Baseball Preview, #6

The National League West was the only division with three teams that won at least 88 games. Teams in the division have done pretty well in the playoffs recently, as they have won 5 postseason series in the last 3 years. This season the NL West has four teams that could all make a legitimate charge at the division title.

NL WEST
Dodgers
The Dodgers have made it to the NLCS two years in a row where they've been beaten by the Phillies both times. Despite concerns about their starting rotation they had the best team ERA in all of baseball, and the offense led the NL in batting average and on-base percentage. That's a good combination. The team is led by rising stars Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, celebrity slugger Manny Ramirez, and hefty closer Jonathan Broxton. Los Angeles has had the most distracting offseason of any club as the team owner is going through a messy divorce; as a result, the Dodgers added no key players and did not improve anywhere. Vicente Padilla is their Opening Day starter (not someone I would skip school to go see pitch) and none of their pitchers has set themself apart as a true ace. You have to wonder whether Rafael Furcal, Manny, Russell Martin and Casey Blake can be healthy and productive. Still, they do have a pretty good rotation with Kershaw, Billingsley, Padilla and Kuroda, and their nucleus of outfielders should still improve from last year. But the Dodgers seem to just be floating along.

Rockies
When Jim Tracy stepped in as head coach the Rockies turned around and became one of the better teams in the NL, coming all the way back to win the Wild Card. Long known as hitter's paradise and pitcher's nightmare, the Rockies have suddenly built a solid 1-5 rotation, including Jeff Francis who missed all of last year recovering from surgery. Troy Tulowitzki, who had a miserable 2008, is a real candidate for breakout player and MVP. While Todd Helton has lost his power stroke he still stays on the hitting leaderboard, eclipsing .320 average for the 9th time. The top of the order has blooming hitters Carlos Gonzalez and Dexter Fowler. This team has a lot of strengths and no real weaknesses or question marks.

Giants
Tim Lincecum, have you heard of him? Matt Cain is pretty solid, too. Pablo Sandoval had a nice breakout season a year ago. That's about where it ends for the Giants. They have the weakest lineup of any contender. To address the need the best they could do was add Mark DeRosa and Aubrey Huff, but those two are borderline starters anywhere else and don't improve the lineup here very much. The bullpen is also weak. Tim the Freak is awesome and fun to watch but I don't see the Giants doing any better than a year ago when they got third in the West.

Diamondbacks
Things were looking good in the southwest until Brandon Webb stopped progressing. They made some moves to their rotation, bringing in Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy but without Scherzer (traded to Detroit) and Webb they are a bit shorthanded. Much of the optimism for the season sits with the #1 draft pick from a few years ago, Justin Upton, who displayed abilities to hit for power, average, and speed. Mark Reynolds also made a huge leap in power and speed (and strikeouts). Adam LaRoche is now on his 4th team in two seasons, and he also has some long-ball abilities. Catcher Miguel Montero had a breakout year and could make his first All Star team. Add a return to form by Stephen Drew and you have a pretty nice lineup. That's great news for ace Dan Haren, who had a great season a year ago but couldn't get any run support. If Brandon Webb gets healthy quick and Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy perform (jumping from AL to NL has that effect), then the Diamondbacks could be one of the most improved teams in the National League.

Padres
The only challenging the Padres should do is with the Pirates for the basement of the league. Adrian Gonzalez is surrounded by zero talent and will likely be gone before the trade deadline. The starting rotation is similarly thin, but with the possibility that Chris Young can return to the dominance he once showed before injuries hit (literally). In a very talented NL West, the Padres will be out of the playoff race by mid-May. Enjoy the beach.

Season Forecast
Rockies 92-70
Dodgers 89-73
Diamondbacks 87-75
Giants 85-77
Padres 58-104

MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
Best Pitcher: Tim Lincecum
Breakout Player: Carlos Gonzalez