Once again, the Arizona Diamondbacks ended the season at the bottom of the NL West. The Diamondbacks went just 65-97 in 2010, their worst record since going 51-111 in 2004.
The Diamondbacks are turning to general manager Kevin Towers, who was signed in September of last year. Towers wasted little time renovating the Diamondbacks roster.
Here is a closer look at what the Diamondbacks’ starting lineup and starting rotation will look like this season, plus our MLB predictions on where they will end the year in the NL West.
Starting Lineup
The Diamondbacks’ offense lived off the long ball last season. If they weren’t going yard, they were more than likely striking out—they set a major league record with 1,528 strikeouts. The Diamondbacks parted ways with Adam LaRoche and Mark Reynolds, who combined for 383 strikeouts last year.
Arizona is hoping a strong nucleus of young talent and some nice new pieces will help them be more consistent in 2011.
The Diamondbacks figure to score a lot of runs with the players they have returning at the top of the order. Chris Young provides power (27 home runs) and speed (28 stolen bases) at the leadoff spot. Kelly Johnson is the ideal No. 2 hitter; he not only has the power to drive the ball all over the field, but also hits for a nice average.
Those two set the table for Stephen Drew and Justin Upton. They didn’t exactly go off last season, but they should only continue to get better. Arizona is also extremely high on catcher Miguel Montero, who never got it going last year because of a knee injury. If he can stay healthy, we believe he will really help this team turn things around.
The other spots in the order will be filled with the additions of first baseman Juan Miranda, who will finally get a shot at showing what he can do, third baseman Melvin Mora, who really turned it on after the All-Star break last season despite his age, and Xavier Nady, who is expected to take over the starting job in left field.
Starting Rotation
The Diamondbacks made a couple of big moves, trading away Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson midway through last year, in hopes of rebuilding for the future. They also couldn’t be happier with the pickup of Daniel Hudson, who dazzled Arizona fans with a 7-1 record and 1.68 ERA in 11 starts after coming over from the White Sox.
Right away, Hudson made his mark as one of the top pitchers on this staff. He definitely has the talent to become one of the top pitchers in the league.
Arizona received Joe Saunders in the Haren trade and, while he went just 3-7 with a 4.25 ERA, he went 33-14 over his previous two seasons. We think his numbers will be much better this year.
The Diamondbacks are also high on Ian Kennedy, who went 9-10 with a 3.80 ERA in his first full season as starter. Kennedy has the makings of an ace as well, and could end up challenging Hudson for the top spot in the rotation.
The other two spots in the rotation will likely go to Zach Duke and Armando Galarraga. Neither has quite lived up to his potential and, if they don’t get it figured out early, we wouldn’t be surprised if a couple prospects ended up taking their spots.
2011 Projections: Fifth Place NL West
While we believe Towers will be able to make Arizona a contender again, we don’t think it will be this year. The rotation is strong at the top, but there isn’t a lot to be excited about after that. Offensively, the Diamondbacks could surprise—but when it’s all said and done, we don’t see much improvement this year.
The Diamondbacks’ MLB odds to win the West this season are currently listed at +1300.
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