact
that Jensen’s job isn’t secure since many scouts have questioned his actual
pitching “smarts” saying he’s prone to making bad choices and doesn’t pitch to
batters as much as he tries to just blow it past them. If Jensen fails then Brain Wilson will
get his shot to be closer again, though he can be prone to wild streaks. Many of the other pitchers are just
middle relief or worse guys other than J.P. Howell who is a very above average
LHP and will add some good depth to a lacking bullpen. Overall this is a good staff but it has
holes, even with these holes though they can easily survive if they can pitch
to the way they can.
Batting-They have a deceptively
problematic lineup, for 1 thing they don’t have a 2B or 3B. Hanley Ramirez will play SS and could
move to 3B if needed but he is much better at SS. Ramirez is also the best hitter on this team and was the
reason that the Dodgers got so hot at the end of last season, this lineups
success depends on Ramirez being as good as he was last year. Adrian Gonzalez will add some good BA
and OBP that this team needs to survive.
Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp are some interesting players for this team,
when healthy they are both super stars and can be the best on the team without
much effort. Kemp is the big
question mark; he is the team’s best power hitter and if he can stay healthy
for the year look for him to be in the middle of the lineup with Ramirez. Now the last guy that everyone is
wondering about is Yasiel Puig, it’s hard to gauge a player that has had little
time in the minors and less time in the majors. Personally I believe the Puig we saw last year is more of an
illusion, he has massive talent but I don’t think he can repeat the feat he did
last year. Overall in trouble;
this teams lineup and defense is in major trouble at the moment but if they can
figure out their infield situation they could be ok
Arizona Diamondbacks:
Pitching-This team has a lot of
potential and has a decent chance on matching it. Patrick Corbin and Wade Miley are good 1-2 pitchers as long
as they can play at major levels all season long. Corbin fell off at the end of the season last year after
starting 10-0 but a new year and a full season under his belt should help. Josh Collmenter is a good young pitcher
for this team and will fit in as the number 3 guy with the massively overpaid
Bronson Arroyo fitting in at number 4.
The fifth spot is up for grabs for now. The bullpen is very much like the rotation where it has
upside but if it can reach it or not is a question mark. Getting Addison Reed will aid in the
bullpen as he fits into the closer roll nicely. With some luck David Hernandez will bounce back and have a
season like we know he can have.
Other than that the rest of the bullpen is just average. Overall its just an average to slightly
above average staff at the moment but has growth potential.
Batting-This lineup has strength to
back up the weaker pitching. Paul
Goldschmidt is a MVP threat type player and will most likely put up some big
numbers this year. Aaron Hill and
newly acquired Mark Trumbo will bring some extra power to the team but
sacrificing OBP and Avg. Martian
Prado will be a strong source of OBP and Avg. but not enough to bring the teams
Avg. problem under control.
Overall this team has a good offense but have some issues when it comes
to OBP and Avg., we shall see how the team fairs through the season.
Colorado Rockies:
Pitching-There are some bright
points but overall this is a lack luster rotation. The teams first problem is no defined ace, Brett Anderson
has the talent and the pedigree to be an ace but health is a major issue. After him the next in line would be
Jhoulys Chacin who plays out to be more of a number 2-3 pitcher. Tyler Chatwood is an ok pitching but
nothing more than a 3rd starter. Jorge De La Rosa has some talent but health is an issue but
when healthy he’s a big time strike out pitcher. The bullpen isn’t in much better shape; this will be a
closer by committee and those never work out. Rex Brothers will get the first chances and he does have the
skill to be a decent closer in the end.
Boone Logan is a good LHP and could fill in for closer if needed or
Brothers fails to capitalize.
Overall its nothing special and the staff is just average or worse.
Batting: This is an area that this
team does have some talent in.
Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki are some of the best and biggest
names in the game today. Both
being legit 5-tool players but both come with their own injury risks
sadly. Veterans like Michael Cuddyer
and Justin Morneau adds some good strength in the lineup. Also Wilin Rosario is a very good
underrated catcher that doesn’t get the credit he deserves with the bat and the
staff. This team has weaknesses
and sadly they are bad ones, each of the players I’ve just mentioned has had
pretty extensive injury history.
If they lose just 1 piece the team can fall apart and the bench players
are below average players in the first place. While the team has strong position guys there is still
issues at places like 1B, 2B and 3B.
Overall the offense is good but not great, bad but not terrible. This isn’t going to win a World Series
but growing on what they have is a good start.
San Diego Padres:
Pitching-A staff that took a hit
with news that Cory Luebke needs another Tommy John and at least its been
reported that it went well. But
the rest of the staff is solid and actually is pretty underrated. The staff is built for the stadium they
play in, pitching’s like Andrew Cashner, Ian Kennedy, Eric Stults and Tim
Stauffer aren’t going to strike that many players out but they are great ground
ball pitchers and have talent in keeping the ball in the park. Though Luebke would have been a great
way to round out this impressive staff Josh Johnson is going to have to hope
for a bounce back season and return to somewhat his old form. The bullpen is pretty much the same as
the rotation, guys built to be in Petco.
There should a bit of a battle for closer between Huston Street and
Joaquin Benoit both of who are good ground ball pitchers but both will get a
few K’s along the way. Dale Thayer
is a very good RP who will add some depth to this teams bullpen. Overall I’d actually say one of the
best staffs in the division. Many
teams are going to over look them in the end but you shouldn’t.
Batting- Better than you thought
and better than people give them credit.
Chase Headly, Jedd Gyorko, Everth Cabrera and Yonder Alonso make up a
very above average defense and offense for this team. In Petco none of these guys are over 15 HR guys but all of
them have good contact skills and if Gyorko and Cabrera can repeat some of the
production they did last year they’ll be in good shape. The OF has more holes but is still a
very decent OF with guys like the power house Carlos Quentin, when healthy. Cameron Maybin has a good chance to
take a step forward and make his name known, he has talent and just needs to
make more contact. Overall very
similar to the pitching staff but actually with less risk of failure, if this
team is as good on the field as it is on paper they could surprise a lot of
people.
San Francisco Giants:
Pitching- Defiantly the strength of
this team and it’s a very deep strength.
Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain are two of the best pitchers in the game
today and every time they pitch the team has a good chance of winning. After that the next pitcher is a bit
more muddled. Tim Hudson is the
next best pitcher and the odds he has a bounce back season are decent, he was a
good low risk middle reward type signing this off-season. Ryan Vogelsong and Tim Lincecum will
battle for the 4th and 5th spot and looking at the stats
Vogelsong is set for a fall at some point and Lincecum has shown signs of being
able to reform what he is compared to what he was. The bullpen is very deep but getting old and we could start
to see some age finally get to them with players like Jeremy Affeldt and
Santiago Castilla both in their mid 30’s now and Sergio Romo not that far
behind. This could mean nothing
though since, unlike hitters, pitchers and age don’t seem to affect their
careers as much at least on average.
Overall this is a strong staff and there are quite a few good pitchers
still in this staff, my big worry is that if they get to old and don’t start to
replace stock the team could have issues.
Also the rotation is strong but a better starter may be needed before
the trade deadline.
Batting- A team that is blessed by
talent and cursed but the field they play. Buster Posey is the best catcher in the game today and that
fact is proven by his stats from last year. While his WARP was down by a few points it was still well
above any other catcher in this position showing that even a bad year for him
is a good year for the rest of MLB catchers. Brandon Belt has a good chance to step up his game but needs
to use the field a bit more than he does now, charts show that 75% of his hits
were pulled and at some point teams will catch on. Hunter Pence will be Hunter Pence and as long as he can
avoid glass doors he’ll be ok. The
wild cards for the team are going to be Pablo Sandoval and Michael Morse, if
these guys can play to the expectations that is on them this team could be
quite sleepers. Overall nothing
special to look at but that’s how they’ve survived this long. No one on this team has over 20-25 HR
potential but that’s not how they win, we’re going to have to wait to see if
this team can thrive in a tough division.
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