MLB Spring Training: Arizona Diamondbacks Full Preview
Key Offseason Additions: Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller, Jean Segura, Tyler Clippard
Key Offseason Subtractions: Ender Inciarte, Jeremy Hellickson, David Hernandez, Aaron Hill
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The Rotation:
The Diamondbacks instantly made themselves contenders in 2016 when they shocked the baseball world and signed free agent pitcher Zach Greinke and then followed that up by giving up a lot of talent for Shelby Miller. Those two will sit at the top of the Diamondbacks rotation in 2016 and will be a powerful 1-2 punch.
However, a lot of their success this year will depend on how good the 3-4 guys in the rotation perform. Patrick Corbin came back from injury at the end of 2015 and proved he can be a solid starter. He should only get better the further he’s removed from the injury so expect him to have a good year in 2016.
The final two spots in the rotation belong to Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray. De La Rosa led the team in wins last year with 14, but finished with an ERA of 4.67. Ray was tied with Jeremy Hellickson for the most losses on the team last year with 12, but had a respectable ERA of 3.52 in 23 starts.
If any of them falter, waiting in the wings is top prospect Archie Bradley. He got eight starts at the end of last year but got knocked around a little bit. Unless he has a great spring training, he’ll most likely start the year at Triple-A and be the first one called up to fill a spot in the rotation.
Behind him is the Diamondbacks’ other top prospect Braden Shipley. He spent all of last year in Double-A so it would be good to allow him to finish his development in the minors before calling him up, but if the big league club is in a pinch, they shouldn’t hesitate to give Shipley a chance.
This still may not be the best rotation in the National League West, but they’ll be better than the 4.37 ERA that this staff posted in 2015.
The Lineup:
Offense was never the problem with the Diamondbacks as they finished last year with the eighth most runs scored in all of baseball. Of course, it helps when you have perennial NL MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt in the middle of your lineup.
A.J. Pollock launched his career forward with an incredible 2015 season in which he scored 111 runs, hit 20 home runs, drove in 76 runs and hit .315 with a .367 on-base-percentage. A lot of teams went after Pollock in the offseason, but the Diamondbacks didn’t budge. As long as he and Goldschmidt are healthy, this offense will score runs.
Losing Inciarte will definitely hurt this lineup, but the Diamondbacks are hoping Yasmany Tomas breaks out during his second full season in the majors. The move also allows David Peralta to play every day after hitting .312 a year ago with 17 home runs.
The Diamondbacks made a move for Segura this offseason in hopes that he can bounce back in 2016 and add some firepower to the offense. He, along with Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings, will get the majority of the work up the middle at the shortstop and second base positions.
The third base position will likely either be filled by Jake Lamb or Brandon Drury – Phil Gosselin could play his way into the mix as well. There are many ways the Diamondbacks could go with the second and third base positions.
The Mariners received Welington Castillo from the Seattle Mariners last year when they shipped off Mark Trumbo. Castillo will serve as the team’s primary catcher in 2016.
As mentioned, the loss of Inciarte will hurt, but if Tomas continues to progress and Segura has a bounce-back season this will once again be a top-10 offense.
The Bullpen:
Even though the bullpen is considered one of the Diamondbacks’ weaknesses going into 2016, they were actually pretty solid a year ago with a 3.56 ERA, which was 13th best in the league.
Brad Ziegler returns as the team’s closer after saving 30 games last year and finishing the season with a 1.85 ERA. Tyler Clippard was brought in to back him up in case he falters, and to add some depth to the backend of the bullpen along with Daniel Hudson.
Randall Delgado and Josh Collmenter will once again fill the long reliever role and could get some outs at the end of games if needed.
Andrew Chafin will most likely serve as the team’s left-handed reliever out of the bullpen. If they take two, Matt Reynolds could be the other guy.
After a good showing last year, Silvino Bracho could also become a piece of what should be a solid bullpen.
Competitions:
Let’s start by looking at the positions that are locked up. Catcher, first base and all three outfield positions seem to be the only places in the lineup that we know for sure.
Segura will most likely win the shortstop job, but he’ll still have to prove something during spring training. Ahmed, Owings, Drury and Gosselin could all be in competition for the second base job. Drury and Gosselin will also join Lamb in competition for the third base job during spring training.
The rotation is pretty much set unless one of the youngsters blows people away during spring training. De La Rosa is likely the one to lose his spot in the rotation if he falters. Daniel Hudson has made it known he’d like to start again, so it’s possible he joins the competition for the fifth starter spot.
With the addition of Clippard, the bullpen is solidified. There may be a competition for the last arm in the bullpen, but that would be all as the Diamondbacks are set there now.
The only notable non-roster invitee to watch in spring training is Shipley who we’ve already mentioned. At 23 and with over 300 minor league innings in him already, if he impresses enough in spring training and one of the current rotation starters gets hurt or doesn’t perform he could potentially start the year with the big league club.