by Scott Rickenbach
Wednesday, Apr 06, 2022NL West Division Preview for MLB 2022
Arizona Diamondbacks – Better than last season in my opinion but that is not saying much either as the Diamondbacks lost 110 games last season. Still, Arizona should at least get to the mid-60s in wins this season. The issue for Arizona is their lineup just does not have the necessary pop. But they do have a new pitching coach that is highly respected and the rotation and bullpen certainly has some solid arms so that can help fuel a turnaround here for sure but again it will take time and 70 wins the likely ceiling for this team this season and that is if they get some decent hitting too.
Colorado Rockies – This team is in line to lose somewhere close to 90 games just like last season and only the Diamondbacks and Pirates likely to be worse than the Rockies in the National League this season. Colorado has a decent rotation but they play in a hitter-friendly ballpark so they really need a more potent lineup to be successful. They just don’t have the hitters yet but the pitching is coming along.
Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers just continue piling up wins every year and they should again win their division, but I do look for a bit of a drop-off here to a win total in the mid-90s. With the Giants and Padres proving tougher each year and even Arizona and Colorado likely to improve this season it could start to wear on the Dodgers. LA has it all of course but I will be more likely to look for the right spots to fade them as even a strong team like this could lose 65 to 70 games this year.
San Diego Padres – This team could challenge Los Angeles for top spot in the division but I expect them to only land in the mid-80s for a win total this season. San Diego has too many injury question marks and that includes in the pitching rotation and they just don’t have reliable enough arms as starters. Additionally, the entire clubhouse was a bit disjointed last season and that could carry into this season as well. This team is close but just not quite there yet and I will watch this team for streakiness this season.
San Francisco Giants – San Francisco is off a shocking season in which they got to 107 wins and we’ll see a major drop this season into the mid-80s for the Giants. Surprisingly, manager Gabe Kapler actually evolved into quite a manager after his struggles back east in Philly. He was great with the Giants last season and got more out of this team than many expected. They have some older guys and I see a big regression this season plus the bullpen and rotation just can’t be quite as good this season. The lineup will miss the bat of Buster Posey as he retired. This team could be over-valued early this season because of over-achieving last season so could be some good value going against them early this year!
Arizona Diamondbacks – Better than last season in my opinion but that is not saying much either as the Diamondbacks lost 110 games last season. Still, Arizona should at least get to the mid-60s in wins this season. The issue for Arizona is their lineup just does not have the necessary pop. But they do have a new pitching coach that is highly respected and the rotation and bullpen certainly has some solid arms so that can help fuel a turnaround here for sure but again it will take time and 70 wins the likely ceiling for this team this season and that is if they get some decent hitting too.
Colorado Rockies – This team is in line to lose somewhere close to 90 games just like last season and only the Diamondbacks and Pirates likely to be worse than the Rockies in the National League this season. Colorado has a decent rotation but they play in a hitter-friendly ballpark so they really need a more potent lineup to be successful. They just don’t have the hitters yet but the pitching is coming along.
Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers just continue piling up wins every year and they should again win their division, but I do look for a bit of a drop-off here to a win total in the mid-90s. With the Giants and Padres proving tougher each year and even Arizona and Colorado likely to improve this season it could start to wear on the Dodgers. LA has it all of course but I will be more likely to look for the right spots to fade them as even a strong team like this could lose 65 to 70 games this year.
San Diego Padres – This team could challenge Los Angeles for top spot in the division but I expect them to only land in the mid-80s for a win total this season. San Diego has too many injury question marks and that includes in the pitching rotation and they just don’t have reliable enough arms as starters. Additionally, the entire clubhouse was a bit disjointed last season and that could carry into this season as well. This team is close but just not quite there yet and I will watch this team for streakiness this season.
San Francisco Giants – San Francisco is off a shocking season in which they got to 107 wins and we’ll see a major drop this season into the mid-80s for the Giants. Surprisingly, manager Gabe Kapler actually evolved into quite a manager after his struggles back east in Philly. He was great with the Giants last season and got more out of this team than many expected. They have some older guys and I see a big regression this season plus the bullpen and rotation just can’t be quite as good this season. The lineup will miss the bat of Buster Posey as he retired. This team could be over-valued early this season because of over-achieving last season so could be some good value going against them early this year!
