The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the last three NL West Division titles. Yipeee!!! The San Francisco Giants:
2010. 2012. 2014. For you numerologists and spewers of Mayan Aztec prophecy, that’s the last three even years. What year are we in? As a Dodgers fan, it pains me to paste those pictures. Stupid pumpkin looking uniforms. It totally messes with my head when I watch the Giants during the summer time. I suddenly get all cold, check the pantry for bags of candy and make sure the porch light is on. Anyways, this is the NL West in a nutshell:
Giants
Everyone Else…
For entertainment purposes only:
Giants +125 to win the NL West, +550 to win the NL Pennant and +1000 to win the World Series.
As I learned on December 22, 2012, you can say anything you want without repercussion. All those weirdos that said the world would end are fine, I think. Granted, you don’t hear them anymore. Hmmm, maybe I should be careful what I say. F it! I write for Razzball and we don’t go out like that. The Giants will win the World Series! That is backed by scientific, empirical data. To all my Dodgers fans out there, I hope the jinx works. For you Rockies, Padres and Diamondbacks fans, no offense, but does it matter?
Anyways, you didn’t come here for terrible gambling advice. If you did, then this. You obviously want to know about the position battles. Heeeeeeere we go.
Los Angeles Dodgers
- Starting Rotation: The top three will be Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir. Because of injuries to Brandon McCarthy, Brett Anderson and Hyun-Jin Ryu, the final two spots are up for grabs. The front-runners are Alex Wood, Brandon Beach, and Mike Bolsinger. Wood is a lefty with a funky delivery. Hope that doesn’t mean it goes in the wrong hole. Wood recently had tightness in his throwing arm. Hmmm, tightness in the throwing arm for Wood? Happens to me all the time. Bolsinger is a righty with an 87 mph fastball and a wicked curveball. He filled in admirably when called upon last season, but is also suffering from an apparently oblique injury while Beachy is dealing with an elbow injury. The story of his life… Carlos Frias is a candidate, as he made 13 starts for the Dodgers last year. Frias throws hard, but it seems the Dodgers like him more in the bullpen. Brandon Beachy is a righty, two full years removed from his second Tommy John surgery. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in five innings this spring. Before the injuries, Beachy was a 10 K/9 guy even though he didn’t throw the ball hard. Zach Lee, the former top prospect, hasn’t been impressive when given the opportunity. He also doesn’t throw hard and relies on control and guile. I don’t think he’s part of the plan. The dark horse is Jose De Leon. The 23-year old has rocketed through the system and possesses a mid-90’s fastball. Rich Wilson, the prospect guru over at Prospect361.com, says DeLeon has good, not exceptional stuff, but his makeup and fearlessness are what make him effective. If I had to guess, I’d say Wood and Bolsinger get the final two spots if healthy. DeLeon could take one of those spots later in the season. Frias, Beachy, and Lee will most likely fill-in and provide depth.
- Lead-off Hitter: It sounds like this will be a game of musical chairs all season. With the utilization of analytics for lineup construction, multiple hitters will fill the lead-off role depending upon matchups.
San Francisco Giants
- Fifth Starter: Chris Heston versus Matt Cain. A duel to the death. Cain pitched a perfect game in 2012 and signed a massive five-year $112.5 million extension the same year. Now, he is recovering from elbow surgery and will make his spring debut Friday. Heston was decent last year in 177 innings, posting a 3.95 ERA and 1.311 WHIP. His K/9 was only 7.1, though. Well, Cain did kill Abel but Chris could be related to:
If you’ve read any of my stuff in the past, then you know I believe this. If healthy, I’d go with the guy that’s owed $20,000,000 for this year and next.
Colorado Rockies
- Shortstop: With Jose Reyes being put on paid leave pending the completion of his criminal case for domestic abuse, the shortstop position is there for the taking. Cristhian Adames is a switch-hitter. I guess that makes sense seeing how his parents had fun moving the “h” in his name around. He’s also known more for his defense. Trevor Story, once touted as the heir to Troy Tulowitzki, has hit .294/.400/.882 with three home runs in 17 Spring Training at-bats. Before we anoint him as the next Tulo and count the number of days on the DL, you should know that Story has a career 28% strikeout rate. With that said, I’m thinking Story gets the gig, with Adames serving as the utility infielder. Let’s be real, when it comes to offense or defense in Colorado, you’d be high to think they’d choose the “D”.
Arizona Diamondbacks
- Outfield: A.J. Pollock and David Peralta have two of the outfield positions locked up. The third outfield spot is where the battle is taking place. The Diamondbacks acquired Yasmany Tomas for $68.5 million last year, thinking they had the bat to complement Paul Goldschmidt. Instead, they received a .273 hitter, who struck out 25.8% of the time, had an ISO of .128 and was one of the worst defensive players in the league. The front office probably wishes they spent that money on a crate of El Rey Del Mundo’s instead. Out of the ashes of the burnt money, a Socrates Brito has emerged. In six minor league seasons, Brito has a .288/.333/.408 slash line with a high of 10 homers and 38 steals in a season. His walk rate is around 7% and he strikes out close to 20%. You know that I’m all about C.R.E.A.M. right? Well, that just shows how bad Tomas is because I believe Socrates wins this battle. As the illustrious Grey Albright stated, “Yasmany looks to be headed into the same Cuban abyss as Rusney Castillo and that guy that played Tony Montana’s buddy, Manny.”
- Middle Infield: Where does newly acquired Jean Segura play? Nick Ahmed plays shortstop and Chris Owings second base. Ahmed is a great defensive shortstop and the Diamondbacks treasure defense. That puts Segura in competition with Owings, which Segura should win comfortably.
San Diego Padres
- Starting Rotation: Tyson Ross, James Shields and Andrew Cashner are locked into the top three spots. The pitchers battling for the fourth and fifth spots look to be Brandon Maurer, Colin Rea, Brandon Morrow and Robbie Erlin. Morrow has the best stuff, but he’s never been able to stay healthy. Maurer may be better suited for the bullpen, but Fernando Rodney must be a helluva salesman… or he pictures. Regardless, Maurer did miss time with shoulder inflammation last year. Rea is exactly like his name, short and not much there. Erlin has good control but doesn’t strike out batters. If you need to rely on the winners of this group, may God help you.
You’re effed.
