2010 Preview - NL West

The NL West may be, year-to-year, the most difficult division to predict. There have been very few clear-cut favorites and only the Giants have not made the playoffs in the last 4 years. Twice in that span the Wild Card has gone to the Rockies, one of those times just ahead of San Diego. The Dodgers have finished on top the last two seasons, but this is the year the Rockies put together a total season and bring home the first division title in franchise history.

1. Colorado Rockies

After a slow start last season the Rockies may have been the best team in the league for the final 3-4 months. The NL version of the Rays (in a division without the Yankees and Red Sox), Colorado is building a low cost team from within the organization and enters 2010 with another year of maturity for players like Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Ian Stewart. Add prospect Dexter Fowler and a return of Jeff Francis to the mix and this team looks to be even better than last year.

The Rockies boast a deep bench, solid batting order, and enough pitching to win the division. But it is the intangibles (never clear on what that means, but it seems to get the credit for teams who show up better in the field than on paper) that will make the difference. The bullpen should be fine without Huston Street for awhile, but this could show up as the fatal flaw if the injury lingers. Franklin Morales could be the next choice, although that would cost Colorado a key lefty in other critical situations. Whoever it is, they will find a way to plug the gap and make a late run if needed.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers


An interesting thing happened late last September or so when the Dodgers, with the best record in the NL and the biggest run differential in the majors (that's right, even better than the Yankees), were suddenly tabbed as the longshots heading into the playoffs. Sure, the Cardinals had two aces and Philly was defending champ, but how did things turn so quickly? When a team wins 95 games they aren't exactly pushovers. What the Dodgers lacked, and what many suggest they still lack, is a reliable front of the rotation to be an automatic win in a short series. (Ask the Cardinals how well that went). Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley might be the hope of the future, but there are questions about whether they can lead the charge and take the ball in big game situations. The Dodgers will need those two to stay healthy and live up to expectations because of the weak three behind them. The team will miss Randy Wolf more than they expected.


Los Angeles still looks strong at the plate and in the bullpen and will be tough to beat in close games. Expect Manny Ramirez to come back strong from a disappointing year, but don't look for him to put up the kind of numbers he used to. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier make this a threatening 3-4-5 in a deep lineup. The Dodgers really need more production out of Russell Martin and Rafael Furcal, but this is a team that will score runs even if they don't. LA will be in a dogfight with Colorado all season, but in the end will be battling the Braves for the Wild Card.


3. San Fransisco Giants


If Brandon Webb had been healthy and back to form, this would likely be the slot for Arizona. His slow recovery opens the door for the Giants to make a push for the NL West race. However, San Fransisco faces the same problem that Seattle does in the AL...how will they score runs? This is probably the best pitching staff in the league, top to bottom (even with Wellemeyer), but run prevention, as they say, is only half the game. Brain Sabean made sure to lock up his core young pitchers for the next few years this offseason, but it will take a few offensive pieces for this team to make it over the hump to division favorites. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain will be as tough as anyone and Jonathan Sanchez should take a step forward this year, but I am interested to see how Barry Zito does after his best season since leaving Oakland.


With glaring needs on offense all San Fran mustered in the offseason was picking up utility man Mark DeRosa, which just isn't going to cut it. The Giants have future star Buster Posey waiting in the wings, but need to find a way to get his bat into the everyday lineup (first? left?) since it does not appear he will be their opening day catcher. They will need all the help they can get for Kung Fu Panda Pablo Sandoval and Posey's readiness behind the plate is the real reason SF brought Molina back for another year. The Giants will need some unexpected heroes if they are going to make a run at the playoffs, whether revitalized veterans or quick sprouting youngsters. Unfortunately those heroes aren't on this team yet.

4. Arizona Diamondbacks


Dan Haren, Brandon Webb, Edwin Jackson sounded good...but that looks like it won't happen for awhile and it is hard to tell if Webb will be the same pitcher anytime this season. That trio would give Arizona a chance to compete, but without dominating starters going deep into games, the bullpen will be overworked and exposed. After a solid turn in the closer's role in '09, the Diamondbacks will need Chad Qualls to take it to the next level to lock up the leads they can get to him.

How often do we hear Mark Reynolds name without immediately hearing about his prodigous strikeout totals? What really matters is his production and he has proven to be more than a slugger with a good onbase percentage and 24 steals to boot. Oh yeah, he also hit 44 homers in case anyone missed it. On top of that, Justin Upton is poised to become a superstar after his breakout last year...but they will need Stephen Drew to follow a similar path if the offense expects to make waves. If notorious slow starter Adam LaRoche can get out of the gate quickly the D-backs will have a stout middle of the lineup. No matter how good the offense becomes the only question Arizona fans are concerned with is what will become of Brandon Webb.

5. San Diego Padres

Sadly, the most interesting storyline for the Padres in 2010 will probably be the Adrian Gonzalez saga. If San Diego manages to hold onto him they will have a foundation stone to build their young pieces around. Kyle Blanks impressed last year and Will Venable and Everth Cabrera should be core members of the club for years to come, but my personal curiosity is how many people Kyle Blanks will eat this year...have you seen that guy? He's huge!

What might be most telling about the pitching staff is that Jon Garland was named opening day starter. Truth be told Kevin Correia had an excellent year and Chris Young should rebound from a forgetable season, so the rotation shouldn't be terrible. Fans of the Fathers will want to watch for the development of Clayton Richard, as well. Even the pitching side could have mid-season drama if San Diego decides Heath Bell's best value is trade bait. So, that's the excitement for the West's 5th place team. You stay boring, San Diego.