Offense
Arizona’s young lineup has the potential to both surpass and fall short of its expectations for the season, depending on whether the Diamondbacks’ young studs are ready to become the players that so many predict them to be.
For years people have been buzzing about Steven Drew, the younger brother of the Red Sox slugger. Scouts have always lauded his defensive abilities, but his offensive output has been inconsistent.
Often he has shown that he can be a stud, possibly one of the better shortstops in the game, but more times than not he has failed to live up to the hype that has come with his name. If this is the year that he finally breaks out (he is 26 years old, a.k.a. golden time for hitters), then he will provide a much-needed bat in the middle of this lineup.
The other young, intriguing bat in the Diamondbacks’ lineup also is the younger brother of an AL East player, Justin Upton.
B.J.’s little brother tore the league up in the first half of last season (and kept my fantasy team afloat), belting 26 home runs, 86 RBIs, and 20 steals. But he regressed toward the end of the year, when injuries kept him out of the lineup for 25 games. If he can pick up where he left off last year, he may not only become the best player on the Diamondbacks, but he also may develop a reputation as one of the best outfielders in the game.
Mark Reynolds swings the most powerful bat in the Diamondbacks’ lineup.
In each of his three years in the majors his homerun total has increased by more than ten. He belted a career-high 44 last year, good for fourth in the majors and only three off the league lead.
Reynolds also drove in 100 RBIs for the first time in his career, and provided he gets some help from Drew and Upton, that total could significantly increase in 2010. On top of it all, he stole 24 bases, more than doubling his 2008 total of 11.
Pitching
Arizona’s hopes of reaching the postseason rest on the recently repaired shoulder of Brandon Webb.
The 2006 Cy Young Award winner and 2008 runner-up is ready to go after pitching just one game last season before he was forced to shut it down. If he can regain his 2008 form when he won 22 games and struck out 183, then the Diamondbacks will have a dominant 1-2 punch as Webb is paired with Dan Haren.
Haren is starting his third full season with the Diamondbacks, coming off back-to-back All-Star Game appearances. He has not won fewer than 14 games in any of the past six seasons, and there is no reason to think he should be any less dominant this year.
Last season he struck out an impressive 223 batters, while recording a 3.14 ERA. If Haren and Webb are healthy, they should combine 60 starts and possibly even 40 wins.
Following Webb and Haren in the rotation will be Edwin Jackson coming off a 13-win, 161-strikeout season with the Tigers; Billy Buckner, who will get his first real crack at maintaining his spot in the rotation; and Ian Kennedy, the former Yankee prospect who (along with Jackson) came to Arizona in the Curtis Granderson trade.
Barring injury, the Diamondbacks should have a strong rotation that will be able to keep up with rest of division.
In the bullpen, Chad Qualls will start the season as the Diamondbacks’ closer.
It will be up to him whether he keeps the job; in his first full season as closer he blew five of 29 opportunities and ended the season with a 3.64 ERA. If he begins to stumble, expect to see veteran Bob Howry or 26-year-old Juan Gutierrez taking over ninth-inning duties.
Prediction
The Diamondbacks have the talent to win the NL West, but everything — and I mean everything — will have to go their way if they are to pull it off.
Arizona’s rotation will have to maintain itself, and the young bats are going to have to provide Mark Reynolds with a little help. The Diamondbacks could finish the season anywhere from first to last in the NL West.
I see them starting strong, dwindling as the All-Star break gets closer, and streaking a little too late on their way to second in division, and possibly a wild-card spot.