MLB Preview: NL West

The NL West had only one team win the World Series in the first decade of this century. That trend doesn't look to change as we start a new decade, though the Giants did add some offense over the winter. Last year's division champs, the Dodgers, did little during the off-season, but their pitching could propel them to a pennant. Judging from each team's depth chart from MLB.com, here's a preview of the clubs in their predicted order of finish.

San Francisco Giants:

The Giants beefed up their offense during the winter, which should help them overtake the Dodgers as division champs. Free agent Mark DeRosa was brought in to play left field and/or third base, depending on where the Giants want to use 3B/1B hitting machine Pablo Sandoval. Most of the time Sandoval will play third and DeRosa will be in left, since San Francisco brought in veteran slugger Aubrey Huff to play first. The middle of the infield is one of the team's underrated strengths, with veteran Edgar Renteria at short and Freddy Sanchez at second.

Other than DeRosa, the Giants outfield has question marks. CF Aaron Rowand has been dependable (15 home runs, .261 BA in '09) since signing with the Giants a few years ago, but the club is counting on youngsters Eugenio Velez and Nate Schierholtz to fill right field. Another youngster, Buster Posey, was slated to be the regular catcher until the club re-signed Benji Molina. The talented Posey could be worked into the first base mix and share time behind the plate with Molina.

The Giants will win the division if their pitching is as good as it was last year. Cy Young candidate Tim Lincecum will head a rotation that that has former Cy Young winner Barry Zito and 14-game winner Matt Cain. The bullpen will be led by closer Brian Wilson, who has saved 86 games over the last two seasons.

Los Angeles Dodgers:

Manager Joe Torre may have a difficult time leading his squad to another division championship, even though the lineup is solid. The Dodgers did little over the winter to solidify its offense. In fact, it actually took a step backward when valuable speedster Juan Pierre left to sign with the White Sox. That loss limits the Dodger outfield depth, especially when one considers that LF Manny Ramirez is coming off of a somewhat disappointing season. Reed Johnson was brought in to replace Pierre, but he will not provide the same speed, average or championship experience. CF Matt Kemp and RF Andre Ethier are solid players, but they have always had to compete for playing time with the presence of Pierre looming over their shoulders. The lack of competition could have a negative effect on their performances.

The infield will look the same as last year with veteran Casey Blake (18 HR, .280 BA) at the hot corner and James Loney, whose 13 homers and .281 BA are below average for a first baseman. SS Rafael Furcal is solid, but his double play partner will either be journeyman Ronny Belliard or unproven Jamie Carroll. Russell Martin is an All-Star catcher, but he needs to bounce back to his his 2008 form after a sub-par season.

The pitching will, as always, be an asset for Los Angeles. Chad Billingsley leads the a stellar rotation that is still not equal to that of San Francisco. He is joined by Hiroki Kuroda, Vicente Padilla, and Clayton Kershaw. The bullpen has experience and good young arms, led by hard-throwing closer Jonathan Broxton.

Colorado Rockies:

Coors Field should be an exciting place to see a ball game this year. The team has a good mix of veterans and experienced young players that have all been through pennant races. The talented lineup is anchored by future Hall of Fame 1B Todd Helton. At the other corner is Ian Stewart, who hit 25 homers but batted just .228 last year. The middle infield has the potential All-Star combo of SS Troy Tulowitski (32 home runs, .297 BA in '09) and 2B Clint Barmes, who could be shifted to third if Stewart doesn't show more consistency. In that case, rookie Eric Young Jr. would play second and add more speed to the lineup. Chris Ianetta and Miguel Olivo will share the catching duties.

The outfield has slugger Brad Hawpe in right, and two of the most exciting players in the other two spots. CF Dexter Fowler is among the best leadoff hitters in the league, and young Carlos Gonzalez started to show off the tools scouts have bragged about while moving through several organizations.

The pitching is not quite as solid as the lineup. The rotation will be led by 15-game winner Ubaldo Jiminez and veteran Aaron Cook. The Rockies are optimistic that Jeff Francis, one of the arms that launched the team to the NL pennant in 2007, will be fully recovered from the surgery that caused him to miss all of last season. The bullpen should be one of the most experienced in the division, with veterans such as Matt Belisle and Rafael Betancourt counted on to get the games to prominent closer Huston Street.

Arizona Diamondbacks:

The D-Backs have some solid power in the lineup for a change. 3B Mark Reynolds could hit 50 homers this year in spite of the many strikeouts that accompany them. 1B Adam LaRoche is certainly capable of hitting more than the 25 he blasted last year, and even the middle infielders have shown flashes of power. SS Stephen Drew and 2B Kelly Johnson, who came over from Atlanta, combined for over 20 homers in 2009. That power comes at the price of subpar batting averages for many of those players.

The outfield does not boast as much power, but they do have better athletes there. RF Justin Upton hit .300, swiped 20 bases and cranked out 26 homers last year, and he should build on those numbers in 2010. CF Chris Young, once the brightest star in the organization, saw his production drop dramatically. He had fewer than half as many homers last year as he had in 2007, and he hit a measly .212. LF Conor Jackson hopes to increase his .281 career batting average after an injury limited him to just 30 games last year. If he has not fully recovered, or if Young's production continues to slide, Gerardo Parra is poised to take over as a regular in the lineup. Behind the plate, veteran Chris Snyder will have to give way to Miguel Montero, whose 16 homers and .291 BA far surpass his numbers.

Pitching will be the pride of this organization once again. Perennial Cy Young candidate Brandon Webb will head the rotation, which also features Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson. Chad Qualls will be the closer for a bullpen made up mainly of unknown talents.

San Diego Padres:

This team has one star surrounded by a bunch of young talent. That one star, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, put up huge numbers (40 homers, 99 RBI) last season. The only other veteran in the lineup will be weak-hitting 2B David Eckstein. The left side of the infield will feature 3B Chase Headley, who is being shifted from left to replace departed Kevin Kouzmanoff. Young Everth Cabrera takes over at short, where the club hopes he can hit better than the .255 clip he managed for just over half of a season in '09. If either Cabrera or Headley struggles, veteran Jerry Hairston waits in the wings to be in the everyday lineup. Catcher Nick Hundley will split time with Yorvet Torrealba behind the plate.

The outfield has prospects in the corners. Big Kyle Blanks swings a potent bat and should be athletic enough to stick in left. The club hopes Will Venable finally has enough seasoning to take over in right field regularly, even though he is still unproven at the big league level. Veteran Scott Hairston will patrol centerfield and will have to provide some speed for a lineup with a lot of potential base cloggers. The Padres do have Tony Gwynn in the outfield as well, only it's the son rather than the legendary hall of Famer himself.

The pitching rotation features another hall of Fame name in C. Young. He's 4-game winner Chris Young, not the Hall of Famer for whom the coveted award was named. Young is joined in the rotation by 12-game winner Kevin Correia and veteran Jon Garland. The only known talent in the bullpen is closer Heath Bell, who saved 42 games last year.