2011 MLB Season Preview Pt.1: The NL West

To kick off my preview special I figured we'd start things off in the NL West where our defending champions, the San Francisco Giants reside. If things play out like I think, we should have an interesting three team race between the Giants, the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. So without further ado let's take a look!

1. Colorado Rockies- In the offseason the Rockies were able to lock up superstars Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez is likely to move from left field to right this season and has made an effort to bulk up in the offseason(he played last year at 200 pounds and hopes to play this one between 210-215). They addressed some bullpen needs through a trade(Lindstrom and Paulino) and brought in Ty Wiggington and Jose Lopez to compete with Eric Young Jr. for the job at second base. The Rockies re-signed LHP Jorge De La Rosa in the offseason and let the often injured Jeff Francis walk. Jhoulys Chacin will be counted on in the 3 spot of the rotation, he finished his rookie season 9-11 with a 3.28 ERA in 28 games. The Rockies have had some historical finishes in the month of September, if they can just avoid their slow starts that plague them they could lock the division up early this year.

Key additions: RHP Matt Lindstrom, INF Ty Wiggington, 2B/3B Jose Lopez, RHP Felipe Paulino and RHP John Maine.

Key losses: 3B Melvin Mora, 2B Clint Barmes, C Miguel Olivo, LHP Jeff Francis, RHP Octavio Dotel, RHP Manny Delcarmen and RHP Joel Beimel.

2. San Francisco Giants- The Giants didn't lose many pieces from their World Series team which means they didn't really add much either. They still have the most talented starting rotation in the NL West but their offense worries me. Outside of Buster Posey this lineup has a lot of questions. Can guys like Aubrey Huff and Cody Ross repeat performances from last year? Which Pablo Sandivol shows up, the slugger from 2009 or the overweight disappointment from 2010? Where does Mark DeRosa fit on this team? Left field for Pat Burrell, maybe third base if Sandivol struggles? The one thing the Giants may miss is the shortstop combo of Edgar Renteria(2010 World Series MVP)/Juan Uribe, the aging Miguel Tejada takes over there. Look for the Giants and Rockies to battle it out at the end of the year if the Giants score some runs for their pitchers.

Key additions: SS Miguel Tejada and RHP Jeff Suppan.

Key losses: SS Edgar Renteria and INF Juan Uribe.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers- The Dodgers really didn't make any big moves in the offseason due to a messy divorce going on with the team's owner. A divorce which could ultimately cost this team a run at the division. The team headed into the spring with its five starters set but the big question is can closer Jonathan Broxton bounce back from an awful second half of 2010. The Dodgers still have Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and James Loney who will be counted on heavily to carry this team. Replacing Russell Martin with Rod Barajas isn't an upgrade. With no true number 2 hitter this team could struggle offensively.

Key additions: RHP Matt Guerrier, INF Juan Uribe, RHP Jon Garland, RHP Blake Hawksworth and OF Marcus Thames.

Key losses: C Russell Martin, LHP George Sherrill, INF Ryan Theriot, and OF Scott Podsednik.

4. Arizona Diamonbacks- New GM Kevin Towers vowed to changed things at Arizona and his first goal was a D'Backs bullpen that had a 5.74 ERA and blew 24 saves last year. He did that by bringing in J.J. Putz to close and RHP David Hernandez who should be a set-up man to Putz. One signing I like is Micah Owings, who Arizona plans on using as both a relief pitcher and first baseman. Owings can hit which is why he's being looked at to do both. This team has some young talent in Stephen Drew, Justin Upton and Chris Young. It depends on whether or not they all show up. With a weak starting rotation, the D'Backs are still a year or two away from a division run. But GM Kevin Towers will get them back on track sooner rather than later.

Key additions: RHP J.J. Putz, 3B Melvin Mora, RHP David Hernandez, RHP Kam Mickolio, LHP Zach Duke and RHP Armando Galarraga.

Key losses: 3B Mark Reynolds, RHP Brandon Webb and 1B Adam LaRoche.

5. San Diego Padres- There's no easy way to replace Adrian Gonzalez a big part of last year's team that made a surprise run in the NL West. Not mention the Padres lost three-fifths of their Opening Day rotation. But the good news is they still have ace, Mat Latos and closer Heath Bell... for now at least. Latos has stuff to be a number 1 and Bell is sure to be mentioned as a trade piece near the deadline to a contender. The Padres are sure to have a battle for the number 5 spot in their rotation. With the exception of 3B Chase Headley, the Padres have a whole new infield with some names looking to recover from down years last year. They would be SS Jason Bartlett, 2B Orlando Hudson and 1B Brad Hawpe. Bottom line this team won't contend in the long haul this season.

Key additions: 2B Orlando Hudson, SS Jason Bartlett, 1B Brad Hawpe, INF Jorge Cantu, OF Cameron Maybin and RHP Aaron Harang.

Key losses: 1B Adrian Gonzalez, RHP Chris Young, RHP Kevin Correia, RHP Jon Garland, OF Tony Gwynn Jr., SS Miguel Tejada, OF Matt Stairs and OF Scott Hairston.