The National League West is the hardest division to predict in all of baseball. Every year you never know which team is going to be the team to beat or the team that struggles the most. This division is the weakest of all divisions as well during the regular season but like last year with the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, the division champion usually ends up in the NLCS and hardly gets knocked out in the first round. Expect this year to be no different as the division champion might win eighty-five games but who will get to eighty-five first?
1. San Francisco Giants- They are the champions until someone knocks them off. The Giants have the best pitching staff in the NL West going with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Josh Sanchez, Mitch Bumgarner, and Barry Zito to round out their starting rotation. The only other team that has a better rotation is the Philadelphia Phillies but it is not by much. Experts say that the teams pitching staff is also defined by their closer and is there anyone as hot as Brian "Fear the Beard" Wilson? This guy came up big for the Giants most of the year last year. The Giants depend on pitching their more than hitting but Pablo Sandoval was the only true threat last year and still is but with the additions of Miguel Tejada and Mark Derosa he has a little better help. The Player to Watch is was last year's rookie sensation Buster Posey, whose stellar play at catcher was able to lead the Giants and was the difference for the team and would not have won the World Series with out him.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers- The Dodgers bring in new manager Don Mattingly as they depart with Joe Torre. Mattingly takes over a very good young talented ball club that has excellent field position players but outside of their one two pitching punch of Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley no one is really realiable. Jonathan Broxton, closer, looks good at times but can get into a two or three week funk where he is no where near the pitcher he can be. The addition of Marcus Thames makes this outfield one of the best hitting as budding stars Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp continue to improve and either one can make a run for the National League MVP. The player to watch is former Giant Juan Uribe. Last year Uribe had a down year in the statistical categories but he will bring a lot of wealth and knowledge to this young ball club and should be a top leader in the clubhouse.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks- They might have looked horrible last year and might still be in rebuilding mode but there is enough talent for them to finish third in the west. Joel Saunders will be the ace of the ball club and it will be his success that leads to the teams success and the rest of the pitching staff success. J.J. Putz is a solid closer but nothing to get too excited about. Centerfielder Chris Young, short-stop Stephen Drew, and second baseman Kelly Johnson gives them a good core of solid player but this team lacks that super star name unless that is if Justin Upton can put it all together this year. He is the brother of B.J. Upton and has the ability to be a great hitter and fielder if he puts all his talent into it. Upton could be the difference of them finishing last or third.
4. San Diego Padres- They traded their best player in Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox in the off-season and Gonzalez took atleast ten wins with him. They are not completely horrible but their is no players on this team that can get anyone excited. Jason Bartlett at short-stop is a future star in the league but he still needs to fine tune his game and former Rockies first baseman Brad Hawpe is a solid pick-up but he doesnt have the pop in his bat that they need to replace Gonzalez. Mat Latos is the only starter that can be count on to go out and throw a decent game every time but the player to watch will be closer Heath Bell. If he is able to come in and shut teams down then this year might not be as bad.
5. Colorado Rockies- The Rockies have been a bi-polar team as they usually start off weak then in the last half of the season end up having the best record during that time and is always in the thick of the play-off race, however, this year they will not be able to do that. Ubaldo Jimenez came out of the gates fast last year before slowing down and looks to be the ace of a bleak pitching staff that has one of the best younger closer in the game, Huston Street. Todd Helton will be the player to watch and the one they will count on the entire season to lead the team but the other player that is key is short-stop Troy Tulowitzki. He is one of the most underrated players in the Majors and he could be traded before the trade deadline before the season is over.
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