2010 NL West: Colorado Rockies Ready for Weight of Expectation This Time

Saving the best for last is always a nice motivational ploy and, in my world, the National League West is the light at the end of any Major League Baseball tunnel.

Given its steady improvement in recent years, we're getting closer to the day when your average baseball fan will experience similar sentiments.

The division once known as the Mild Mild West is no longer a punching bag. It's produced three of the last four NL Wild Cards and its produced four of the last six NL Championship Series participants.

In other words, the balance of Senior Circuit power is shifting toward the Pacific.

The West isn't ready to lay claim to the best division in the National League quite yet given the projected struggles of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks (until Brandon Webb returns or a surprise starter emerges).

Nevertheless, the three clubs that finished atop the 2009 standings—the champion Los Angeles Dodgers, wild-card-holding Colorado Rockies, and down-to-the-wire contending San Francisco Giants—field some dashing young talent.

Kids who could blossom into super-duper stars at any moment—guys like Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, and Troy Tulowitzki already have and more are on their way.

Even the most casual MLB fan will soon know the names of Matt Cain, Pablo Sandoval, Clayton Kershaw, Andre Ethier, Carlos Gonzalez, and Ubaldo Jimenez.

Both the Fathers and Snakes have their up-and-comers, too.

Check 'em out.

Fifth Place—San Diego Padres, Unless You Believe in the Power of Prayer

Projected Starting Lineup and Key Pitchers

Catcher: Yorvit Torrealba/Nick Hundley
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez
Second Base: David Eckstein
Third Base: Chase Headley
Shortstop: Everth Cabrera
Left Field: Kyle Blanks
Center Field: Scott Hairston/Tony Gwynn, Jr.
Right Field: Will Venable

Ace: Chris Young (R)
No. 2: John Garland (R)
No. 3: Kevin Correia (R)
No. 4: Mat Latos (R)
No. 5: Clayton Richard (L)

Closer: Heath Bell (R)
Set-Up: Mike Adams (R)

I wonder if Bum fans look at the Friars and shudder.

Remember, San Diego was a heavy-hitter in the NL West before owner John Moores' divorce triggered a fiscal focus that has torn the Padres' nucleus limb from limb.

Trevor Hoffman and Jake Peavy were the first to go. This year, it appears Gonzalez, Young, and Bell are ready for postage and merely awaiting a destination.

Fortunately for fans in San Diego, the process has been underway for a while now and the youngsters are beginning to evolve.

Blanks is an athletic beast—as you can see from the picture, he's already enormous (6'6", 270 lbs.) at 23 and it's a raw size. He'll add muscle in the next few years, which means you could have a guy pushing a lean 285 around the bases at a good clip (he's pretty fast).

As a Giant die-hard, I just got a chill.

The two-H babes—Headley and Hundley—have given glimpses of their bright futures and expect Headley to make a niche for himself amongst fantasy circles.

With Venable and Tony Gwynn's kid also showing promise plus Latos and Richard making progress, the Padres won't be doormats for much longer.

But they will be in 2010.

Fourth Place—Arizona Diamondbacks, Who Only Have Four Starting Pitchers

Projected Starting Lineup and Key Pitchers

Catcher: Miguel Montero/Chris Snyder
First Base: Adam LaRoche
Second Base: Kelly Johnson
Third Base: Mark Reynolds
Shortstop: Stephen Drew
Left Field: Conor Jackson
Center Field: Chris Young
Right Field: Justin Upton

Ace: Dan Haren (R)
No. 2: Brandon Webb (R)
No. 3: Edwin Jackson (R)
No. 4: Ian Kennedy (R)
No. 5: Rodrigo Lopez (R)

Closer: Chad Qualls (R)
Set-Up: Bobby Howry (R)

The marital discord taking a bite out of both San Diego and LA explains their shortcomings, but what's Arizona's excuse?

Yes, they were expecting Webb to be ready and it is his slow recovery (or reluctance to get the surgery in the first place) that has forced the Snakes to rely on either Billy Buckner (R) or...gulp...Kris Benson (R) when they need a fifth starter in mid-April.

On the other hand, what's the excuse for the Buckner/Benson back-up plan? Or for Lopez to be a prominent figure on the starting mound?

Haren and Jackson at the top should be golden and Kennedy has potential, but dear me.

And don't get me started on Howry as a primary set-up man.

Granted, the offense will score enough runs on many nights to make Diamondback pitching a moot point.

I loathe his total disregard for the strikeout, but Reynolds is a brute with a bat and he also contributes with his legs. That's pretty sweet contribution from a premium defensive position (even if he's scary at the hot corner).

Drew regressed a bit in 2009, but he's only 26 so don't be surprised if he makes up the difference and then some in 2010. Even if he doesn't, his bat is icing on the leather cake; he's a slick fielder who's only getting better.

Jackson's 2009 was an aberration of health and he probably won't snap immediately back to being a 20 homer/.300 threat, but he should get close.

The catching pair and the Atlanta Exiles are clearly the weak spots, but each of the quartet will give you stretches of quality production even in down years.

The real jewel, though, is Justin Upton.

All reports out of Spring Training had the 22-year-old meteor of talent abusing the baseball. This is very bad news for the chuckers who have the displeasure of facing Upton, considering he hit .300 with an OPS of .898 and 26 bombs with 20 swipes.

That gets another "dear me," but for envious reasons.

If Webb comes back in top form and the Snakes can hold it together until he does, the NL West becomes a four-team donnybrook.

Third Place—LA Dodgers, and McCourts Only Have Themselves to Blame

Projected Starting Lineup and Key Pitchers

Catcher: Russell Martin
First Base: James Loney
Second Base: Blake DeWitt
Third Base: Casey Blake
Shortstop: Rafael Furcal
Left Field: Manny Ramirez
Center Field: Matt Kemp
Right Field: Andre Ethier

Ace: Clayton Kershaw (L)
No. 2: Vicente Padilla (R)
No. 3: Chad Billingsley (R)
No. 4: Hiroki Kuroda (R)
No. 5: Charlie Haeger (R)

Closer: Jonathan Broxton (R)
Set-Up: George Sherrill (L)

Warning: what follows is an attempt at objectivity, but not a guarantee of its achievement because I hate the Bums.

If I were a Dodger fan, I wouldn't speak Frank McCourt's name. As a San Francisco loyalist, I cherish it.

The Bums would be the runaway favorite to return to the NLCS for a third consecutive year and possibly progress to the World Series for the first time since 1988 if the owner had sprung for a top-flight starter.

With the exceptional and all-around talent of Kemp in center, the clutch hitting and elite production of Ethier in right, the looming presence of Ramirez in left, and potential packed at first in Loney, this club is one plus-arm away from a shot at immortality.

Even with a newly beefed up Martin struggling and adequate-not-spectacular pieces in Blake, Furcal, and DeWitt.

Instead, the Dodger suits went with a blinding southpaw (Kershaw) and a ball of dirt.

OK, that's probably a bit harsh—Billingsley is only a year removed from being mentioned as a future ace (but what an ugly year it was) and Padilla pitched admirably after coming over from the Texas Rangers.

Nevertheless, Kuroda hasn't been too impressive when he's been healthy (not all that often) and Haeger's a knuckleballer. Since his last name isn't "Wakefield," that makes him a dicey proposition.

Furthermore, though it's not yet a commonly held opinion, Broxton's postseason performance shows precisely why I'm not as sold on his merits. He will be fantastic for the most parts, but those big saves aren't forgone conclusions.

However, the rest of the bullpen is undeniably rugged.

As long as the McCourts play tug-of-war with the future of the franchise (at least as far as its offset value in the community property State of California is concerned), it appears as if the Boys in Blue will go without that last, critical piece.

So let's hear it for the McCourts!

Second Place—San Francisco Giants, Because the Pitching Is That Good

Projected Starting Lineup and Key Pitchers

Catcher: Bengie Molina
First Base: Aubrey Huff
Second Base: Freddy Sanchez
Third Base: Pablo Sandoval
Shortstop: Edgar Renteria
Left Field: Mark DeRosa
Center Field: Aaron Rowand
Right Field: John Bowker

Ace: Tim Lincecum (R)
No. 2: Matt Cain (R)
No. 3: Barry Zito (L)
No. 4: Todd Wellemeyer (R)
No. 5: Jonathan Sanchez (L)

Closer: Brian Wilson (R)
Set-Up: Jeremy Affeldt (L)

Warning: what follows is an attempt at objectivity, but not a guarantee of its achievement because I love the Giants.

I was tempted to put them atop the division, I really was. I think it was for good reason, but I have to acknowledge the likelihood that my cautious optimism is becoming less cautious.

Consequently, let's dial it back a bit without slighting the fellas.

The local heroes got better offensively during the offseason regardless of what the mass media is selling.

Nobody is suggesting the additions of Huff and DeRosa plus the re-signing of Molina, Uribe, and Sanchez will turn San Fran into an NL-version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. Nobody's suggesting the bats will even be good. But they don't need to be.

It's almost impossible to overstate how putrid the Gents' "offense" was in 2009. Pick a metric and there's a decent chance los Gigantes were at or very near the absolute bottom.

Yet the Freak, Cainer, Sanchez, and Zito proved that they can make due with a terrible offense. Give these guys, now bolstered by Wellemeyer's stellar spring, just a mediocre lineup and even a slight regression by some of the arms should still yield postseason results.

With a year's worth of experience and growth under Little Money's strained belt as well as improvement from Rowand, Renteria, and (hopefully) Bowker, the offense should be exactly where it needs to be—mediocre.

From there, the rotation and suffocating bullpen—led by the locked-down Wilson and Affeldt, but fortified by filth like Sergio Romo (R) and Dan Runzler (L)—will do the rest.

The Rockies look as treacherous as their namesakes so I don't think it's totally realistic to pencil San Francisco in as the champs.

But the Wild Card will do.

Champion—Colorado Rockies, Who Will Continue to Build on 2009 Run

Projected Starting Lineup and Key Pitchers

Catcher: Chris Iannetta
First Base: Todd Helton
Second Base: Clint Barmes
Third Base: Ian Stewart
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki
Left Field: Carlos Gonzalez
Center Field: Dexter Fowler/Seth Smith
Right Field: Brad Hawpe

Ace: Ubaldo Jimenez (R)
No. 2: Jorge De La Rosa (L)
No. 3: Aaron Cook (R)
No. 4: Jason Hammel (R)
No. 5: Jeff Francis (L)

Closer: Huston Street (R)
Set-Up: Franklin Morales (L)

You can almost etch it in stone that the Rox will disappoint in 2010 given the current level of hysteria surrounding the team. But no amount of mental gymnastics can deliver me to an October that doesn't have Colorado perched atop the division.

Maybe even nipping at the Philadelphia Phillies' heels for a berth in the World Series.

The pitching—forever a self-destruct button on the Rockies' season—has crept up on the rest of the Show. I wouldn't say it's a strength quite yet, but the dirt and depth in both the rotation and bullpen is accumulating.

Jimenez found a measure of consistency in 2009 and that was the only thing keeping him from the next tier. Given his physical assets, he might blow right through the top tier and take up permanent residence alongside the Tim Lincecums, Roy Halladays, and Felix Hernandezs of the baseball world.

De Rosa's 2009 line was hampered by a dreadful start, but you could mount a serious argument for him as Colorado's top ace during their white-hot streak.

Cook went down at the end of 2009 or else who knows how far Rocktober (dumbest copyright ever) would've gone?

Hammel is a Tampa Bay Ray castoff—considering the talent in that system, such designation is probably a compliment. Meanwhile, Francis was the ace once upon a time and could be the trump card if he returns to that form.

As long as Street's health is a concern, the bullpen has some questions. Getting the ball to whoever the closer is shouldn't be one of them.

Of course, there's a lot of buzz on offense as well.

Tulo at short has a lot of people thinking Most Valuable Player, which is insane in a league shared with Albert Pujols, but still high praise.

Big things are expected from Stewart while steady contributions will be demanded from Hawpe, Helton, Barmes, and Iannetta.

The real prizes—other than Tulowitzki—are in the outfield.

Fowler, a human bolt of lightning at 24, is in a time-share until he gets a better handle on right-handed pitching (he's a switch-hitter). Once that happens, and it will happen given this kid's gifts, he'll be one of the premier speedsters in the game.

Gonzalez has much less distance between himself and superstardom.

The 24-year-old showed in only half a season why he was targeted in trades for both Dan Haren and Matt Holliday. He also showed why the Diamondbacks and Oakland Athletics will be kicking themselves for years to come.

The last time the Colorado Rockies used an explosive string of victories to propel them into the postseason, they crumbled under the subsequent burden of expectation.

Expect no such thing this year.