By Jim Ingram
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
The NL West just happens to be my favorite division. Yes it is the home of the true LA team, my beloved Dodgers. I can shut my eyes and already hear the dulcet tones of the immortal Vin Scully. Besides the San Diego Padres, the NL West should have four competitive teams. You never know what the Rockies will do, and you certainly shouldn't sleep on the Giants. They're a team that is better than you think.
The LA Dodgers, have the best overall team in the NL West, and should repeat as the division winner. They have the deepest lineup in the division, a decent starting rotation, but the biggest question remains to be the bullpen. Takashi Saito, Joe Beimel and Chan Ho Park are all gone. Jonathon Broxton enters the year as the closer, but can be wild and shaky. The Dodgers just signed Will Ohman to take over for Joe Beimel as the lefty specialist, and should be able to rely on Corey Wade and Hong Chi Kuo as the main setup men now that Chan Ho Park is gone. The rotation doesn't have a true ace. Clayton Kershaw is the ace of the future, but will be slotted in the #3 spot this season. If Chad Billingsly can get healthy he showed he is a very good #2 man, but isn't good enough to be an ace. Hiroki Kuroda was inconsistent in his first season in the United States, but has been impressive this spring. Look for him to continue his improvement as he becomes more comfortable in the big leagues. Now that Manny Ramirez is back with the Dodgers, the lineup can take form. Rafeal Furcal is healthy and will team up with new addition Orlando Hudson to make a speedy 1-2 combination in the order. Joe Torre likes to change the 3 hole hitter around depending on who's pitching. Despite that, the # 3 hitter should take solace in the fact that Manny is right behind him. Look for Russel Martin to take the next step in his development. He's finally decided to mature a bit. He's hired a dietician and realized he needs to cut down on his night life in order to become a more consistent player. Don't forget about Matt Kemp either. It's my prediction he'll continue his improvement and become a 30/30 player this year.
The Arizona Diamondbacks still have a very good 1-2 punch in their starting rotation. Brandon Webb is one of the best right handed pitchers in the game, and Dan Haren isn't too shabby either. Haren did taper off in the 2nd half last season, again, but is still a very good pitcher. Jon Garland just wins games. It's never pretty and his ERA hovers around 4.75, but he still finds a way to put wins on the board. It looks like Max Scherzer has locked down the 5th spot in the rotation. He's had some shoulder inflammation this spring, but is still one of their best pitching prospects. What should worry you the most about their pitching staff is the closer. Chad Qualls is an extremely shaky closer, but they do have Jon Rauch, who as very good for the Nationals before being trade to the Dbacks last season. The Diamonbacks lineup still has a lot of young players on the rise. Stephen Drew had a very good 2nd half and finally looks to be living up to the hype. Connor Jackson is a good hitter, who still needs his power to develop. He's slated in as the starting left fielder so Chad Tracy can move back to first base. Chris Young and Justin Upton both have high ceilings, and potentially tremendous power. What they don't have is a keen eye and patience at the plate. Justin Upton, younger brother to the Rays' BJ Upton, was once thought of as a better prospect then BJ. Justin has been hampered by injuries, and is struggling again this spring. If that continues, look for Eric Byrnes to quickly take over for him in right field.
As I mentioned earlier, The San Francisco Giants are a better team than you realize. They have the best starting rotation in the division, and an underrated closer in Brian Wilson. Tim Lincecum is the reigning Cy Young winner and is the best right handed pitcher in all of baseball. He's not even 25 and went 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA last season. This will be the year that Matt Cain is finally recognized as a good young pitcher. The Giants terrible offense is more to blame for his 8-14 record in 2008. He had a respectable 3.76 ERA, and often lost due to the lack of run support. Randy Johnson, the ageless wonder, Barry Zito and Jonathon Sanchez round out a solid rotation. The starting lineup will look drastically different this season. The Giants have finally started to bring some young players into the fold, especially in the infield. Travis Ishikawa, Emmanuel Burriss and Pablo Sandoval will all be starting in a revamped infield. Burriss was just handed the 2nd base job as they recently optioned Kevin Fransden to AAA. Sandoval thrilled in a 41 game audition towards the end of last season. He hit .345, 3 HR, 24 RBI and is absolutely raking the ball in spring training. The addition of Edgar Renteria is wildly referred to as the worst off season move, and I 100% agree. Renteria is too old and slow to play an effective shortstop at this point in his career.
The Colorado Rockies seem to have a very productive lineup, but will not have the pitching to contend this season. Jeff Francis is out for the year, and will have to rely on Ubaldo Jiminez and Franklin Morales to make huge strides for them to be competitive in the West. Aaron Cook went 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA last season, but is not exactly ace material. He is a very dependable pitcher, especially in Coors Field. Huston Street is penciled in as the closer to start the season, but may be used as trade bait, or even lose his job to the hard throwing Manuel Corpas. Don't forget that Street is also injury prone and always spends time on the DL. Todd Helton is back healthy, but how much can you really expect from him. He is tearing it up this spring as he's hitting .515 in 33 at bats. Garrett Atkins is swinging the bat well this spring and looks to rebound after a down season. Ian Stewart is a man without a regular position, but his bat will keep in the lineup most days. He's been working out in left field and second base. He'll also see some time at his usual position of third base. Brad Hawpe will be his usual self and should hit around .280 with 20-25 homers and 85+ RBI. The Rockies have handed Chris Iannetta the starting catcher's position and is one of the best young catcher's in the game. He started the year off well in the World Baseball Classic and looks to add to his career high 18 homers from last year.
With the exception of the Washington Nationals, the San Diego Padres are the worst team in the MLB. The rotation is only two deep with Jake Peavy and Chris Young, and could be one deep when, and if, Peavy is traded. He spent all off season hearing about rumors, most of them to the Cubs, and just wants something to happen at this point. Now that Trevor Hoffman has been shown the door, it looks like they'll start the season will Heath Bell closing games. Bell has been effective in the set up role, but is untested as a closer. I have a feeling he will not be the closer at the end of the year. The big bopper is still Adrian Gonzalez at first base. He struggled at the start of the 08' season but still ended up hitting 36 homers and 103 RBI. He put up solid numbers despite having insurance in the lineup. Kevin Kouzminoff, acquired two years ago from the Indians, showed steady improvement during the 2nd half last year. He'll need to be even better this year and continue his progress. Chase Headley, Jody Gerut and Brian Giles will make up the starting outfield. Headley, a well thought of prospect, will get the first shot in left. Giles doesn't have much left. I am not sure why the Padres picked up his option, and should have made every effort to move on. The Padres lost 99 games last season and should expect more of the same.
Prediction
(Coming tomorrow: AL Central preview by Chad Garner)
