2018 Season Preview: NL WEST
I’ll give you the who, what, when, where, and why’s with predictions coming when I finish with the divisions. In 2017 this division was home to three playoff contenders and the NL pennant-winning Dodgers. Lets dive in, shall we?
Arizona Diamondbacks: Anchored by perennial MVP 1st base candidate Paul Goldschmidt and now settled Zack Grienke, this is a fun team to watch. The rotation and bullpen are top notch while the lineup has only gotten better after the trade for Souza Jr. No d-backs fan will cry foul now that Tomas is riding the pine. This team could potentially do more than challenge for this division if they play their cards right. The team doesn’t have great prospect depth but a healthy return of Shelby Miller will do in place of a midseason bolstering play.
Colorado Rockies: This was another surprise team in 2017 when they made the wild card with an 87-75 record. This team won 12 more games than the previous year based on their solid lineup and anchored by their top 5 closer Greg Holland. This year, Holland has been replaced by an even better closer in the form of the former teammate and Cubs closer Wade Davis. The depth they have in the outfield is outstanding and to relieve the logjam, they didn’t resign their renaissance 1st baseman Mark Reynolds in the hopes that the outfields can try it out when not starting in the outfield grass. If the rotation can take the next step, this could be a dangerous team.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Last year was a banner year for the pennant-winning Dodgers. They had the perfect mix of skill and luck. When their aging all star Adrian Gonzalez went down, in stepped rookie of the year, Cody Bellinger. When Joc Pederson couldn’t hold down the centerfield job, Chris Taylor, a reserve infielder with 1 career home run, came up big with a 21 home run season along with solid defense. Their rotation depth was severely tested as well when every member of the starting staff took turns on the disabled list. It was an excellent first campaign for rookie manager Dave Roberts. We’ll see is the Dodgers can replicate last year’s magical season.
San Diego Padres: A.J Preller giveth and A.J Preller taketh away. The embattled Padres GM turned the Padres into instance paper contenders a few years back when he traded for the former MVP Kemp, top closer Kimbrel and others but the team didn’t gel and was completely disbanded. It was an ugly scene in San Diego. After a few bottom dwelling years, the Padres have made their biggest free agent signing ever in Eric Hosmer. This move relegates their best player to an outfield position which is not in the clubs best interest. The move is sort of a head scratcher as the rotation remains a work in progress and the farm is a few years away from contributing.
San Francisco Giants: Bruce Bochy might be one of the games best managers but their was nothing he could do help this aging, overpaid and underachieving team. Their best player and possibly the best post season pitcher in league history, Madison Bumgardner, didn’t help the team after crashing his four wheeler early in the season and ending up on the DL for most of the season. The Giants did add some talent and upgrade a few positions like Evan Longoria will now man third base and the additions of Andrew McCutchen and Austin Jackson will push fan favorite, Hunter Pence, into a position he’s never played. Make no mistake though, this is a veteran team in a win now mode. They must forget 2017 and play up to their contracts worth. Good luck in this division.
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Dodgers are the obvious favorites, but I've quite enjoyed watching the Rockies and the Diamondbacks, as they are decent teams that could be pretty lethal if they get things going. The Padres are...well...the Padres.
The Giants have always been a good team as of late, especially with a few World Series wins in 2010, 2012 and 2014 but they seem to have slipped somewhat.
You didn't talk about it, and not sure if you know or not, but Bumgarner is expected to miss a good chunk of the regular season due to his recent hand injury. Giants will be a middle of the road team at best.
Another great post! It's getting me more and more excited for the season!
This division is incredibly stacked as you pointed out, and I don't see the Dodgers or Diamondbacks going anywhere. We'll see if the Rockies can make it two years in a row in the postseason, but I'm not totally sure if they will be able to jump out to the same hot first-half like they did last year. The Giants def made themselves better, but like you pointed out, good luck in this division. They needed to do more IMO. But a more competitive and not completely crap Giants team (like last season) should take a few of those wins away from Arizona and Colorado and open the Wild Card race back up. Nice preview!
Thanks for the info :)
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Great post, Laden with important information. Thanks for sharing.
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