2011 MLB Preview: NL West

DP and I have made our way through the NL West. Based on our predictions this is how the standings would look...

1. Rockies 93-69
2. Dodgers: 90-72
3. Giants 89-73
4. Diamondbacks 79-83
5. Padres 75-87

Wow, Giants miss the playoffs!

2011 MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants

2010 Record: 92-70

Hitting:

1 Andres Torres OF
2 Freddy Sanchez 2B
3 Buster Posey C
4 Aubrey Huff 1B
5 Pat Burrell OF
6 Pablo Sandoval 3B
7 Miguel Tejada SS
8 Cody Ross OF

The key to this lineup will be how Tejada and Sandoval play. If Tejada can hold it together at 36 years old and put up similar numbers to what Uribe gave them last season (24 HRs) then they will have a solid lineup. Saying that, Sandoval needs to have a serious bounce back year. In 2009 he his .330 with 25 HRs and 90 RBIs, but last year he batted only .268 with 13 HRs and 63 RBIs. That is just not going to cut it. Early reports say that he is much better shape, so hopefully that will help him out. The Giants do have a much of underrated guys in this lineup. Aubrey Huff is a guy who quietly puts up numbers every year. Last season he batted .290 with 26 HRs and 86 RBIs. I expect he will have very similar numbers this year. Obviously Buster Posey is one of the best young catchers in the game. Another big question for the Giants though will be the health of Freddy Sanchez, who is coming off his 2nd shoulder surgery. He hasn't been able to really stay healthy since 2008. It would be nice is Cody Ross played anything like he did during the playoffs for them also.

Pitching:

1 Tim Lincecum SP
2 Matt Cain SP
3 Jonathan Sanchez
4 Madison Bumgarner
5 Barry Zito SP

Brian Wilson CL

Other then the Phillies this is the best rotation in baseball. Still, there are some things to be alarmed about. Lincecum’s ERA was almost a full run higher than the previous season. He was a double-digit loser for the first time, and he lost all his starts in August. He was able to bounce back in the playoffs, but there are always some concerns about how he will hold up longer term due to his frame. Matt Cain might be the most underrated pitcher in the majors, but he made a name for himself last playoffs not allowing an earned run over his 3 playoff starts. Jonathan Sanchez is coming off his best season as a pro, and is just a strikeout machine. Madison Bumgarner is still only 21 years old, and he seemed to just get better and better as last season went on. Obviously Barry Zito is the weak link in this rotation, but for a #5 guy he isn't that bad. They also shouldn't have too much concern about their bullpen with "fear the beard" Wilson closing out games.

Overall:

Their pitching will put them in contention once again this year, but I do worry about this offense. It is asking a lot to have a 36 year old player play SS, and on top of that Pat Burrell is no spring chicken either. The Giants need everything to work out perfectly again this year for them to keep up this run. Sandoval putting up 2009 number would certainly help.

2011 Record: 89-73

2011 MLB Preview: Colorado Rockies

2010 Record: 83-79

Pitching:
Ubaldo Jimenez started last year like a guy who was a lock for the Cy Young, although he slowed down the Rockies ended up going 22–11 in games in which he started. Jorge De La Rosa is the #2 guy and is OK, but not great. We have been waiting for him to breakout for a couple years now, and he never seems to. Last year he 8-7 with a 4.22 ERA, he did win 16 games in 2009, but has always had an ERA above 4.2. Behind him is Jhoulys Chacin, who really could end up being the key to this team. The 22 year old went 9-11 last year with a 3.28 ERA and averaged over a strikeout an inning. He has the talent to be an ace, so if he can develop the Rockies rotation will look a lot better. The back of the rotation is where Rockies fans should start getting concerned. Aaron Cook was terrible in an injury plagued season going 6-8 with a 5.08 ERA. The Rockies need him to go back to what he was in 2008 when he went 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA, but age 32 he is starting to get to the point where that might be asking to much. Jason Hammel is their 5th guy, and fits that role well (10-9 with a 4.81 ERA in 2010), and seems to be consistent (10-8 4.33 ERA in 2009). Not a bad bullpen with Houston Street closing and Matt Belisle/Rafael Betancourt setting him up.

Hitting:
The Rockies have some exciting young players on offense in shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (26), and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez (25). What the Rockies need is Dexter Fowler to come through for them this season. He should be batting leadoff, and this will be his 3rd full year in the majors. He has the speed, but needs to steal more then he did last year (2010 13 SBs, 2009 27 SBs). Like I said Tulowitzki and Gonzalez will caryy this lineup, but they could be so much better if Ian Stewart can improve and find the power he had in 2009, and Todd Helton can find the fountain of youth. Overall I do think this is a good lineup and with so many young players they should improve from last season.

Overall:
This is a really good and young team. I have some questions about the backend of their rotation, but I think they will be OK. Todd Helton is washed up and they should really use an upgrade at 1st, but the rest of the lineup is solid, so runs shouldn't be a problem. The Rockies seem to make the playoffs every other year, so I think the trend continues, but they need to find a way to win on the road (52–29 at home, 31–50 on the road), but I attribute some of that to the fact that they are a young team (and their stadium).

2011 Record: 93-69

2011 MLB Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks

2010 Record: 65-97

Pitching:

It was just a couple years ago that this team had one of the best starting rotations in baseball with guys like Edwin Jackson, Haren, Webb and so on. Now it is a much different rotation, but there is some reason for hope. Ian Kennedy has turned out to be much better then I thought he would be limiting opponents to a .228 batting average. Behind him they have Joe Saunders who is a solid eating eater (set career highs in innings and strikeouts last season), and then Daniel Hudson, who was unbelievable last season (7–1 with a 1.69 ERA). There will be a competion for the last two spots between Zach Duke, Barry Enright, Armando Galarraga, and Jarrod Parker. For a team that 30 game sunder .500 that's a pretty good rotation. Their bullpen was terrible last season (5.74 ERA 3rd worst in major league history), so they went out and signed J.J. Putz, David Hernandez, and Kam Mickolio. By no means will they have a good bullpen, but it should be improved.

Hitting:

The Diamondbacks lost a lot of power when Mark Reynolds was traded to Baltimore, but they also lost a lot of strikeouts. Right after Reynolds left Arizona went out and signed Melvin Mora, who had a solid season after the All-Star break hitting .307 with 31 RBIs. The Diamondbacks also lost Adam LaRoche, so Juan Miranda will be given a strong shot to become the starter after his offseason acquisition from the Yankees, but holdover Brandon Allen and even free agent signee Xavier Nady could figure in the mix. Stephen Drew and Kelly Johnson give the Diamondbacks a very strong combo at 2nd and SS, and they have a good young outfield with Chris Young and Justin Upton. They have a lot of guys who can run, but I question if they are going to be able to knock anyone home.

Overall:

The Diamondbacks are improved from last season even with the losses they had in the offseason. What will really help them is their division is weaker then last year. The Padres will take a step back after losing Gonzalez, and the Dodgers suck. They won't be a playoff team, but they won't be in last in this division either.

2011 Record: 79-83

DC 2010 MLB Preview: NL West

Well we have finished our 2010 preview on the NL West. Here is how we see it ending up based on my and DP's predictions...

1. San Francisco 94-86
2. Arizona 83-79
3. Los Angeles 81-81
4. Colorado 80-82
5. San Diego 58-104

If you would like to read any of these preview look on the right side of the page and click on the team you would like to read about.

DC NL West Prediction

So, we are through the first division of our MLB Preview...here is what how we see the division breaking down....

1. D-Backs 88-74
2. Giants 86-76
3. Dodgers 68-93
4. Rockies 65-97
5. Padres 48-114

Only caution I can throw out there is that Manny is not signed and the two teams that are looking for his services are in this division (Giants, Dodgers).