San Francisco Giants: NL West Power Rankings

Rank #4: The Arizona Diamondbacks 

Sep 28, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks players look on from the dugout in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Chase Field. The Cardinals won 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Diamondbacks are at number four, but they are the sleeper team in the west. They don’t always play well, but when they do, they are very good. Since 2002, Arizona, has had five winning seasons, three playoff appearances, two 81-81 seasons and six losing seasons.

Which is why they are the sleeper team in the west. Every other year or so is a decent, if not good year, in terms of winning. In 2014, the Diamondbacks finished in last, with 65-97 record, so 2015 could be one of their bounce back years.

The Diamondbacks, have not made too many moves this offseason other than winning the Yasmany Tomas sweepstakes. They have also added some starting pitching options in Rubby De La Rosa, Lucas Harrell, Jeremy Hellickson, and Allen Webster. The biggest bright spot in these signings though, is the promising young slugger, Tomas.

Tomas has played five seasons in Cuba with the Serie Nacional team. In his five seasons, he has had a batting average over .280 with at least 15 home runs or more each season. In the 2012-2013 Serie Nacional regular season, Tomas had a slash line of .289/.364/.538 with 15 home runs and 34 walks. This was after his breakout 2011-2012 season where he posted an outstanding .301/.340/.580 slash line with 16 home runs.

While, this all seems impressive, it is going to take a lot more than just Tomas for the Diamondbacks to have any shot a winning season. Arizona, has some other hitting pieces other than Tomas, in Paul Goldschmidt, and Aaron Hill. Goldschmidt, racked up a .300/.396/.542 slash line, with 19 home runs, 64 walks, 39 doubles, and 69 RBI’s last season for Arizona. Alongside him was Hill, who had a bit of an off year hitting. 244 with 10 home runs and 60 RBI’s — after hitting .291 and .302 the previous two seasons with Diamondbacks.

If the Diamondbacks can get a couple more of their players to hit well this season, then they might be better off than a lot of fans think. Particularly, if Cody Ross and Mark Trumbo can step up their games, then the rest of the offense will fall into place. However, the Diamondbacks have a serious problem with their pitching.

Jul 18, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher

(35) talks with pitching coach

(22) as shortstop

(1) and catcher

(26) look on during the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona starting rotation had some issues due to injuries and lack of basic pitching mechanics. Not one of their pitchers who got a start last season had an ERA under the 3.45 mark. Arizona also only had one pitcher who had more than ten wins. That was Josh Collmenter who went 11-9 with the lowest ERA among Arizona’s starting pitchers at 3.46, and a 1.13 WHIP. On the other end of the spectrum, the highest ERA belonged to Trevor Cahill, who was eventually relegated to the bullpen after going 3-12 in 17 starts, with a career worst 5.61 ERA.

The pickups of De La Rosa, Harrell, Hellickson, and Webster, on the surface, don’t seem to be a marked improvement. De La Rosa posted a 4.43 ERA with a 4-8 record and a 1.49 WHIP in 18 starts with the Boston Red Sox last season. Harrell, had the worst season of his career, in three starts he went 0-3, with 9.49 ERA and a 2.27 WHIP. This was a season in which Harrell was far worse than his 2013 season when he went 6-17, with a 5.86 ERA and 1.70 WHIP in 32 starts.

Hellickson has struggled to find any rhythm on the mound his first three years in the Majors, posting an ERA higher than 4.50 the last two seasons (5.17 and 4.52), and 3.10 ERA his rookie season. Hellickson’s WHIP has also increased from 1.25 in his rookie year to 1.45 last year. Lastly, there is Webster, who posted a 5.03 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, with a 5-3 record last year for the Red Sox. Getting the idea here?

The Diamondbacks might have a decent offensive spark plug this year with Tomas, but runs won’t matter if the pitching cannot hold the opposing team under four runs. If the pitching can rebound, the Diamondbacks could have a decent record at the end of the season.

Next: The Colorado Rockies