National League West Notes: Dodgers, Giants, Andrew Cashner, Diamondbacks

The National League West may not be the league’s most competitive division, but there are some surprises, moves on the horizon, and races to focus on.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball. Despite losing

Matt Kemp

twice

this season, they

have the best record in the Majors. At 37-21, they have a four game lead on the surprising Giants, but San Francisco’s pitching is heating up. San Francisco has the third best team ERA in baseball at 3.27. They’ve also tossed the fifth most shut-outs this year. The Dodgers will look to hold on to their lead and build on it when Matt Kemp returns, but according to J.P. Hoornstra of the San Bernadino Sun, Kemp is expected to be out at least a month still.

ESPN Los Angeles is reporting that Bob Wolfe will join the Dodgers front office as their executive vice president. Wolfe has worked with numerous organizations including the Braves and Nationals. Wolfe served as the Braves senior vice president of administration from 1992-2003.

The injuries keep piling up for San Diego. Eric Stults, who the Padres claimed off waivers from the White Sox to fill the void already left by injuries to their pitching staff, has been hit with the injury bug himself. According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, Stults suffered a strained left lat muscle and has hit the 15-day disabled list. The Padres have made the decision to promote Andrew Cashnerfrom his current set-up man role to starter. He will start Saturday for the Padres and will likely continue in the rotation says Brock.Cashner was a starter in the Cubs organization and has a career 10-8 record in the rotation. Since suffering a shoulder injury last season, Cashner has not returned to the starting rotation. When the Padres traded for Cashner, they promised to give him a shot as a starter starting next season. He is getting that shot early. So far this year, Cashner has pitched 26 innings, has a 3.81 ERA and carries a 10.0 strikeout per nine innings ration. He routinely hits 100 mph on the radar guns.

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be getting two key pieces added to their team very soon. Stephen Drew is expected to return from his gruesome ankle injury soon, and Trevor Bauer is inching ever-closer to a Major League promotion.Drew made a rehab start last night for the Reno Aces. He was 1 for 4 in his first live game action. Sports Illustrated has indicated the Diamondbacks and Drew do not know when he will finish his rehab assignment. It will depend on how his ankle responds to game action.

Trevor Bauer, the Diamondbacks top pitching prospect, was promoted to Triple-A last month. He has since gone 2-0 with a 2.52 ERA. With the Dbacks struggling still, they can use all the help they can get. However, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com says Arizona is in no rush to promote Bauer. The team i not pushing to make room on the roster for Bauer, and General Manager Kevin Towers has said it will work itself out.

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