The D-backs surprised the world last season by winning the NL West under first year manager Kirk Gibson. Justin Upton emerged
as one of the game’s best young players and Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson (a blog favorite) proved their worth as starters. Arizona faces a tough challenge as they seek to repeat their success from a year ago but they are reloaded and ready to rock.
Projected Lineup:
- Willie Bloomquist (ss)
- Aaron Hill (2b)
- Justin Upton (Rf)
- Miguel Montero (C)
- Chris Young (Cf)
- Jason Kubel (Lf)
- Paul Goldschmidt (1b)
- Ryan Roberts (3b)
Projected Rotation:
- Ian Kennedy
- Dan Hudson
- Trevor Cahill
- Joe Saunders
- Josh Collmenter
Strengths:
Starting rotation: If these guy perform to a level anywhere near their potential, this will be one of the top rotations in the NL. Kennedy, the former Yankee prospect, emerged as an 18 game winner and Hudson continued to prove that Kenny Williams was wrong to trade him a couple of years ago. Add to that Cahill, who is only 24 and is an absolute beast capable of dominance and you have a scary playoff top 3 if Arizona gets that far. Joe Saunders, a former 1st round pick who didn’t really pan out as planned but is still a capable big league starter is the 4 guy and Josh Collmenter, who was a very pleasant surprise in his rookie season and has a very funky delivery that messes with hitters, rounds out the staff.
Lineup depth: Everybody in the starting 8 for the Dbacks deserves to be in a major league starting lineup. You won’t find Ronny Cedeno here. Willie Bloomquist is a stand in for injured shortstop Steven Drew but he had a very good season in 2011 and could be a great spark for the lineup in the leadoff spot. The heart of the order is tough with Upton, Montero, Young, and the newly acquired Kubel and even the bottom has some serious pop with Goldschmidt (who may hit 30 bombs) and Roberts (who I project will be hitting second when all is said and done).
Bullpen: Craig Breslow, Takashi Saito, Brad Ziegler. I was playing the baseball name game last week with a few friends and all three of these guys came up. That’s got to be good.
Weaknesses:
Closer: JJ Putz had a surprisingly good year last year raking up 45 saves but he’s still well into his 30’s and has an ERA of 6.00 this spring.
Chris Young’s batting average: Chris Young can flat play. He’s stud in the outfield and he has lots of power but the highest average he’s posted over a single season is .257. Last year, he hit .236. He’s a good 5 hitter but he would be much much better if he could get on base more and use that great speed which has made him a 20-20 guy each of the last 2 seasons.
Storylines:
Steven Drew: Drew suffered a brutal ankle injury last season that ended 2011 for him and he’s still trying to come back.Drew is the starting shortstop on this team and could produce a major boost when he returns to the club. Of course, his great defense is contingent on whether or not he can change direction quickly, something he’s been struggling with in the wake of the injury.
Gerardo Parra: Parra won a gold glove last year. Go ahead, check me on that, I promise it’s right. He also hit .292 in 445 ABs. As of now, he’s the 4th outfielder on this team. He definitely provides depth as a top notch backup but how long will that be sustainable. Jason Kubel was brought in for his offense, certainly not his defense and I wonder how long the team will be willing to stick with Kubel if he proves to be a liability in the outfield, especially with Parra waiting in the wings.
Prediction:
90-72. 1st Place, NL West. There was great internal debate over wether the Dbacks or Giants would take the West. Either way, it’ll be close. ultimately, the offense in Arizona and the addition of Trevor Cahill won out.
Bold Predictions:
- Trevor Cahill wins 17 games with an ERA under 3.50
- Dan Hudson proves he’s the Ace of this team, finishing 3rd in the Cy Young voting
- Jason Kubel hits .224 with 29 homers
- Ryan Roberts hits .303
-Max Frankel
