2016 NL West Preview

The NL West is going to be a solid one horse race unless the apocalypse strikes Northern California. The Giants are going to make a run at a 100+ win season with a World Series repeat while the rest of the division will see finishing close to .500 as a win. There will be more competition for second place than first, but even that looks pretty locked up.

NL West Projected Finish

#1 San Francisco Giants (110-52) : Not a whole lot to say about the defending World Series and NL West Champions. They are loaded again at every position, and while it's outside of the NL West the injury to A.J. Pollock puts the Giants farther ahead of the Cubs as favorites with the World Series. Josh Donaldson, Starling Marte, D.J. Martinez, and Buster Posey power the league's most dangerous offense, and their rotation features three pitchers in the Cy Young race with Madison Bumgarner, Chris Sale, and Chris Archer. The Giants could make a run at a number of league records aside from a back-to-back title.

Can Donaldson repeat as MVP in the pitcher-friendly confines of AT&T Park?

#2 Colorado Rockies (80-82) : The Rockies sneak up on the NL West this year, but they are hardly a powerhouse. They have a decent shot to crack .500 with a number of good players at key positions. Homegrown 2B DJ LeMahieu had a breakout season in 2015 and looks to keep things going, and sluggers Devin Mesoraco and Josh Reddick give the Rockies the extra punch they need. A decent pitching staff will really be the key to Colorado climbing over .500, but things will be rough at Coors Field.

Can LeMahieu take the Rockies over .500?

#3 Los Angeles Dodgers (75-87) : The dying embers of a very expensive team are all that's left in Los Angeles after an offseason sale of everything that wasn't nailed down. There are still enough players to put up a fight every week, but the strength of this team lies in it's farm system. The team did sign Jason Heyward to a $16.7 million a year contract through 2018, so they will have a foundation to build around in the coming seasons.
 

Heyward looks to be the future in Los Angeles.

#4 Arizona Diamondbacks (70-92) : The Diamondbacks are going to be bad, and the aborted trade for Gio Gonzalez is a sign that things are about to get worse. Paul Goldschmidt is going to be Paul Goldschmidt, and the team is hoping that Yan Gomes can reclaim his former glory after an injury marred 2015. Young players like Jake Lamb and Michael Taylor hope to keep building on their rookie seasons, but unless they turn into Mike Trout it won't do much to pull Arizona out of the NL West gutter.

 Goldschmidt will be wasted in 2016.

#5 San Diego Padres (60-102) : It's going to be a long season in San Diego, but the team has been building for the future and won't be too bothered if they lose 100 games or more. The second half of the season could see some exciting prospects make their permanent move to the Majors as 2B Trea Turner and RHP Jose Berrios wait for a call. 2017 could see yet another name come up with LHP Blake Snell looking like a 1-2 punch atop the order with Berrios.

2016 might be Pujols' last in San Diego.