Baseball Report Card: April (NL West)

Baseball Report Card: April (NL West)

opener-getty-images7

1. San Francisco Giants (17-11)

After winning 2 out of the 3 World Series from 2010-2012, the Giants earned a pass for their stinker of a season in 2014. However, they are back this year. They won with great pitching in those years but a mediocre offense that was able to get timely hits. While they are still not a great hitting team, they have hit homeruns this year. Superstar catcher Buster Posey had a mediocre year for his standards last year. He is off to another MVP start batting .300 with .396 OBP, 7 homeruns, and 18 RBIs. Young first baseman Brandon Belt is batting only .264 with .317 OBP but has a power breakout with 9 homeruns and 18 RBIs. Outfielder Michael Morse has been a good acquisition as he is batting .275 with 8 homeruns and 24 RBIs. Outfielder Angel Pagan is an underrated player. I really liked his game when he played in New York for the Mets. After a limited season in 2013, he is playing great batting .307 with .347 OBP, 3 homeruns, 15 RBIs, and 6 steals. The Giants also gave Hunter Pence a big contract in the offseason. While he is batting a modest .252, he has started to hit with a couple of homeruns and has already stole six bases. Pence has been a productive outfielder his entire career so I am not concerned that he will not perform. Third baseman Pablo Sandoval is off to a terrible start batting .173. However, he has hit his entire career so he should pick it up. Once he gets going, the offense has a chance to be good. Nevertheless, the Giants are built on pitching. It has been mixed results this season. Free agent signing, Tim Hudson, has been the best pitcher. He has been sensational at 4-2 with 0.74 WHIP, 1.99 ERA, 36 Ks against only 3 walks in 54.1 innings. Madison Bumgarner continues to be one of the best pitchers in the league. He has started 4-3 with 1.41 WHIP, 2.83 ERA, and 54 Ks against 15 walks in 47.2 innings. While the WHIP is inflated, the stuff and peripherals are there and the WHIP will match his performance. On the other hand, Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum have not been as good. Cain had a poor 2013. He is 0-3 with 1.33 WHIP and 4.25 ERA. However, his 2 K/BB ratio is the discouraging part. As such, I am not going to assume he finds his ace form. I am very pessimistic about Lincecum. He is struggling to adapt to his diminished stuff. Unfortunately, I do not know how well he can pitch now. He never had great command and he needs it to compensate for age. Consequently, I believe the Giants pitching are more about names than performance. On the positive side, they still have an excellent bullpen. Closer Sergio Romo continues to be great with 12 saves, 0.61 WHIP, 1.65 ERA, and 12 Ks versus 3 walks in 16.1 innings.

Grade: A-

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (15-12)

Taking the New York Yankees play book for the last few seasons, the Dodgers have spent a ton of money to build a championship caliber team. They suffered a tough break when they lost their ace, Clayton Kershaw, for April. Moreover, they have had to deal with more drama regarding the antics of young star outfielder, Yasiel Puig. It is tiring but he has a ton of talent so they will be very patient in allowing and coaching him to grow up. Puig has produced on the field batting .315 with .401 OBP, 5 homeruns, 24 RBIs, and 4 steals as the Dodgers best hitter. Second baseman Dee Gordon has been a pleasant surprise batting .336 with .369 OBP with 24 steals. Third baseman Juan Uribe has also been very good batting .306. However, the star hitters need to do more. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been fine with 9 homeruns and 26 RBIs. Superstar centerfielder Matt Kemp has endured significant injuries in recent seasons. It is encouraging that he is off to a decent start batting .270 with .341 OBP, 5 homeruns, 11 RBIs, and 3 steals. His resurgence could make the Dodgers offense special. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez is only batting .254 with .335 OBP but he had a tremendous season last year and I expect him to heat up as the season progresses. I expect these veterans to produce and they can be a top offense if they do.  While Kershaw has been injured, their other ace Zach Greinke has led the staff at 6-1 with 1.15 WHIP, 2.38 ERA, and 55Ks versus 10 walks in 45.1 innings. Dan Haren has also been a great free agent signing. He has returned to form and is 4-1 with 1.21 WHIP, 2.68 ERA, and 39 Ks compared to 9 walks in 43.2 innings. Hyun-Jin Ryu is having a solid sophomore season after a very good first year. He is currently hurt but he hopefully returns soon. With the return of Kershaw, the starting rotation is the strongest in baseball. They also have a top closer in Kenley Jansen. He has struggled a little with a 1.70 WHIP and 4.58 ERA. However, his dominant stuff is there with 30 Ks in 17.2 innings. Once he finds his command, he should be back on track.

Grade: B-

3. Colorado Rockies (16-13)

The Rockies have come out swinging. Not surprisingly, they have one of the best offenses playing in Coors Field. Superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has been sensational batting .395 with .497 OBP, 11 homeruns, and 33 RBIs. The Rockies also signed former MVP, first baseman Justin Morneau who has found his old form batting .329 with .356 OBP, 8 homeruns, and 29 RBIs. Young, talented third baseman Nolan Arenado has also got into the action with a 28 game hitting streak. Overall, he is batting .310 with .335 OBP, 6 homeruns, and 26 RBIs. While these three players will have to regress, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and catcher Wilin Rosario have hit their strides yet. Accordingly, their better play should be able to compensate when Tulowitzki, Morneau, and Arenado come back to Earth a bit. On the other hand, pitching is always a challenge for the Rockies. Having a staff that can survive Coors Field for the whole season is always a challenge. Jordan Lyles is off to a great start at 5-0 with 1.09 WHIP, 2.66 ERA. However, his 32K/14BB ratio in 50.2 innings is not stellar. Their staff will not be anything special. Brett Anderson is a former top prospect with the Oakland As so he has upside. Nevertheless, the job of the starting rotation is to just keep their offense in the game. Latroy Hawkins has been a decent free agent signing as a closer. He has converted 9 saves and has a 2.92 ERA. However, his 5K/3BB ratio is not good. They signed him to prevent talented Rex Brothers from getting the closer job and saves in order to keep his arbitration number down. In the end, their season will depend on how long their pitching stays respectable. Their offense will do its job.

Grade: B+

4. San Diego Padres (13-16)

The Padres are a tough team that finds a way to compete with pitching but can never make the playoffs because they do not have enough talent on offense. It is the same this year as they have scored the fewest runs in baseball but pitch well. They have a team batting average of .223 and OBP of .275. It is not even worth pointing out any standouts. However, outfielders Seth Smith and Chris Denorfia are batting over .300. Unfortunately, they do not hit for much power and there are not too many base runners for them to drive in. Third basemen Chase Headley had a career year two seasons ago. It is clearly a fluke as he is only batting .195. Their bright spots are on the pitching side of their team. Andrew Cashner is turning into one of the better young pitchers. He has a 1.23 WHIP, 2.86 ERA, and 41 Ks versus 16 walks in 50.1 innings. Ian Kennedy has rebounded in San Diego with 1.08 WHIP, 3.12 ERA, and 56 Ks versus 11 walks in 49 innings. Tyson Ross and Robbie Erlin have also pitched well. Huston Street is great again as the closer with 11 saves, 0.88 WHIP, 0.56 ERA, and 17Ks compared to 5 walks in 16 innings. Of course, his only issue during his career is injuries. Joaquin Benoit has also been great as a setup man with 0.85 WHIP, 2.55 ERA, and 18 Ks versus 4 walks in 17.2 innings. Both relievers will be great trade bait. The Padres are tough to play with their pitching but will not be going anywhere.

Grade: B

5. Arizona Diamondbacks (9-22)

They are as bad as their record with the worst run differential in baseball at -62. They have a couple of bright spots on offense. Paul Goldschmidt is a superstar at first base. He is batting .321 with .371 OBP, 7 homeruns, 23 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases. Catcher Miguel Montero has rebounded from a poor 2013 batting .287 with .389 OBP, 5 homeruns, and 22 RBIs. They have received minimal help. The big acquisition in the offseason for the lineup is Mark Trumbo. He has always been all of nothing. He has hit 7 homeruns but is only batting .210. The pitching has been a disaster and they have surrendered the most runs in baseball. Their ace Patrick Corbin got hurt and had Tommy John surgery right before the season. It went downhill from there. Their second best starter, Wade Miley, has not answered the call with a 4.82 ERA. Bronson Arroyo was the big signing for the starting rotation in the offseason but he has a 4.89 ERA. It is tough to win with no pitching. Addison Reed was also acquired in the offseason. He has been decent as the closer with 11 saves. While his ERA is 4.34, he has a stellar 22K/4BB ratio in 18.2 innings. If he continues to pitch well, his ERA will match his peripherals. Nevertheless, it will be a long season for the Diamondbacks.

Grade: F

 

Pat Wong

About Pat Wong

Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.

Comments

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: