NL West Update

Takashi Saito (#08) celebrates after getting the save against the Cincinnati Reds, June 19th.

Hey everyone, it's been relatively slow in the NL West lately so I will use this post to recap what has gone down.

The Dodgers have been unable to gain any ground on the D-Backs who still seem to be riding out their tremendous April. The Dodgers called up their much-hyped (and deservedly so) prospect Clayton Kershaw a month ago. Kershaw is winless through his first 5 starts and has delivered a mixed performance. On the one hand his ERA is at a respectable 3.75 but his WHIP is currently at a rather ugly 1.58. He has also reached the 6th inning once (his first start). He's averaging about 3 walks per start which is why his WHIP is rather high and his innings are rather low. He'll be decent for the Dodgers as a #4 or #5 going forward but you should avoid him for fantasy purposes. Another reason he'll be decent for the Dodgers is because their rotation is running on fumes. Brad Penny has been pretty terrible all year and now finds himself on the DL after admitting he shouldn't have even made his last start. Poor Jason Schmidt is still recovering and doesn't really look like he'd be able to contribute until maybe mid-August. Recently Hiroki Kuroda injured his right shoulder and has landed on the DL. On the plus side, Chad Billingsly looked really good in his last start!

This pic basically sums up the NL West. Diamondback's first basemen Connor Jackson naps on the field because no one in the West is really interested in challenging the Diamondbacks for the division (Shane Victorino of the mighty Phillies can be seen crying wishing his division was more like the NL West - cheer up Shane, it basically is).

The Diamondbacks sent down prospect Max Scherzer after a cup of coffee in the bigs where he displayed the potential that warranted the hype surrounding his callup. He was sent down to get regular work as a starter. He probably won't be down for long with Micah Owings not looking so hot lately and Randy Johnson still maintaining his status as an injury risk. Everyone's favorite gritty player Eric Byrnes is expected back by Monday. Fantastic.

At one point it looked as though Dinger (the Purple Triceratops who is the official mascot of the Rockies - that's what happens when your team name is tough to personify, I personally would have liked to see Geodude as the official mascot), anyway, it looked as though Dinger was going to have to pick up a glove and play the field for the much maligned Rockies. For the first time, I'm forced to use a list to display the various injuries:

Matt Holliday
Brad Hawpe
Troy Tulowitzki
Clint Barmes
Kip Wells
Luis Vizcaino

along with Jason Hirsh who was recently activated and then optioned to Triple A fills out the list of concurrently injured Rockies. The Rockies as a benefit got to check out their minor leaguers in a major league setting. Ian Stewart has been up and playing (although irregularly) and the Rockies also called up their 2006 first round pick (#2 overall) Greg Reynolds. I've been following his starts and they seem to follow the same pattern where he's pretty effective until one inning where he gives up 3 or 4 runs. At any rate, Troy Tulowitzki is expected back for today's game and Clint Barmes is expected back shortly. The Rockies have been on a roll lately as they've slowly convalesced and have actually escaped last place in the NL West.

More interesting is as the summer trading scene develops, talks of shipping Holliday emerge. As a Rockies fan I can honestly say I don't know what to do and am glad I'm not Dan O'Dowd (their general manager). The Billy Beane in me says deal him, get a bunch of prospects and let Ian Stewart (who really has nothing left to prove in the minors) or Seth Smith man left. However, Holliday is such a valuable piece of their offense and I really feel that next season will be a good one for the Rockies in terms of having their hitting and pitching come together. Also, if anyone wants to get a Brian Fuentes jersey, do it now because he's probably not going to stick around in Colorado much longer.

Next up are the Giants. There hasn't been much to say about them. They were never mentioned in contention for the West and they've surprised everyone this year by not being dead last. Barry Zito is back in the rotation and is working on a 20 loss season. Tim Lincecum is nothing short of an absolute beast and Bengie Molina is a secret good catcher to own in fantasy leagues. Other than that there isn't much going for them and maybe 3 or 4 years from now they'll be competitive again.


Thats a picture of Chris Young, not of the San Diego Padres but of country music fame. He's presumably not on the disabled list with a broken face. The Padres regained their turf at the bottom of the NL West last night and have various problems. As alluded to, Chris Young is on the DL for who knows how long after Albert Pujols ruined him with a shot back to the face. Jake Peavy was shelved but recently came back and is looking healthy and should return to his old dominant self soon. But right before they got Peavy back, first round pick (in 1991...and by the Mariners) Shawn Estes went down with a broken thumb. Sigh.

The biggest Padres news comes from their callup of top prospect Chase Headley. After putting up some solid numbers in the minors, Padres GM Kevin Towers realized that his offense, aside from Adrian Gonzalez (and maybe Kevin Kouzmanoff) pretty much sucks. Through his first three games Chase Headley is batting .333 with a homer. He should finish the season with decent numbers but don't expect anything amazing as he strikes out a lot and is only 24.

In conclusion, look for the NL West to be present in baseball for the 2009 season.