2012 Diamondbacks Rotation and Bullpen with Trevor Cahill and the New Guys

For Arizona Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers, late 2011 has been all about utility benchwarmers and veteran pitching.

For the past month and a half, Towers and the Diamondbacks front office has been busy mapping out the team's 2012 personnel strategy. From tweaking the 2012 starting lineup to overhauling the Diamondbacks' look on the mound, Towers summed up his biggest wish for this 2012 offseason in three words: "more veteran pitching."

In addition to re-signing most of the 2011 position players who elected for free agency in late October, the following is a list of the Diamondbacks' pitcher shakeups:

Returning MLB Pitchers and Experienced Prospects (13 Pitchers)

D-Backs pitchers and prospects with MLB experience returning in 2012 include Josh Collmenter, Sam Demel, Barry Enright, David Hernandez, Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, Zach Kroenke, Wade Miley, Joe Paterson, J.J. Putz, Bryan Shaw, Mike Zagurski (acquired from Phillies in late Sept. 2011) and Brad Ziegler  

New Diamondbacks Pitchers in 2012 (Five Pitchers)

• Jonathan Albaladejo (Signed as a Free Agent, 12/13/11)
• Craig Breslow (Acquired in Trade with Oakland, 12/09/11)
• Trevor Cahill (Acquired in Trade with Oakland, 12/09/11)
• Joe Martinez (Signed as a Free Agent, 12/06/11)
• Takashi Saito (Signed as a Free Agent, 12/14/11)

Pitchers not Returning from 2011 (5 Pitchers)

Earlier this month, the Diamondbacks decided against tendering contracts to Joe Saunders and Micah Owings. Pitcher Kam Mickolio was additionally released on Nov. 7, while pitchers Zach Duke and Jason Marquis became free agents on Oct. 31.

With new possibilities abound on the Arizona mound, the following is a glimpse at the 2012 opening week's starting rotation and bullpen occupants, if the season were to start with no further trades or transactions.

Starter No. 1: Ian Kennedy

Position: Starting Pitcher

2011 Stats: 21-4 Record, 2.88 ERA, 198 Ks

If the Los Angeles Dodgers and ace Clayton Kershaw just happened to be located in the American League, Kennedy would have undoubtedly been the No. 1 pitcher in the NL West.

With 21 wins, Kennedy tied Kershaw for most in the National League, finishing with an outstanding WHIP of 1.09 and a fifth-best batting average against of .227.

If he manages to keep up his 2011 performance through the first half of 2012, Kennedy will be a shoo-in for the 2012 NL All-Star team.

Coming off his Cy Young candidacy and GIBBY Award-winning breakout 2011 season, Kennedy will be the Diamondbacks' No. 1 starter.

Starter No. 2: Daniel Hudson

Position: Starting Pitcher

2011 Stats: 16-12 Record, 3.49 ERA, 169 Ks

Wrapping up his first season as a full-time starter, Daniel Hudson recorded 16 wins while holding his opposition to a .255 batting average and 1.20 WHIP.

In 2011, Hudson proved he is more than capable of handling the immense starting pitcher's workload. He started 33 games (fourth best in the NL) and pitched 222 innings (fifth best). Hudson additionally pitched three complete games last season, fifth most in the NL.

If that weren't enough, Hudson picked up his first career Silver Slugger Award in 2011, hitting an impressive .277 (18-for-65) with a .678 OPS. Those numbers are pretty admirable for any player experiencing his first full season of MLB work, much less a pitcher.

Though Hudson faltered in his one Division Series performance (five runs in 5.1 IP), expect him to bounce back for a 2012 season that has the potential to be even better than his 2011 campaign.

Starter No. 3: Trevor Cahill

Position: Starting Pitcher

2011 Stats: 12-14 Record, 4.16 ERA, 147 K (OAK)

Before Trevor Cahill's subpar 2011 season, he recorded 18 wins while conceding just eight losses for the Oakland Athletics in 2010.

Cahill's 2010 season provided all the potential the Diamondbacks needed to see before acquiring him earlier this month in a five-player trade that saw highly-touted D-Backs prospect Jarrod Parker leave for the Bay Area.

Cahill's 2010 and 2011 seasons are night and day. In addition to his phenomenal 18-win performance in 2010, Cahill threw a 2.97 ERA with one complete-game shutout.

Like Kennedy and Hudson, Cahill is a workhorse, starting an AL-leading 34 games in 2011. His 207.2 IP was 15th in the American League while his 2010 opposing batting average of .220 was good enough for third place.

Perhaps a change of scenery is all Cahill needs to bounce back from his down year and prove to all of us the wisdom and genius of GM Kevin Towers, the man who surely saw it coming.

Starter No. 4: Josh Collmenter

Position: Starting Pitcher

2011 Stats: 10-10 Record, 3.38 ERA, 100 K

After making his MLB debut in 2011, Josh Collmenter was tapped as the Diamondbacks' de facto fifth starter beginning in May.

After winning his first career start with a six-inning shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 14, Collmenter performed fairly well for a rookie, ultimately earning a pressure-filled NLDS Game 3 start.

With the Diamondbacks on the verge of elimination, Collmenter powered through a fierce Milwaukee Brewers lineup, surrendering just one run in seven innings of work and picking up the vital victory.

At the time, Collmenter himself admitted that he was surprised with the Game 3 result: "I exceeded my expectations."

If Collmenter is able to harness the energy and momentum he clearly generated with his postseason performance in Game 3, he will have a breakout 2012 season as the D-Backs' No. 4 starter.

Starter No. 5: Wade Miley

Position: Starting Pitcher

2011 Stats: 4-2 Record, 4.50 ERA, 25 K

Rounding out this young Diamondbacks rotation is newcomer Wade Miley.

Miley pitched just eight games for Arizona in late 2011, making his debut on Aug. 20 in a newbie-jitters loss to the Atlanta Braves.

By his next appearance on Aug. 25 against the Washington Nationals, however, Miley was back on track and pitched six shutout innings to record his first MLB victory.

Miley adds a necessary component to the Diamondbacks rotation that each of the other four starters ahead of him do not—Miley is left handed.

Just before leaving for the big leagues this past August, Miley was named PCL Pitcher of the Week for AAA Reno, demonstrating his potential to perform well.

Miley is on track to become Arizona's least tenured starter in 2012, rounding out a solid rotation that includes touches of Cy Young-level brilliance, experience, youth and excitement.

Bullpen: Middle Relief, Setup Men and the Closer

In 2011, the workhorse habits of Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and Joe Saunders found the Diamondbacks bullpen on easy street.

With their starters often pitching seven innings or more, the bullpen rarely was forced to throw a reliever for more than one inning at a time, creating an atmosphere where all bullpen pitchers—save for closer J.J. Putz—were fairly interchangeable.

When reliever Zach Duke was forced into the bullpen in mid-July, he was one of the few D-Backs relievers who would be regularly called upon to pitch for more than one inning. Pitcher Micah Owings was another 2011 pitcher who occasionally threw two innings out of the bullpen.

With Duke and Owings both current free agents, the one-inning-plus duties might fall to Brad Ziegler, who had occasional multi-inning outings in 2011. However, Ziegler was also used as Arizona's right-handed specialist in 2011, a role he might very well return to in 2012.

Even so, manager Kirk Gibson runs the Diamondbacks so that pitching duties past Inning No. 6 are evenly distributed. The days of long relievers are over, meaning the Diamondbacks could see a slew of various talent filling in the middle-late few innings of each ball game.

Bryan Shaw was one of a few Diamondbacks pitchers selected to throw in non-save and moderate blowout situations. Expect Shaw to retain that role.

Setup man David Hernandez and closer J.J. Putz should both retain their roles in 2012.

The New Diamondbacks

Jonathan Albaladejo: Unhappy with his playing time in 2010, Albaladejo asked the New York Yankees to release him so he could pursue increased playing time in Japan, with the NPB's Yomiuri Giants. Albaladejo is this year's newbie wildcard. He presumably agreed to the Diamondbacks' deal because he expects to receive ample playing time. Will his extra work in Japan pay off? Stay tuned. 

Craig Breslow: As a southpaw, Breslow joins Joe Paterson as the second left handed pitcher in the Arizona bullpen. Unlike Paterson—who has been used almost exclusively as a lefty specialist—expect Breslow to regularly pitch to more than just one or two batters. Over his career, he has proven he can retire righties, too.

Joe Martinez: After spending 2011 in the Indians' minor league system, don't expect Joe Martinez to start 2012 at the MLB level. For better or worse, Diamondbacks fans might have to wait until September's annual call-ups to see Martinez in action.

Takashi Saito: The Diamondbacks wanted veteran pitching this offseason and struck the jackpot in 41-year-old Takashi Saito. Saito appeared in only 30 games for Milwaukee last season and he likely will appear in a similar or fewer number of games in 2012. Saito has never had an MLB season with an ERA above 3.00, which means he might join Ziegler in the role of right-handed specialist. 

In the end, because the Diamondbacks opted not to significantly alter their infield or outfield, the team was left with an excellent opportunity to tweak their pitching staff.

By adding the likes of Cahill, Breslow, Saito and Albaladejo, the Diamondbacks have put themselves in a prominent position to win on their own terms and by using pitchers GM Kevin Towers has handpicked for the job.