Arizona Diamondbacks 2010 Primer

It would be easy to look at 2008 and 2009 for the Arizona Diamondbacks and notice they missed the playoffs in both seasons. It would be easy to see they fired their manager in 2009. It would be easy to notice they regressed in each of the last two campaigns, marked by a last place finish with just 70 wins.

If you took the easy way out and concentrated simply on the above points, you would be neglecting the very talented young nucleus the Diamondbacks have. This is a team which has only one regular starter older than 28 (newly acquired Adam LaRoche). The 30-year-old Brandon Webb is the senior citizen in a rotation that averages 27 years of age.

And these players aren't just young. They have innate talent. As long as Webb gets back to the mound early in the season and the young players continue to develop like they can, you're looking at one of the upstart teams in the majors. Expect the Diamondbacks to improve by 15 games in 2010, if not more.

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Coming and Going

In: Edwin Jackson, SP (trade); Ian Kennedy, SP (trade); Adam LaRoche, 1B (free agent); Kelly Johnson, 2B (free agent); Bob Howry, RP (free agent);
Out: Eric Byrnes, OF (released); Doug Davis, SP (free agent); Chad Tracy, 3B (free agent); Daniel Schlereth, RP (trade); Max Scherzer, SP (trade)

Around the Horn

Future Hall of Famer ...
Yeah, I'll go there with a 22-year-old player. Justin Upton is that special. He hit .300 with 26 home runs, 86 RBI, 84 runs, 30 doubles, seven triples and 20 stolen bases. That was in just 138 games. He made the All-Star team and received MVP votes. And he was 21. Let's look at OPS, though. Upton's career OPS is .836. There are only 13 players in baseball history who had a better OPS through age 21, with a minimum of 250 games played. You may have heard of a few of them: Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott, Frank Robinson, Eddie Mathews, Alex Rodriguez, Mickey Mantle, Orlando Cepeda, Al Kaline, Ken Griffey Jr., Tony Conigliaro, Hank Aaron and Vada Pinson.

Weaving the Webb ...
From 2006-08, Brandon Webb's average season was a 19-8 record and a 3.13 ERA. He finished second in Cy Young voting twice and won it the other time. He lost last season to arm injury, though, and is still recovering from surgery. In fact, it appears he'll begin the season on the disabled list. Without him, the Diamondbacks appear to have a decent rotation. With him, they have an exceptional one. A healthy Webb is the key to their season.

Punchout Parade ...
Mark Reynolds obliterated the major league record (which was already his) for strikeouts in a season with a mind-boggling 223. Upton went down on strikes 137 times in 138 games. Chris Young whiffed 133 times in 134 games. When you add it all up, it's not too shocking to discover the Snakes led the majors with 1,298 Ks last season. Adding Adam LaRoche (142 Ks in 150 games last year) will help them to generate even more wind power.

Men in the Middle ...
Stephen Drew was scorching hot in the second half of 2008, but followed it up with a greatly disappointing 2009. He regressed by 30 points in batting average and 74 in slugging percentage. Of course, he's still only 27. Kelly Johnson fell out of favor with Atlanta last season, hitting a mere .224 with a pretty awful .692 OPS. But he was an above-average hitter in 2007 and 2008 and he's still only 28. The members of the Snakes' double-play combination possess good potential. If they play to it, it will go a long way toward helping the Diamondbacks get back in the playoff shuffle. If not, the lineup will have too many holes.

Projected Opening Day Roster



2010 Outlook

You could pepper anyone with ifs concerning this team. If about 25 things go correctly, there is enough talent here for a deep playoff run. The lineup has a serious amount of potential punch, the starting rotation could be among the best in the bigs and the bullpen might be very potent potent. Of course, as an old coach of mine used to say, potential means nothing. Webb needs to prove he is healthy, and the young players need to play to their potential. If that happens, they'll be the most improved team in the majors. Oops, there's that word again.