After being the worst team in all of baseball last season, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in a position where they need to climb back to relevance.  This off-season they made the decision to use Chris Owings exclusively as they traded Didi Gregorius to the Yankees and also decided to part ways with Wade Miley for mid level, almost MLB ready pitching prospects.  It should be interesting to see how this season plays out as last season for Arizona felt lost after having a poor first half and losing both Mark Trumbo and Patrick Corbin for substantial time.  Doesn't look like they will take huge strides in the right direction, but they do look like they should be a little better.

Notable Roster Additions and Subtractions...

Additions

  • Yasmany Tomas
  • Jeremy Hellickson
  • Rubby De La Rosa
  • Allen Webster
  • Robbie Ray
  • Oscar Hernandez

Subtractions

  • Miguel Montero
  • Wade Miley
  • Eric Chavez
  • Didi Gregorius
  • Michael Bolsinger

Biggest Weakness - Pitching Rotation

This team has one of the worst pitching rotations on paper in the league.  Personally, this writer is saying this as a Rockies fan, so it means something. None of these projected starters are best suited in the bullpen or in a long relief role or starting the season in AAA.  There are some hopes for Rubby De La Rosa, but he had some shaky times playing in Boston last year.  

Hellickson has held a consistent job as a starter in the big leagues, but he has been very below average each of the past two seasons, and has never really been a pitcher who has had a good looking FIP even in his better looking seasons.  He should not be expected to be the ace of a staff.  Archie Bradley is probably the best pitcher in this organization who isn't recovering from an injury, but he has problems of his own and doesn't turn this staff around on his own if he ends up making the team.

Biggest Strength - Solid lineup

Paul Goldschmidt is to the point of his career where he is universally considered a top 5 hitter and all around player in the league.  When you have a guy like that, you can put anyone around him and have a somewhat decent offense.  The good news for the DBacks is that they have made an effort to put some good complimentary players around him.  Yasmany Tomas could be a big offensive boost for the team if his transition from Cuba goes well.  Also Mark Trumbo is easily capable of hitting 35 homers if healthy for the entire season.  The offense has capable hitters all the way down the lineup with the exception of a legitimate hitting catcher.  This should be an above average, well rounded offense. 

Potential Lineup - * denotes lefty, ^ denotes switch

1. AJ Pollack - CF

2. Yasmany Tomas - 3B

3. Paul Goldschmidt - 1B

4. Mark Trumbo - RF

5. David Peralta - LF*

6. Aaron Hill - 2B

7. Chris Owings - SS

8. Tuffy Gosewisch - C

Potential Bench

Oscar Hernandez

Jordan Pacheco

Cliff Mennington ^

Ender Inciarte *

Cody Ross

Potential Rotation - *denotes lefty

1. Jeremy Hellickson

2. Josh Collmenter

3. Rubby De La Rosa

4. Allen Webster

5. Trevor Cahill

Potential Bullpen

Addison Reed - Closer

Brad Ziegler

Evan Marshall

Oliver Perez*

Daniel Hudson

Matt Reynolds*

Randall Delgado

Starting the season on the DL...

Bronson Arroyo - SP

Patrick Corbin - SP*

David Hernandez - RP

Something To Keep An Eye On - Peter O'Brien

After dealing Miguel Montero to the Cubs this off-season, it looks like the Diamondbacks are a little weak at the catcher position.  The good new for them is that they have an under the radar catching prospect with mad pop.  Last season over various minor league levels, O'Brien hit 34 homers and has a good track record of consistently high power numbers.  He will be starting this season at AAA and this writer is assuming that he's the reason the front office felt comfortable sending their catcher of the past on his way to another team.  Watch for him to be a mid season call up and change the offense of this team for the better.

Fantasy Bargain - David Peralta

Peralta will be hitting somewhere near the middle of this lineup and this offense looks like it will be better than average so that bodes well for him already.  The truth about him is that his major league numbers have so far been very consistent with his minor league numbers which are fairly impressive.  He possesses above average power and above average speed so he can help you in both of those categories, but don't look for him being a 20/20 player.  If he is available late, it wouldn't be a bad value.

Conclusion/Season Prediction

The DBacks do look like they will be a little better and also look to be headed in the right direction.  With that said, don't expect anything out of them right now due to the fact that their pitching rotation doesn't look like an MLB pitching rotation.  As stated before, Goldy should lead this offense to be a pretty good unit, but this writer doesn't think it will be enough to overcome not having any dominant pitchers.  My prediction is that they finish a little over 70 wins and compete with Colorado for 4th place in the NL West.

Tyler interviewed Sal Musto @Action_Sal about the Diamondbacks on the radio and you can find the interview HERE.

Follow me on Twitter - @TWPolhill

Find my other team preview articles HERE.