Some teams horde their prospects (Dodgers and Angels, take notes). The D-Backs aren't afraid to move them to compete.
Dan Haren takes his AL ERA title to the desert and the NL, giving the NLCS runners-up a top-heavy rotation also featuring former Cy Young winners Brandon Webb and Randy Johnson, who hopes to make a return from season-ending back surgery. What did it take to add Haren? Try a slew of top prospects and a secondary deal to get depth, which cost them 2007 breakthrough closer Jose Valverde.
Minus all that talent sent out for Haren (OF Carlos Gonzalez, LHP Brett Anderson, LHP Dana Eveland, LHP Greg Smith, 1B Chris Carter and OF Aaron Cunningham), the D-Backs still have a number of young players ready to make huge strides this season: Mark Reynolds, Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, Chris B. Young, Micah Owings and Miguel Montero.
This team lacks thunder in their lineup, though. Conor Jackson doesn't slug like a first baseman, Upton is the age of a Class A ballplayer, while Eric Byrnes or Mark Reynolds is the cleanup hitter by default. They will have to score runs in unconventional ways to support Webb and Haren, but they should do so enough to remain a contender in the wide-open NL West -- assuming Tony A. Pena can fill the closer's role as well as Valverde did, of course.
Spring position battles
Catcher -- Chris Snyder vs. Miguel Montero
Snyder is a 27-year-old breakout candidate coming off a strong second half, while Montero is younger, more raw, but has more power potential. As long as the D-Backs fancy themselves a contender, the more defensively adept Snyder will get the majority of at-bats. Montero's power potential is intriguing, but he will do nothing more than drag down Snyder's Fantasy value at this point. Consider Montero more of an NL-only sleeper and Snyder a potential top-10 mixed league backstop if he can put it all together.
Third base -- Mark Reynolds vs. Chad Tracy
Going into last year this wouldn't have been fathomable, but Tracy had another injury-plagued year and needed microfracture surgery in September. Reynolds exploded on the scene as a rookie and has 30-homer potential in his prime. Manager Bob Melvin equated his batting-practice shots to that of a young Mark McGwire last year ... wow! Consider Reynolds an overlooked sophomore after the top 15 third basemen are off the board and don't worry about Tracy stealing at-bats from him. Reynolds is the D-Backs' one true potential thumper at this point. They will need him in the lineup.
Closer -- Tony Pena and Brandon Lyon
The trade of Valverde clears the way for the hard-throwing future closer Pena to be the closer of the now. Lyon, a former Tommy John surgery survivor, is the veteran fall-back option. Consider Pena a sleeper at the position in deeper leagues, especially since this is a team with a potentially dominant rotation that should give him a lot of save situations.
| Arizona Diamondbacks Outlook | |||||
| Projected lineup | Pos. | Projected Rotation | |||
| 1 | Chris B. Young | CF | 1 | Brandon Webb | RH |
| 2 | Orlando Hudson | 2B | 2 | Dan Haren | RH |
| 3 | Eric Byrnes | LF | 3 | Randy Johnson | LH |
| 4 | Mark Reynolds | 3B | 4 | Doug Davis | LH |
| 5 | Conor Jackson | 1B | 5 | Micah Owings | RH |
| 6 | Stephen Drew | SS | Alt | Edgar Gonzalez | RH |
| 7 | Justin Upton | RF | Top bullpen arms | ||
| 8 | Chris Snyder | C | CL | Tony Pena | RH |
| Top bench options | SU | Brandon Lyon | RH | ||
| R | Chad Tracy | 3B | RP | Chad Qualls | RH |
| R | Miguel Montero | C | RP | Juan Cruz | RH |
| R | Chris Burke | UTL | RP | Brandon Medders | RH |
| Rookies/Prospects | Age | Pos. | 2007 high | Destination | |
| 1 | Max Scherzer | 23 | RH SP | Double-A | Triple-A |
| We figured he could have been an option in '07 until a bad July slowed him down. | |||||
| 2 | Emilio Bonifacio | 22 | 2B/SS | Majors | Triple-A |
| He had 41 steals in Double-A, but he lacks pop and strikes out way too much. | |||||
| 3 | Jarrod Parker | 19 | RH SP | High school | Low Class A |
| Haren trade decimated their system, so raw talent appears years before his debut. | |||||
| 4 | Jamie D'Antona | 25 | 3B | Triple-A | Triple-A |
| Has gotten lost in the shuffle, but the hunch here is he surprises many this year. | |||||
| 5 | Juan Gutierrez | 24 | RH SP | Majors | Triple-A |
| Valverde trade returns from SP depth in Gutierrez, who will open in Triple-A. | |||||
| Best of the rest: SP Brooks Brown, SP Hector Ambriz, OF Geraldo Parra, OF Cyle Hankerd, 3B Clayton Conner, RP Daniel Stange, P Dallas Buck, P Wes Roemer, SS Reynaldo Navarro, C Ed Easley, P Barry Enright, P Mike Schultz, OF Jeff Salazar, OF Jarred Ball, P Bill Murphy, OF Chris Rahl, P Sean Morgan. | |||||
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