So, we've reached the end of our six-part odyssey. After taking a look at each of Baseball's other five divisions, it's time for the NL West, where the defending World Series champs and the two most dominant lefties in the game reside. We've also got two of the worst teams in baseball and perhaps the most improved team. But they're all still fighting to catch the Dodgers, who are still right up there at the very top of the game.
It's crazy to think that the Dodgers were the consensus best team in baseball for most, if not all, of last season, yet it was the archrival Giants that ended up winning the World Series for the third time in five years. Despite all that regular season success they've had recently, the Dodgers can't beat the Cardinals in the playoffs, and they haven't been to the NLCS since Joe Torre was their manager. Meanwhile, they watch San Francisco get in as the second wild card and take the whole thing with only 88 regular season wins.
There's something to be said about peaking at the right time, but we all know that Madison Bumgarner won the World Series by himself and Clayton Kershaw just picked a bad time to have his two worst innings of the year. You know that the Giants' success irks the Dodgers, though. And LA's window is running out the same way that Detroit's is. They know they only have another year or two to take advantage of Kershaw's prime and the glut of talent they have around him. Besides, it's an odd-numbered year, so we know the Giants aren't going to win this season.
We also know that winning in the regular season means nothing come October. The Dodgers would love nothing more than having absolutely nothing to do with the St. Louis Cardinals in the postseason. But it really shouldn't matter with the team they've built. The Dodgers are clear favorites in the NL West and right up there with Washington as the two best teams in the National League.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers: Everyone pretty much knew that Hanley Ramirez wasn't coming back. The challenge was going to be how to replace him. And I like Jimmy Rollins in that role. A lot. With the Phillies, he had to be the man. With the Dodgers he doesn't. And, yes, Rollins is older, but there's still some gas in the tank, which is why Philadelphia traded him. It's an entirely new middle infield, as Howie Kendrick swaps Angel red for Dodger Blue. Second base was a weak spot last season, so Kendrick's bat in the back end of the lineup will certainly help. They also figured out the whole four outfielders for three spots problem. Well, kind of. They needed to find a place for Joc Pederson, which would've given them five outfielders for three spots. So they decided that Matt Kemp would be the one to go, strangely sending him south to the division-rival Padres. I, personally, love Matt Kemp and think he's the most talented of the bunch behind Puig, so I would've kept him, but the Dodgers were likely wary of his injury history and knew that Kemp was the one with the most trade value. With him gone, that freed up center field for Pederson. Andre Ethier is still the odd-man out, though. And he's not happy about it. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ethier traded this season. As if they needed to make the rotation any stronger, they swept up Brandon McCarthy after his solid three months with the Yankees and are giving him a whole lot of money to be their No. 4 starter. McCarthy's good enough to be a No. 1, and he could be elsewhere. The fact that he's the No. 4, and voluntarily so, speaks to how deep this Dodgers rotation is. And they've obviously got that superhuman freak who last season became the first NL pitcher in 45 years to win MVP. In case you thought there was anything left for Clayton Kershaw to prove, he's motivated by his October struggles against the Cardinals the last two seasons. Look out, National League hitters. You already couldn't hit him.
Projected Lineup: Jimmy Rollins-SS, Carl Crawford-LF, Yasiel Puig-RF, Adrian Gonzalez-1B, Howie Kendrick-2B, Juan Uribe-3B, Joc Pederson-CF, A.J. Ellis-C
Projected Rotation: Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy, Brett Anderson
Closer: Kenley Jansen
Projected Record: 93-69
2. San Diego Padres: I don't think I've ever seen a team get an entirely new outfield, all via trade, in a span of about 45 minutes before. Yet that's what the Padres did, improving at all three outfield positions in the process. You're definitely going to need a program at Petco Park in April. Seriously, the entire freakin' roster is new. Will Middlebrooks was a Red Sok last season. Clint Barmes was a Pirate. Derek Norris, an A. That leaves only two Opening Day starters: Jedd Gyorko and Yonder Alonso, who actually played for San Diego just 12 months ago. And with Chase Headley gone, Gyorko has probably taken over that "face of the franchise" tag. There's been that much turnover in San Diego. But that's not a bad thing. Because the Padres spent some money and vastly improved their team, and they might've improved enough to challenge for a wild card spot. San Diego's also got one of the strongest benches of any team in the National League. All three outfield casualties: Will Venable, Carlos Quentin and Cameron Maybin went form starters to pinch hitters. That's three excellent options as pinch hitters, and they also provide valuable insurance policies should Matt Kemp get hurt (likely) and/or Justin Upton sucks. It's not going to work long term, but should San Diego be in contention and looking for pitching at the trade deadline, Maybin, Quentin and Venable are all chips that other clubs will want. It can also work the other way. If they're out of it, those are the three easiest guys to trade and get something for in the same way they got Yangervis Solarte in the Headley trade. As if greatly improving their lineup wasn't enough, the Padres surprised virtually everybody by being the team that snagged James Shields. This guy has already pitched in the World Series for small market teams Tampa Bay and Kansas City. It's a lot of money, but definitely worth the risk. Because there could be very high reward. I am worried about Shields pitching in the National League for the first time and matching up against Kershaw and Bumgarner regularly, though.
Projected Lineup: Wil Myers-CF, Jedd Gyorko-2B, Matt Kemp-RF, Yonder Alonso-1B, Justin Upton-LF, Derek Norris-C, Will Middlebrooks-3B, Alexei Amarista-SS
Projected Rotation: James Shields, Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, Ian Kennedy, Brandon Morrow
Closer: Joaquin Benoit
Projected Record: 86-76
3. San Francisco Giants: Even if this wasn't the off year in the Giants' World Series rotation, I'd be hard-pressed to pick San Francisco this season. Because Panda's going to be a bigger loss than they imagine. Sure, they'll save money on food, but that hole in the lineup isn't just in a metaphorical sense. Casey McGehee is no Pablo Sandoval. Although, they do get Angel Pagan back (it's not like they missed him during the playoffs last year, though), and they'll have an actual outfielder in left field this season, so there's that. There's also no discounting the boatloads of postseason experience a majority of this roster has gotten over the past five years. Only Buster, Bumgarner and a few others have been on all three World Series teams, but there's something to be said about the winning culture that Bruce Bochy's built. It's kind of like the Patriots. Regardless of how well the lineup does, the Giants have been all about pitching ever since Barry Bonds left, and that's the case again this year. Madison Bumgarner might be on a complete other level in October, but he ain't to shabby in the regular season, either, even if he his a mere mortal between the months of April and September. With their excess of starters, either Ryan Vogelsong or Tim Lincecum is likely getting Tanner Roarked with the return of Matt Cain. Think about that. The Giants won the World Series without their leadoff hitter and their No. 2 starter last season. The pitching will be there again. It always is. So whether or not the Giants can buck the trend and make it back-to-back postseason appearances really depends on the lineup. But with Sandoval gone and Hunter Pence out two months with a broken arm, that's a lot of pressure to put on Buster Posey and Brandon Belt. The lineup is San Francisco's Achilles heel. And as good as their pitching staff is, I'm not sure they'll be able to overcome the lack of run support I know will be an issue. It's not good that Bumgarner will be the third-best hitter in the lineup on the days he pitches.
Projected Lineup: Angel Pagan-CF, Joe Panik-2B, Buster Posey-C, Brandon Belt-1B, Casey McGehee-3B, Brandon Crawford-SS, Gregor Blanco-RF, Nori Aoki-LF
Projected Rotation: Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Tim Hudson, Jake Peavy, Tim Lincecum
Closer: Sergio Romo
Projected Record: 83-79
4. Colorado Rockies: What is it about the two Western Divisions? The six West Coast teams are all pretty good. But the two in Texas aren't, and neither are the Rockies or Diamondbacks. Colorado and Arizona will be fighting with the Phillies for the NL's worst record, but one of them won't even finish last in the division. I think that team will be Colorado. Because the Rockies do have more talent than the Diamondbacks. Troy Tulowitzki is clearly their best player, but he can't stay on the field. That might be a blessing in disguise, though. Because if he could stay healthy, it's highly unlikely Tulowitzki would still be a Rocky. Same thing with Carlos Gonzalez, who probably is gone once he becomes a free agent. It was nice to see Justin Morneau revive his career last season, though. They're going to score. Everybody knows that. Coors Field has been a hitter's park since it opened 20 years ago. The problem is they're going to give up a ton of runs, too. Normally, you can look at the Rockies pitching staff and see that one diamond in the rough who can stabilize things a little bit. I just don't know who that's supposed to be this season. Kyle Kendrick? Jorge De La Rosa? Any of those random rejects from other teams in the bullpen? It could be Rafael Betancourt, who's a Comeback Player of the Year candidate. Somebody needs to emerge. Because this pitching staff is a mess. They've got 85-year-old LaTroy Hawkins, who hasn't been good since he was on the Twins, closing. That's the state of Colorado's pitching in 2015.
Projected Lineup: DJ LeMathieu-2B, Corey Dickerson-LF, Troy Tulowitzki-SS, Carlos Gonzalez-RF, Justin Morneau-1B, Nolan Arenado-3B, Charlie Blackmon-CF, Nick Hundley-C
Projected Rotation: Jorge De La Rosa, Kyle Kendrick, Jordan Lyles, Tyler Matzek, Jon Gray
Closer: LaTroy Hawkins
Projected Record: 69-93
5. Arizona Diamondbacks: But at least the Rockies aren't the Diamondbacks. What's there to say that's positive about Arizona? Paul Goldschmit's a stud. That's about it. Oh, and Randy Johnson became their first Hall of Famer this year, and he's going to wear a Diamondbacks hat on his plaque. It isn't good that that's the biggest thing for this team to look forward to this season. Because on the field, it's going to be another long one. Other than Goldschmidt, they've got nobody, and I mean nobody, that scares you. Even Mark Trumbo isn't intimidating in this lineup. The fact that Trumbo is a DH playing for a National League team doesn't help. Outside of Cliff Owings and A.J. Pollock, I've never heard of anyone else that's listed as a projected starter for Arizona on the MLB.com depth chart. The same thing kind of applies to the pitching staff. Bronson Arroyo and Jeremy Hellickson both had Tommy John surgery. If Arizona had them in the rotation, they might actually be in a position to finish ahead of the Rockies. But I'll still take Josh Collmenter and Jeremy Hellickson over any Colorado starter, and Rubby De La Rosa will get a shot as their No. 2 starter. Arizona's other Cuban, Yasmany Tomas, might end up starting the year in the Minors, which seems silly, considering the amount of money they spent to sign him and the fact that they don't really have anyone better than him at the Major League level. And this isn't a Kris Bryant situation, either. I really don't understand why Arizona, who shocked everybody by landing Tomas, doesn't plan on using him. Especially since the Diamondbacks aren't going anywhere.
Projected Lineup: A.J. Pollock-CF, Cliff Owings-2B, Paul Goldschmidt-1B, Mark Trumbo-RF, David Peralta-LF, Jake Lamb-3B, Nick Ahmed-SS, Tuffy Gosewisch-C
Projected Rotation: Josh Collmenter, Rubby De La Rosa, Jeremy Hellickson, Chase Anderson, Archie Bradley
Closer: Addison Reed
Projected Record: 67-95
Now that I'm done with my division predictions, it's time to review. Here's how I see the postseason playing out:
AL Wild Card-Red Sox def. Angels
ALDS-Mariners def. Blue Jays, Tigers def. Red Sox
ALCS-Mariners def. Tigers
NL Wild Card-Cubs def. Padres
NLDS-Cardinals def. Dodgers, Nationals def. Cubs
NLCS-Nationals def. Cardinals
World Series-Nationals def. Mariners in 6
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