CloudZeroSports is back! Blogs are back and I’m excited to be writing baseball again. In these reviews, I am going to be going over each team’s overall batting lineup, starting rotation, and bullpen. I will then conclude with a brief assessment of how I think they will do and give each team an overall ranking in MLB.
Before I get into my NL West review, be sure to check out our TikTok page, CloudZeroSports where we post plenty of content there! Now, let’s review the NL West.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Hitting: This lineup doesn’t pose a big threat at the plate. The biggest threat is Ketel Marte who batted a .318 with 14 home runs last year but, only in 90 games. When healthy he is a big threat. I thought he was going to be traded but he recently got an extension. Besides Marte, the Diamondbacks don’t have many big-name threats. I like for David Peralta to bounce back and have a solid year. Carson Kelly and Christian Walker each have high upside and expect them to make some noise in a pretty quiet lineup.
Starting Pitching: The Diamondback’s pitching is subpar. Bumgarner has not had a good first two seasons in Arizona with a 5.07 ERA. Zac Gallen is promising but injuries are getting the better of him. When healthy, Gallen has been fantastic. In 2019 after being traded to Arizona, he had a 2.89 ERA. In a shortened 2020 season, he had a 2.75 ERA. He can play when healthy and is a huge part of Arizona’s rebuild. Besides him, there is not too much more upside.
Bullpen: Signing Mark Melancon was a gigantic boost to a very bad bullpen. He had 39 saves for the Padres last year which was the most for him since 2016. As long as he performs well, he should be the closer moving forward. Ian Kennedy was also a nice addition after putting together a solid season last year with the Rangers and Phillies. Besides those two veterans, there is not much else that blows me away.
Overall Assessment: This Diamondbacks team is not very good. They have some pieces but not enough to contend. In fact, I think this is the worst team in baseball. Below average hitting, pitching, and bullpen. Yes, there are some bright spots but, overall this team is not scary. Projected Finish: 57-105, 5th in the NL West, 30/30 overall in MLB.
Colorado Rockies
Hitting: The addition of Kris Byrant doesn’t make sense to me. They traded Nolan Arenado just to give another third baseman big money two years later. Regardless of what I think, Kris Byrant is still very good. He posted a .265 with 25 home runs last year in a much-needed bounce-back year from 2020. In Coors Field, he could easily hit north of 30 home runs. Charlie Blackmon could see a resurgence at DH. He had his lowest career batting average in a full season in his entire career, and it was a .270 with 13 home runs. Now that he doesn’t have to worry about fielding, his bat can become even more vicious. I also expect Ryan McMahon, CJ Cron, and newly acquired Randal Grichuk to make some noise as well. After all, they play at Coors Field.
Starting Pitching: German Marquez is the ace of this staff even though his stats may not show it. He has a sub 4 ERA on the road and I would love to see what he could do on another team. The loss of Jon Gray definitely hurts because this staff is weak outside Marquez. Unfortunately, the Rockies may never have a good pitching staff.
Bullpen: No bullpen is no better. They signed Alex Colome who is coming off a poor year in Minnesota tying his worst career ERA with a 4.15. Besides him, the bullpen is not that good. There could always be a diamond in the rough but I wouldn’t expect this bullpen to be that good.
Overall Assessment: Much like almost any other year, the Rockies don’t have the pitching staff to be a true threat. They have good bats like Kris Byrant, Charlie Blackmon, and CJ Cron but this isn’t a competitive baseball right now. Projected Finish: 64-98 4th in the NL West, 25/30 overall in the MLB.
San Diego Padres
Hitting: The Padres hitting has already taken a huge hit with Fernando Tatis being out for half the season. Tatis hit a .282 42 home runs and a .975 OPS last season which was good enough for 3rd place in MVP voting. Losing that bat is a huge loss. Luckily, they still have other good hitters like Manny Machado, Trent Grisham, Jake Cronenworth, and newly acquired Luke Voit. One player I hope to see succeed in San Diego is Luke Voit. His career-high in home runs came during a shortened season in 2020. If he can stay healthy, I’d like to see him hit 35+ home runs this year in Slam Diego.
Starting Pitching: The Padres pitching disappointed last year but, I think this year will be different. Blake Snell had a bad start but in the second half, he posted a 3.24 ERA and lowered his WHIP from a 1.55 to a 1.05. Darvish may not be what he used to be but, Joe Musgrove has been a pleasant surprise. He put a career-best ERA, WHIP, H/9, and strikeouts. Oh, and he had a no-hitter. They also have Mike Clevinger coming back as well. I expect this rotation to bounce back.
Bullpen: Losing Melancon hurts this bullpen but I think Pierce Johnson is up to the test. He has one of the most underrated curveballs in baseball. He will most likely be the closer for San Diego to start the season. Emilio Pagan is another bullpen piece that will be a huge part of the Padres bullpen. Overall, this is a solid bullpen.
Overall Assessment: I think this Padres team is good but I think they are just shy of being a playoff contender in the NL. I think they’ll be in the hunt all the way but with the unfortunate Tatis injury, I think it will be an uphill battle offensively for the Padres. They won’t be terrible offensively but Tatis was a huge part of their success. Projected Finish: 84-78, 3rd in the NL West. 15/30 overall in the MLB.
San Francisco Giants
Hitting: This entire lineup was a shocker last year. Hard to believe but, this team was 1st in home runs in the NL last year. Losing Buster Posey and Kris Byrant hurts but they still have a solid core alongside a newly added Joc Pederson. I don’t see the Giants going on this unbeatable run again but I still think this lineup can perform well. Mike Yastrzemski had a career-best 25 home runs but only hit a .224. I truly believe he can hit better than that. Brandon Crawford was another huge piece for the Giants last year. He hit a .298 with 24 home runs which was his best season since 2015. Oh yeah, his .298 was a career-best batting average. If he can do anything close to what he did last year, the Giants will be in good shape.
Starting Pitching: The pitching staff was really well last year and I expect the same this year. Yes, they lost Kevin Gausman but they replaced him with Carlos Rodon who had just as good of a year as Gausman. Rodon had easily the best year of his career posting a 2.37 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 185 strikeouts. Not to mention he missed about 7 starts so he can easily pump out 200+ strikeouts. Logan Webb is a great complementary piece as well. He also had a career-best 3.03 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 158 strikeouts. Yes, it was only his first full season pitching but it was very encouraging to see the results of an entire season. Alex Wood, Alex Cobb, and Anthony DeSchfani make up the rest of the rotation making a very solid starting pitching core.
Bullpen: The bullpen was a huge part of the Giant’s success last year and it still is a solid bullpen. Tyler Rodgers, Jake McGree, Camilo Doval, Dominic Leone, Jarlin Garcia, Zack Littell, Jose Alvarez, this list goes on. Out of the seven people I listed, six had under a 3.00 ERA. For those who didn’t Camilo Doval had a 3.00 ERA. This bullpen is top tier and there is no reason it shouldn’t help the Giants the whole year.
Overall Assessment: Gabe Kapler really got every last inch of fight out of the Giants last year and it almost paid off. Regardless, this is still a very solid team that has now proven to the doubters (including myself) that they can win and be a playoff team. Projected Finish: 90-72, 2nd in the NL West. 9/30 Overall in MLB.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Hitting: I mean it just had to be them right? Look at this batting lineup, Trea Turner, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Will Smith, Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger, AJ Pollock, and Justin Turner. It’s just plain filthy. Cody Bellinger is someone I expect to see more from. He was the MVP in 2019 and has looked nothing even close to that since 2019. He hasn’t looked good in spring training either striking out in 14 of his 19 plate appearances. The Dodgers need him to contribute more or he may be on his way out. Let’s talk about the main man addition, Freddie Freeman. I wished he stayed in Atlanta but he brought his career .893 OPS, .295 batting average, and his average of 28 home runs a year to an already stacked Dodger lineup. This team has no excuses now.
Starting Pitching: Not only do the Dodgers have a stacked batting order, but they also have a stacked pitching rotation. The undisputed ace, Walker Buehler, is looking to continue his dominance in hopes to add a Cy Young this year. Last year Buehler put up a 2.47 ERA with 212 strikeouts. No reason he can’t replicate those numbers again. Alongside him is Julio Urias who has been improving every year. He had 2.95 ERA and punched out 195 strikeouts. That is a dominant 1, 2 punch. Clayton Kershaw also returns and who knows where Trevor Bauer stands. Either way, this rotation is great.
Bullpen: The loss of Kenley Jansen is huge but, Brusdar Graterol should be able to pick up where Jansen left off. He throws a 100+ mph sinker which is the perfect pitch for his more than likely closer role. Blake Treinen is a good setup man to have since he can also pump out a 100mph sinker on occasion. This bullpen is loaded with filthy arms and should be able to close out what the starters began.
Overall Assessment: The star power of this team is unmatched. With a team that pretty much has a lineup of players that have been to at least one all-star game, you’re gonna expect this team to win it all. Can the Dodgers overcome their full-season playoff collapses? Time will tell. Projected Finish: 107-55, 1st in the NL West. 1/30 Overall in the MLB.
+ There are no comments
Add yours