2018 Preview: NL West
- Dylan Anderson
- Mar 29, 2018
- 2 min read
Projected Standings:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. San Francisco Giants
4. San Diego Padres
5. Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
This team is really good. Even with Kenley Jansen, the bullpen may be the team's one weak spot as the depth in front of the closer is unspectacular. The field is filled with players in their prime who can really rake and defend.
Don't count on any Dodgers starter to throw more than 150 innings, but the rotation is as deep as any and could be reinforced by hot stud Walker Buehler. And they have that Clayton Kershaw guy.
The Dodgers probably won't win 100 games again this season but count on them to contend and potentially return to the World Series.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The D-Backs had a shockingly effective rotation last year which will have a humidor to toy with this season. Some think the humidor could turn Chase Field from an extreme hitter's park to a neutral or even pitching-leaning environment. Robbie Ray and Zack Greinke could put up monster numbers.
The offense, led by Paul Goldschmidt, AJ Pollock, Jake Lamb and David Peralta, may actually struggle to score runs. Brad Boxberger is the official closer as Arizona will look to limit Archie Bradley's arbitration leverage by keeping him away from save opportunities.
Losing JD Martinez will hurt the offense. Arizona remain a wild-card contender in a dense National League playoff picture.
San Francisco Giants
They are old. They are injured. They are getting older and probably injured-er. But they have some good players.
With additions of Longoria and McCutchen, the lineup is deep and solid throughout. Hunter Pence should be the seven hitter now. With most contributing players over 30 years old, the defense could really struggle.
Currently the rotation is a mess with Samardzija and Bumgarner on the DL. They are joined by Mark Melancon, who would be leading an average-at-best bullpen were he healthy. A rare sight in the age of analytics, the Giants are going for one last all-or-nothing attempt at a magical even year run. Expect it to backfire marvelously.
San Diego Padres
That's right, you heard it here first: the Padres will finish in last place. Justification for this claim is slim, but they are a generally younger squad with lots of prospects on the way.
They might be good enough to win half their games in 2019 but San Diego isn't quite there yet. The rotation has some interesting upside even with Dinelson Lamet's injury, but probably won't be very good.
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies splurged for a mega bullpen a year after sneaking into the playoffs but failed to address their woes in the field. Outside of Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, the position players are average despite what their Coors boosted numbers will say.
The starting pitching could be solid or disastrous behind Jon Gray, who could emerge as a true ace. The bullpen is elderly and Rockies hurlers tend to struggle with injuries. Expect Colorado to struggle with that.
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