2011 Preview - National League West

This is the sixth and final installment of the six part 2011 baseball preview. The teams are ranked in the order of their expected finish.

1. Colorado Rockies: The Rockies managed to hang around in the playoff picture, going 83-79 in 2010 despite losing Troy Tulowitzki for roughly one third of the season. This bodes well for 2011. The Rockies feature a very balanced lineup with legitimate power in Tulo and Carlos Gonzalez, speed in Dexter Fowler and Seth Smith, and a professional hitter in Todd Helton. The bullpen, headed by Huston Street, Rafael Betancourt, and Matt Lindstrom, is solid. The top of the rotation features Ubaldo Jimenez, who had a great season last year, and the underrated Jorge De La Rosa. Jhoulys Chacin showed flashes last season of being a solid major league pitcher, ending with a 3.40 ERA, which is even more impressive since more than half of his starts were in Coors Field.

The biggest concern with the Rockies is their ability to stay healthy. Tulo, Helton, Street, Aaron Cook, and Ian Stewart all missed time last year due to injuries. Stewart is already injured in spring training, and may not be ready for the start of the season. The back of the rotation is also a concern with Cook and Jason Hammel. Neither pitched particularly well last year (Cook had a 5.08 ERA in 23 games last year, Hammel had a 4.81 ERA in 30 games), and will need to show improvement in 2011.

The Rockies are set to leapfrog the Giants and the Padres to capture the National League West. Barring injuries, the Rockies return to the postseason this year.

2. San Fransisco Giants: The 2010 Giants proved that a great rotation and playing smart baseball can lead a team to a World Series Championship. Ace Tim Lincecum heads the staff, followed by the improving Johnathon Sanchez, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner. Barry Zito rounds out the staff as the fifth starter. The bullpen is also very deep, with Brain Wilson, and his beard, slamming the door in the ninth inning. Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo provide a solid bridge to the closer.

With the Giants, their biggest questions involve their lineup. Last season, they only scored 697 runs, which was 17th in baseball, and 8th in the National League. This came on a career year from Aubrey Huff, who should regress. Cody Ross was a revelation in the postseason, but he was released outright by the Marlins in August. Can he continue to hit like he did in October? Miguel Tejada is expected to be the everyday shortstop at age 37, despite the fact that his lack of range and mobility dictates he should be playing third base, if anywhere on the playing field at all. Pablo Sandoval had a very bad season last year - can he rebound? These may be the keys to the Giants being able to compete for the division or the wild card.

While the Giants will have some offensive regression, there should be enough players that improve to keep them in the postseason hunt. Expect the Giants to be the NL Wild Card, based on their pitching staff.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are an enigma. On paper, they appear to be a playoff team and the favorite in the West. However, their end results never equate to the level of talent on the roster. Is it that these players are not as good as they are perceived? Was it that Joe Torre just could not tap into the potential of these players and Don Mattingly will? Is Torre overrated? Prior to joining the Yankees and being handed the talent he had in New York, Torre only made the playoffs once. Add the messy divorce between the McCourts, and the Dodgers have the potential to further regress.

On the plus side, the Dodgers have a very solid rotation. Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Ted Lilly, and Hiroki Kuroda make a good starting four. Johnathon Broxton returns as the closer despite a rough second half of the season in 2010. Hong-Chih Kuo, Kenley Jansen, and Matt Guerrier lead a solid bullpen, and would be good options if Broxton falters again. The lineup is good, with Matt Kemp, Andre Either, and James Loney as the anchors. A healthy Rafael Furcal returns as the catalyst at the top of the order.

This season is going to be interesting in DodgerLand, as Don Mattingly inherits a messy situation. There is a lot of talent here, but it just doesn't translate to success.

4. San Diego Padres: The Padres greatest strengths going into this season are their bullpen and top two starters. Mat Latos and Clayton Richard performed at an excellent level last season, although Latos did wear down in September. The bullpen has an elite closer in Heath Bell, and two potential closers of the future in Luke Gregerson and Mike Adams. Defensively, this is also a very solid ballclub, finishing second in the National League in 2010 with a .988 fielding percentage.

The remainder of the rotation is questionable at best. Tim Stauffer, Wade LeBlanc, and Aaron Harang round out the rotation, and are all question marks. Harang has had two terrible seasons in a row. Stauffer is converting from the bullpen to the rotation, and may take some time to adjust. LeBlanc puts a lot of people on base, but managed to escape most of those situations last year with minimal damage. The lineup also has major problems. They ranked 12th in the National League in runs scored last year, even with Adrian Gonzalez in the lineup. With his trade, the Padres are now leaning heavily on Ryan Ludwick, Brad Hawpe, and Chase Headley to make up the difference. The Padres did improve their team speed with acquiring Cameron Maybin and Jason Bartlett, so expect them to be more aggressive on the basepaths in an effort to manufacture runs.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks are all about potential. Stephen Drew, Chris Young, Justin Upton and Juan Miranda all have the possibility of being star players on offense. In the pitching staff, Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy could turn out to be top of the rotation starters. The top of the lineup has great speed with Upton, Drew, and Young. The rest of the rotation of Joe Saunders, Armando Galarraga, and Zach Duke is solid.

The key on offense is their ability to put the bat on the ball. Trading Mark Reynolds and his 211 strikeouts while implementing a philosophy of being selective will help to lower the 1529 strikeouts that the Diamondbacks had as a team last year, which was 11% higher than the second place team. This will help to improve a team that only managed a .250 batting average in 2010, leading to more runs and a better chance at being competitive.

The Diamondbacks are heading in the right direction. While they are not quite there, expect them to contend in 2012 or 2013.