2013 MLB Season Predictions: Projecting the division and award winners
By Matt Shetler
National League West
Matt Shetler: Los Angeles- This will be a very good division as the Dodgers, Giants and Diamondbacks will all be near the top all year long. But at the end of the day, the Dodgers have the pitching depth and a stacked lineup and have the resources to improve the team if need be.
Mar 14, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp (27) grounds into a fielder
Matt Gajtka: Los Angeles- The Dodgers have their flaws, but assuming Matt Kemp can get back to MVP form, they should be the class of the West. With limitless supplies of regional TV money, L.A. will be major players at the trade deadline, just in case the first half doesn’t go as planned.
Drew Shetler: Los Angeles- The Dodgers went out and signed big names to compete with the Angels. With the signing of the Zack Greinke they have the best one two punch in baseball, with him and Clayton Kershaw. The Giants have enough pitching and Tim Lincecum should have a better year than he did last year. They will get just enough offense to stay competitive but not enough to win the division.
Zac Weiss: San Francisco- The Giants are loaded with talent and if Tim Lincecum can fix himself their rotation is that much scarier. Having Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong, an effective Lincecum and a newly confident Barry Zito in the rotation makes it hard for opponents to get wins. The offense stays the same with Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro who were huge last season joining Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey. The Dodgers pitching staff is also loaded as they have Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke [assuming he’s healthy], Hyun-Jin Ryu, Josh Beckett, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang. They likely have to trade one or more of those last three names. The bullpen is set with Javy Guerra, Kenley Jansen and Brandon League in the back end. A healthy Matt Kemp added with Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Eithier is dangerous. When Carl Crawford and Hanley Ramirez recover from injuries, this team will be very dangerous.
The Diamondbacks have a solid bullpen with Heath Bell, David Hernandez and J.J. Putz in the back end. Jason Kubel leads the outfield although Adam Eaton, their prospect interests me, even though he will begin the season on the disabled list. Paul Goldschmidt also intrigues me. This team could hover around .500. The Padres still need work but have a decent top end of the rotation with Edinson Volquez, a potentially healthy Cory Luebke along with Jason Marquis and Clayton Richard. Carlos Quentin and Cameron Maybin have power bats. I cannot say enough about Chase Headley assuming he is healthy. He was up for MVP and finished fifth after hitting 31 homers.
The Rockies are led by former player Walt Weiss [no relation] but they will go as far as Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki take them. Tulowitzki needs to be healthy, although Josh Rutledge was a solid replacement last year and he will take a starting position. Their starting pitching is a huge weakness and Jhoulys Chacin will get the ball on Opening Day. He was 3-5 last season.