NL West Preview

Sorry for the long wait in between posts, but I have had a very busy week attending Red Sox games.

Here is my preview for the NL West.

1. Arizona Diamondbacks - The NL West is probably the hardest division to handicap. There are four teams that have a legitimate shot at winning the division title. I believe the D-Backs have the right combination of parts to win the division. They have good starting pitching. They are led by former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. Both of these pitchers have great control. Webb is a sinker pitcher and is very effective. Haren was a surprise last year, and should have another good year pitching in a weaker hitting league. They have Doug Davis, who is a capable third starter, but he is going to be out after having surgery because of cancer. They have Micah Owings who is another capable starter, but may be more valuable as a hitter. They do have some questions in the bullpen. Hopefully they are grooming Tony Pena to be the closer because Brandon Lyon isn't going to cut it. They have the middle relief, they just lack a consistent closer. Another question is offense. Last year they won the division but got outscored during the season. They need their young hitters like Conor Jackson, Justin Upton and Chris Young to hit and drive in runs. They have speed with Young and Orlando Hudson, and they have some clutch hitting in Eric Byrnes. All they need is consistency.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers - Many think that Colorado are going to finish second in the division. I think LA is the choice for second. They have tremendous youth and talent. They have more offense this year. The addition of Andruw Jones is significant because even if he doesn't hit for average, he will hit 30 homers and drive in about 100 runs. They have Jeff Kent who is a consistent power threat and is a great run producer. They have speed and average in Rafael Furcal. The real strength is their youth. Russell Martin is going to be one of the best catchers in the league. Matt Kemp and James Loney are going to hit for average and power. Their rotation is also pretty solid. They have Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Hiroki Kuroda. That is a very solid four. All of them can control pitches and have the capability of shutting down opposing offenses. They are also very solid in the Pen. Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito are dominant in the 8th and 9th innings. They also have some decent middle relief, like the over used Scott Proctor. The only thing stopping them is Joe Torre. If Torre is aggressive, they have a great chance to win the division. If not, they might fall as low as fourth.

3. Colorado Rockies - The Rockies are the trendy pick to win this year. But, people forget that they were just around .500 before they rattled off the improbable streak of 21 out of 22 games. They have the hitting to compete with the American League teams. Holliday is a superstar. He hits for power and average and drives in runs. Wily Taveras has speed at the top of the order and Tulowitzki can hit for power and average. Some of their numbers may be inflated because they play at Coors, but that also has an effect on their pitching. I think their starters are their weakness. Francis is not an Ace. He is a good pitcher but may not pitch as well as last year due to adjustments other hitters make. Also, they have two young guys in Jimenez and Morales who are going to need patience and time to become dominant. Their bullpen is pretty good. They have Corpas and Fuentes as the 8th and 9th inning pitchers. That is pretty tough to beat. Other than that they really have no one that is scary but they are solid.

4. San Diego Padres - The Padres need hitting. They really don't have that threat that opposing teams have to game plan against. They have good players in Gonzalez and Greene, but they have no big power threat or guy who will drive in lots of runs. They really need to move from station to station and rely on hitting for average to win. Their pitching is their strength. Chris Young, Jake Peavy and Greg Maddux are as good of a top three you can have. They all can pitch. Maddux and Young are more control pitchers while Peavy is a power pitcher that will strike you out. In the pen, they have some worries. Trevor Hoffman is losing it. He can't throw a fastball, which makes his change up hittable. They have good set up men in Heath Bell and Cla Meredith, but they need to find a closer that is going to be more consistent.

5. San Francisco Giants - The Giants are terrible. They have no hitting. They are going to be at the bottom of the league in runs. Their power bat is Benji Molina. He may hit 20 homers, but they have no one else to hit for power or drive in runs. They may have a few people for hit for average, but there is going to be no one to drive them in. That is really sad because they have good starting pitchers. Zito is overpaid and not as good as he used to be. But he is still a capable starter. Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are young and are going to be studs. They both can overpower hitters and they both can pitch. Their pen is shaky which is another reason they are going to be bad. They don't have a set up man that can be relied on to get outs every day, and they don't have a closer that will be consistent. If the Giants can find some bats and a closer, they may be able to finish closer to .500 than they project to now.