Colorado Rockies: NL West outlook based off Spring Training

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Arizona Diamondbacks

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – MARCH 04: Starting pitcher Zack Greinke. Photo by Getty Images /

The D’Backs are still mourning their loss of J.D. Martinez. He’s not dead, but he did put up most of the offense for the team in the second half of the season. Arizona is currently 9-9 this Spring and 2-2 against the Rockies.

One thing to watch out for with this team is their pitching. Zack Greinke is in his prime and it shows. However, this spring, he has only pitched in 2 2/3 innings and, now, he has a groin injury that may sideline him for Opening Day. Along with him, there’s starter Robbie Ray he also has a crazy high ERA of 6.55 in 11 innings pitched. This probably won’t be anything like his ERA during the regular season, but it does show that these guys haven’t had the best springs. Archie Bradley isn’t looking too hot either. The potential D’backs closer also has a high ERA at 5.68. Not the best look for someone who may be a closer.

Moving onto offense. let’s go ahead and talk about the face of the team, Paul Goldschmidt. He’s having himself a pretty good spring. The 30 year-old is 8-for-22 with a batting average of .364 along with a home run and 5 RBI. This should come as no surprise to anyone as this is what Goldschmidt does, as he has had 95+ RBI in four out of the last five years (he didn’t in 2014 because injuries limited him to 109 games played). He has also ranked second or third in NL MVP voting in three of the past five years.

A.J. Pollock is also on track, he’s currently 7-for-27 with a batting average of .259. His projections look a little wonky for someone who’s only 30, but that may be because of his past injury riddled seasons we’ll most definitely have to look into how his season goes. The majority of the offense is doing well per usual for a team that finished 2nd in the NL West last year. As of now heading into the regular season this is the team the Rockies have got to beat to be on top.

Los Angeles Dodgers

GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 27: Kenta Maeda. Getty Images. /

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Where to begin with these guys. I’m just hoping they’re still hungover from losing the World Series they should’ve won. They Dodgers are currently 10-8 and have not played the Rockies yet, but have two games against them coming up.

Let’s just go ahead and get Clayton Kershaw out of the way. He has a perfect ERA of 0.00. He’s pitched in 4 games for a total of 9 2/3 innings while only giving up 6 hits and 4 walks with 11 strikeouts. I mean this isn’t surprising anymore because he’s got his job locked up and he’s well on his way to being a Hall of Famer. As for the rest of the rotation, Alex Wood is pitching about the same as the regular season. Rich Hill has struggled as he has an ERA of 8.59 in 3 starts but he’s been much better in the regular season (3.32 ERA in 2017 in 25 starts). So I’d expect the same rotation as last season with the potential addition of Walker Buehler, as he could be in the mix, especially as the season progresses.

The Dodgers have a lot of prospects that we need to watch out for. Alex Verdugo is having a nice spring with his 2 home runs, 6 RBI, and .367 batting average. He’ll most likely get some more playing time this season and it could come in handy for them with some outfield questions. Corey Seager hasn’t had the time of his life this spring, mostly due to his elbow. It may come into question during this season. Justin Turner is red hot (like his hair), another guy that’s hit 2 home runs this spring with a .355 batting average. Turner is 33 this year so we’ll have to watch and see if he hits a wall due to his age.

The offense, (I didn’t mention everyone) is a powerhouse in LA, but is easily riddled with injuries throughout the year. Watching who goes on the DL list this time around is crucial if the Rockies want to take the NL West crown.

San Fransisco Giants

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – MARCH 09: Buster Posey. Getty Images. /

This is apparently the team that some sports publications are saying will finish higher than the Rockies…wow. I guess since it’s an even year so we should all jump on the bandwagon. They are currently 10-7 and have yet to play the Rockies this Spring. Despite having an age problem, many believe they will finish higher up due to what they did this offseason. Speaking of that, let’s take a look at how those guys are doing.

Evan Longoria, 32, has had an ok spring. He’s currently posting a .300 BA, which is good, but he only has a homer and 4 RBI. Moving onto Andrew McCutchen, the 31 year-old outfielder is currently hitting .318. Buster Posey, 30, has only played in 3 games so far but he does have a high BA of .571. He has only played in 3 games due to him having an ankle “tweak”. His return went well so he’s probably on track to recovery. These are the main guys on offense most people will recognize first. The rate their going this Spring I’ll be eager to see if age plays a role in this team as many of the players may be out of their prime.

Turning towards pitching Madison Bumgarner is doing great. Despite a bit of a high ERA of 4.15 he has 22 strikeouts in the 12 innings he’s pitched. He, like Kershaw, will put up another great year if he’s healthy.

Jeff Samardzija on the other hand isn’t having the best time he has an ERA of 10.64. This is because he’s given up 6 homers, 7 walks and allowed 13 errors in just 4 games. Johnny Cueto is having what’s expected this from a pitcher. I’ll be eager to see how former Dodger Tony Watson does this season. Currently, he’s pitched in 4 1/3 innings and given up 7 hits, 1 homer, and 3 walks. As for closer Mark Melancon, he’s barely gotten any playing time. Just 2 innings all spring.

The key moves the Giants have made this season were to help their offense. Now we’ll have to see if these additions will help or hurt the franchise.

San Diego Padres

PEORIA, AZ – FEBRUARY 26: Padres pitching coach Darren Balsley. Getty Images. /

Where to begin with a team like this. When I first think of the Padres, I can only think of a few players names. They’re 9-8 this Spring and have not and will not be facing the Rockies this spring so we’ll all have to wait until the regular season to see these two teams clash.

We might as well start with one of the two Scott Boras success stories of this free agent market: Eric Hosmer. He got a monster of a deal so hopefully for the Padres and their fans, they will be getting what they paid for. As of now, Spring Training hasn’t been very nice to Hosmer. He’s 6 for 34 with a batting average of .176 and 10 strikeouts. Of course, he’ll perform better in the regular season. If not, that contract will be a complete bust.

The other name that most people are familiar with is Wil Myers, and he’s having a much better time in Arizona than Hosmer. Posting a .361 BA with 2 home runs, 6 RBI, and 13 hits in his 12 games. He’ll be moving to left field this season to make room at first for Hosmer. The only other guy I know that’s a position player is Austin Hedges. After starting out really well as he had a .316 BA through Tuesday, he has struggled since as he is now hitting .240. He’s a career .199 hitter in the majors so the real question is if he’ll be able give the Padres any offense and if he will finally show his true potential they’ve all been waiting on.

When it comes to pitchers for the Padres, if your name isn’t Brad Hand, then you probably have no clue who you they are. This should say something about the Padres. If they’re farm system does its job properly they’ll have a lot of untapped potential that can get them wins. However, the Padres have a big issue. They so easily can get sucked into oblivion and people would not notice. Even if they did add big name in Hosmer, I don’t see this team as a threat for a long while.

Colorado Rockies

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – MARCH 05: Charlie Blackmon. Getty Images. /

Finally a team I know like the back of my hand! So let’s get to it. The Rockies are currently 8-12. However, I believe some losses are due players making adjustments and adding more stuff to their profiles.

Let’s start with that guy on third, Nolan Arenado. He’s has a solid spring as he has put up 2 home runs with 4 RBI and 9 hits giving him a .273 BA. Moving on to the man in center, Charlie Blackmon. Blackmon has 2 homers as well as 4 RBI and 8 hits with a BA of .320.

Now that we’ve gotten the two big names out of the way, it’s time to talk about CarGo. Carlos Gonzalez was recently resigned. I’m eager to see how he’ll do. On Thursday against the Angels, he made his Cactus League debut and hit cleanup and played right field. He went 1-for-3 with a single that came in first at-bat off Andrew Heaney, who is projected to be in the Angels starting rotation. However, we’ll have to give him a little bit more time to see how he’s doing in spring.

Let’s also take a second and talk about Ian Desmond. He’s not doing too hot right now as he’s 3-for-31. However, it’s Spring let’s cut him some slack. He’s got time to get ready for the regular season. The guys to watch are actually the younger kids that don’t have roster spots and seeing the battles going on with that as well.

The pitching this Spring has been wild. Many of them have high ERAs like Jon Gray (10.22) or German Marquez (10.57) that won’t at all correlate to how their seasons will go. Some of these guys are changing things up, like Antonio Senzatela adding new pitches to his arsenal, so I’d expect them to high ERAs or a bunch of hits if it means their working on their stuff and build their repertoires. By the time, the regular season comes the rotation will be set and teams won’t know what hit them.

The Rockies have a strong team with a young lot of players they can look to in times of need. This Spring has been a reassuring one for many when it comes to not only the present state of the team, but also the future of it.

Takeaways

Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Getty Images. /

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So, this is what the standings currently look like, entering Friday, in the Cactus League with all 5 teams that reside in the National League:

San Diego Padres, 10-8 record, .556 winning percentage
Arizona Diamondbacks, 11-9 record, .550 winning percentage
Los Angeles Dodgers, 11-9 record, .550 winning percentage (tied with the Diamondbacks for second place among teams in the National League West.
San Francisco Giants, 10-10 record, .500 winning percentage
Colorado Rockies, 8-12 record, .400 winning percentage

That’d be pretty crazy if this happened. After going through each team I feel as though the Dodgers are still the Rockies biggest threat. The Dbacks aren’t as scary as they were last season due to the loss of J.D. Martinez and many of their players are injury prone and/or already peaked at their career potential.

Even Zack Greinke, the D’Backs ace, isn’t a big threat due to his fastball only being between 84-86 mph and him potentially missing opening day. The Padres would need some miraculous miracle to not stay in last place on the team they’ve got. The Giants’ offseason seems to be making quite the impression with journalists. So much of an impression that many believe they’ll surpass the Rockies and perhaps even get a Wild Card spot. It’s a bit…outrageous we’d be living in a dream world if that were to happen.

Next: Pros and Cons of CarGo signing

In the end, the current standings of Spring Training will most likely not match what happens during the regular season…and, as of now, that’s a good sign for Rockies fans.

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