MLB Predictions: NL West

Well today is opening day, as the Pirates came out on top against Wainwright and the Cardinals and I am watching Stroman give me great fantasy numbers with Toronto beating the Rays late in the game. It time to get my final division picks in before I make the big picks for the postseason. The NL West will be interesting this season, as it will be a battle between three teams. Thats right you guessed it, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Giants. Health will be the thing that decides this division, as some big names have already joined the DL.

The Dodgers have taken the division a couple years in a row, but have a tough challenge ahead of them if they want to do it again. Injuries are already bugging them, with Anderson and Ethier out and their pitching staff not looking so sharp. Kershaw is a beast, you can't replace him with anyone. But following Kershaw a lot of questions rise. How will Ryu do coming back? Why is Kazmir looking so slow on the mound? And what will Maeda bring to the table? Well I am putting these guys on top yet again as they have a guy who I think will make a big difference. Corey Seager (photo) should be amazing this season and put up numbers to shock everyone. I think will their good offense, they will be able to overcome some flaws on the mound, plus they already have the highest payroll so you can bet they will acquire some names at some point. Dodgers will have to fight with their division foes, but they will be chilling in the top seat in the west come October.

Can the Giants keep their even year tradition going? They picked up some big names in the offseason, adding Cueto and Samardzija to the rotation and Span to the outfield. With Bumgarner leading things off, you would expect this team to be dominant on the mound. But they have not looked to good through spring training. Plus health is a real concern for them, as I bet Span, Pagan, and Belt join the DL at some point, along with Cueto, Peavy, and Cain from the rotation. These guys need to stay healthy if they want to get into the playoffs. Hopefully Posey (Photo) can stay behind the plate, as their pitchers numbers are so much better when he is in the squat. The Giants need leadership from Pence and Posey to be successful and of course some more pop from Brandon Crawford who amazed everyone last year. The Giants will put up a great fight, but a wildcard seat will be the best they can do, but like I said only if they stay healthy.

Originally I was going to put the Diamondbacks on top int he division. But after Pollock fractured his elbow my faith in Arizona has gone down a bit. The pickups of Greinke (Photo), Miller, and Segura are huge. This team was known for their bats with Goldschmidt in the lineup, but now they will be known for both and very dangerous. Segura has shown great numbers through spring training, as the Diamondbacks seemed almost unbeatable. With Clippard in the bullpen now, blown saves should not be to much of an issue, especially with how late in games their starters will be going. Having Greinke, Miller, and Corbin as the leading three will be tough to beat. Like the other two however, can these guys stay healthy. Corbin has DL history, while Miller and Greinke are coming off high inning total seasons. Arizona will be in contention and possibly fight for the wildcard as well. Don't be surprised if they go on crazy streaks, winning 9 in a row then tripping for 5-6 in a row. I like Arizona this year, as they should have league leaders in almost every category.

San Diego was gathering everyone's attention last year, making tons of crazy deals but it obviously did not work out for them. This year they were a little more calm, trying to fix their flaws adding names such as veteran Alexi Ramirez and Jon Jay. These guys should have good defense this season, as they have plugged Will Myers in at first now, but they are lacking pop. I don't think this offense will be very impressive as they only too guys I think you can count on for RBIs will both hit the DL. Kemp has hip issues while Will Myers always seems to go on the DL early and for a good amount of time. their rotation isn't top notch either, as Shields (Photo) is on the decline walking to many guys and Cashner and Ross are just to wild. They got good heat and should put together K's, but will be putting guys on base for free and then surrendering the big multirun blast. San Diego will come up short this season, as we will see if they look to sell like they did with some of their bats and arms in the offseason.

The Colorado Rockies are a team that can hit, but not pitch as they will be suffering on the mound this season. I actually really like a lot of guys in their lineup. LeMahieu is a guy with great contact and a great glove, Blackmon is a greta leadoff hitter who will provide some pop as well, Carlos Gonzalez will hit 30 plus homers at Coors Field if he can stay off the DL that is, and of course Nolan Arenado (Photo) is like a third baseman god with how he can hit and field. Arenado deserves to be in MVP will his numbers, as I bet he smacks 35 plus this year. These guys tried to beef up the bullpen with trading for McGee, but I think they will really miss Dickerson and his power. Their starting rotation is the problem, as no one would be on the roster of a few other teams. De La Rosa isn't anything like he used to be, plus the DL is where he needs to start calling home. I like Lyles, but don't expect anything to special from him or anyone else, as they will all have ERAs over four. Rockies will finish at the bottom of the division and hopefully for their sake don't have to dish away any of their young stars.

NL West Records: 

1. Dodgers 89-73

2. Giants 87-75

3. Diamondbacks 85-77

4. Padres 70-92

5. Rockies 67-95