By Raimundo Ortiz
Los Angeles Dodgers--The Dodgers aren't without holes, but heading into spring training they have by far the most talent in this division, and possibly the whole league. Yasiel Puig could wind up as baseball's best player by season's end, and the top of their rotation (Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-jin Ryu) could be tops in MLB too. The hole at 2B looks vast, but there's enough here to cover it offensively, especially if Matt Kemp stays healthy. LA's bullpen could be a secret weapon too so keep an eye out for that.
San Francisco Giants--The Giants missed center fielder Angel Pagan after he went down with injuries. Now that he's back, this lineup's big baddies will have the table set for them to eat. Catcher Buster Posey is the heart and soul of this club, but they will need him to hit for more power to keep up with L.A. The same goes for Pablo Sandoval, who is looking lithe and ready to explode in his contract year. If Brandon Belt can hit for some power too this is a definite contender to win the division.
San Diego Padres--In the headline of this article it says the Padres are getting my spotlight. That is because they have the tools to be this year's shocker playoff team. For starters, they have two true sluggers in that big-a$$ ballpark of theirs in Carlos Quentin and Jedd Gyorko. Gyorko in particular has the potential to be a stud; in 2013 his BABIP was a little low, resulting in him batting .249 which is way below his minor league precedents.
Then there's the Padres rotation, put together intelligently. For a low budget team they've assembled a rotation that is deep in quality when the park is so pitcher friendly. The key to it could be Josh Johnson, who has developed a very bad rap because of his injuries. When healthy he might still be able to give lots of good innings, and even his 2013 numbers are somewhat inflated judging from the advanced metrics. Ian Kennedy is two years removed from his "ace" season, but is moving to a friendlier park. Andrew Cashner was pretty sick a season ago, and Tyson Ross looked elite when pitching at home.
Defensively the Pads are sound up the middle, and will be lethal with the leather when Cameron Maybin is playing CF.
San Diego also has a brutal one-two punch to close out leads, with Joaquin Benoit and Huston Street. Street has some implosion potential, but Benoit is a top reliever and Dale Thayer can step riiiight into the setup role.
Arizona Diamondbacks--Arizona's park is built for hitters, and there are plenty of big boppers in this order led by Paul Goldschmidt. However the D-Backs' corner outfield defense figures to be miserable, and Mark Trumbo is not quite the impact his HR total implies because of poor on-base skills. Didi Gregorious and Aaron Hill form a wonderful up-the-middle defense along with Gerardo Parra (CF), and Martin Prado is a great glove at 3B, so that's worth something. The rotation is led by Patrick Corbin, who has been a little inconsistent in the past. This rotation isn't up to snuff compared to the rest of the NL West, and the bullpen looks risky.
Colorado Rockies--The Rockies might have the best two players in the entire division, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, but they're both injury prone and their supporting cast just isn't good enough. Wilin Rosario can't stop swinging, Justin Morneau can't be relied on, and this rotation's only bright light figures to be Brett Anderson if he can stay upright. Guess the Rockies' front office likes to live on the edge.
Also right now LaTroy Hawkins is listed as the closer. That's just terrible.
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