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View From the Rockpile – Musings From a Mile High Along the Journey to Rocktober

A Weekly Colorado Rockies Report – By Michael Paul

April 4, 2011

The Colorado Rockies opened their 2011 season in the friendly and paper-thin air of Coors Field against divisional rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks, their co-tenants at the sparkling new spring raining facility, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The hometown faithful openly dared to dream of a Rocktober renaissance after a solid spring training that saw the Rockies win 20 games with a well-balanced attack of power, fundamentals and youth. 

MLB fans nationwide, on the other hand, took pause, viewing these Kid Rox with equal doses of skepticism and intrigue.  While club leader Troy Tulowitzki is a popular pick for regular season NL MVP and staff ace Ubaldo Jimenez finds himself a sleeper NL Cy Young candidate, the consensus view on the Rockies as a whole is really that there is no consensus at all.

MLB insiders have poignantly questioned whether the 2011 iteration of the Dan O’Dowd-constructed squad has what it takes to unseat the World Champion San Francisco Giants, bringing Denver baseball its first NL West crown since the Rockies first took the field in Denver at Mile High Stadium in 1993.

Indeed, questions fly like a curveball at Coors Field, B.H. (Yes, Before the Humidor.)

Can Chris Iannetta, Ian Stewart and Dexter Fowler make the leap from promising but inconsistent prospects to everyday contributors on a division-winning team?

Will the superstar duo of Carlos Gonzalez and Tulowitzki—CarGo and Tulo if you happen to be in LoDo—falter under the weight of public expectations following the rich contract extensions granted to them by the previously frugal owners—the Brothers Monfort?

Can Jhoulys Chacin mimic Jimenez’s breakout 2010, and can Jorge De La Rosa stay healthy enough and calm enough to take the weight off of Jimenez’s shoulders?

Will Huston Street and Mr. Rockie himself—one Todd Helton—conjure their dominant 2009 campaigns, or will they merely continue on their respective declines from sunnier (and in Helton’s case, Hall-of-Fame-worthy) days on the Rocky Mountain sandlot? 

After two games and a PPD for snow, there is reason to believe that the high hopes pervading downtown Denver are more than just grasping at thin air.

Despite a disappointing 7-6 Opening Day setback against the Diamondbacks in extra innings, the Rockies showed promise, nearly offsetting their Opening Day jitters and a shaky debut from Jimenez with Coors Field come-from-behind magic that has become the Rockies trademark. 

New addition at second base, Jose Lopez, paid immediate dividends with a towering blast into the left field stands and a nifty behind-the-back flip to start an inning-ending double play with Tulowitzki at a critical juncture in the game, spearheading a rally in the bottom half of the seventh inning frame. 

Fellow newcomer Ty Wiggington earned a start in place of the hobbling Stewart and displayed the versatility that led O’Dowd to target the 2010 All-Star by seamlessly moving to first base after manager Jim Tracy removed Helton for a pinch runner late in the game.

The Rockies ultimately lost when Justin Upton sprinted home from third base on a wild pitch from the location-challenged missile tossed by recently acquired reliever (and former Astros closer) Matt Lindstrom in the top of the 11th.

But the Rockies showed considerable poise on a day when their stars did not fully act the part on offense.

Tulowitzki (a/k/a Jeter 2.0) went 0-5 from the plate, striking out twice; the umpiring crew made two controversial calls in the outfield that helped to turn the tide against the Rockies; and Jimenez, bothered by a torn cuticle on his pitching thumb, had neither ace bandage nor his usual Ace’s stuff and the Diamondbacks jumped at the Dominican’s display of mortality, twice homering and knocking him out after six rocky innings. 

A single loss in the marathon that is the MLB regular season is spilt milk.  Two in a row against a divisional rival (and a cellar dweller to boot) with low aspirations and low expectations would be troubling to say the least for a Rockies club climbing the steps to the big boys’ treehouse. 

To be viewed on par with the Phillies, the Giants and the Braves, the Rockies must consistently beat the Diamondbacks, the Nationals and the Pirates.

This is why lefty gunslinger Jorge De La Rosa’s Saturday evening gem should be praised as newsworthy despite the fact that it occurred on day two of the 2011 MLB season. 

De la Rosa displayed both power and control with his wide arsenal of pitches, keeping the D-Backs off-balance with five strikeouts over five-and-a-third shutout innings.  Much like Jimenez, a blister under the middle finger nail on De La Rosa’s pitching hand led to an early exit for a Colorado starter for the second day in a row.

Jhoulys Chacin ended up with an extra couple of days to acclimate his pitching hand to the dry Denver air, as the Sunday rubber match was called—for snow.  An early test awaits for the quiet right-hander, as he prepares to face a Dodgers club on an uptick after taking 3-of-4 to start the season against the Giants under new manager Don Mattingly.

Any prediction of the Rockies’ ultimate success in 2011 must take into account the steady, demanding hand of 2009 NL Manager of the Year Tracy—yet another attribute that the Rockies have in their corner. 

Tracy has preached accountability and returning to basics for his Colorado club, and his players have taken up the cause early on defensively—CarGo and Tulo showed their Gold Glove-winning form with numerous “Holy Cow” plays in the field, while Fowler and Seth Smith stomped on the warning track and took on the outfield walls to show their dedication to D.

The offense will come with patience, focus and poise to this loaded Rockies lineup as it adjusts to new hitting coach Carney Lansford’s back-to-basics approach. 

And yet, despite the ballyhooed offensive fireworks that have become a staple of baseball in Denver, it may well be getting back to basics on defense, however, that catapults the Rockies towards a return trip to the Fall Classic, like the 2007 version that led all MLB with a fielding percentage of .98925.

Though a 1-1 start assuredly “ain’t nothing to tweet home about,” it is possible that the early April snowfall is a signal of Rocktober magic in springtime. 

Cuticles, blisters and snow. 

Just a typical Opening Day weekend at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.

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If you are a fan of pitching, then the first two days of the baseball season are for you. They are the only two games of the year where you are guaranteed to see each team’s best.

On the second day of the baseball season, we had the opportunity to see two of the game’s best: Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox and Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies.

I was expecting big things from these two, but both had similarly disappointing performances on Friday afternoon.

Here are there pitching lines from Friday:

I’ll start with Lester’s performance.

I really wonder if Lester has been hanging around Josh Beckett too much. Every now and then, Beckett goes to the mound and just looks ticked off at the world. He’s surly and looks extra annoyed when the littlest things happen.

That was Lester on Friday, minus the F bombs that Beckett will drop every five minutes.

Lester went to the mound, and from the first pitch of the game, looked annoyed and ticked off at the world. He was probably really ticked off when Ian Kinsler took him deep on the second pitch of the game.

Lester didn’t strike out a batter in his five-plus innings of work, and considering his lack of velocity and zip on his fastball, this isn’t surprising. Lester averaged 93 mph on his fastball in 2010. Against the Rangers, he averaged just 91 mph.

It seemed to me that his game plan was to pitch to contact and try to reserve as many bullets as possible. I guess that might explain why Lester induced only four swings and misses.

Last year, 10.3 of Lester’s strikes were swings and misses. That number dropped to 8.2 on Friday.

Lester has always been a slow starter. Friday’s start was especially slow.

Now on to Jimenez.

I would be more concerned with Jimenez’s performance than Lester’s. Jimenez had nothing, and I mean NOTHING on Friday. According to the PitchFX tool, Jimenez averaged 93 mph on his fastball.

I am not sure what gun they use to compile their data (usually very, very accurate), but I watched a majority of that game and Jimenez was around 88-91 all game. Last year, he averaged 96 mph on his fastball.

That is a massive drop off in velocity. That’s a “something is wrong with my shoulder” drop off.

Like Lester, it seemed like Jimenez was trying to pitch to contact. For his career, Jimenez throws about 60 percent fastballs. On Friday? Only around 30 percent.

That tells me he had zero confidence in his fastball. For a guy who had one of the dominant fastballs in baseball last year (30 wFB on his fastball), that seems puzzling to me.

I am not sure what happened to either of these pitchers on Friday. Baseball has a long season, so maybe they were just trying to pace themselves. But on a day when we were expecting to see aces in Texas and Colorado, neither Lester or Jimenez pitched like one.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Before the start of the season, I wanted to see which pitchers statistically had the best fastballs, curveballs, sliders, cutters, changeups and splitters of the 2010 season.

Here are a look at the top fastballs of the 2010 season. A few notes:

The Pitch Value data was created by Fangraphs.com. I will be using the statistic, wFA, which denotes the runs above average for a particular pitch—in this case a fastball.  

The “wFA” stat benefits starting pitchers and pitchers who throw a certain pitch more often. Because the more often you throw a pitch, the better the chances are of it being successful.

Sometimes, PITCH/FX does not sort pitches into the right category. For example, Brandon Morrow’s splitter was categorized as a fastball.

Both two and four-seam fastballs are lumped together.

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Not many players in baseball will raise a greater debate about their potential production in 2011 as Ubaldo Jimenez will.  We know a couple of things about him for sure; he’s a 6’4″ 27-year-old right-handed Dominican who throws gas.  So much gas in fact, that he has been clocked at 101 mph in games, with a 99 mph two-seamer. That’s right, I said 99 mph two-seamer.

Did he just break out last year with the two best months of his career, or is there still some more magic to be squeezed out of this guy? I say yes, and yes.

Last year basically showed a tale of two different pitchers, both named Ubaldo Jimenez.  One pitched in April and May, and the other in June and July.

The Ubaldo who pitched in April won five games with a 0.79 ERA, and in May won another five games with a 0.78 ERA.

The “other” Ubaldo that pitched in June won four games with a 4.41 ERA, and in July had a 6.04 ERA with only two wins.

But here’s something interesting to consider; the batting average against Jimenez in consecutive months of April–July was .186, .160, .264 and .210.  So while in July he had an ERA of 6.04, the average against him was only .210, which is far from terrible.

This leads me to believe that these two Ubaldos are actually the same guy.  That his ERA in April and May were rather extreme and lucky, and that his ERA in June and July of the very same year were treacherously unlucky.

July heat is rarely kind to anyone’s ERA in Colorado.  But these peripheral numbers show signs of some bad fortune for Jimenez in 2010, who in the beginning of June was having one of the best years we have seen in the past century.

Coors is still a hitters park, but not nearly the way it was before the days of the humidor that they use to contain the balls before games.  In 2010, Jimenez only gave up 10 HRs, and just four of them were at Coors Field.  His fly-ball rate really is not nearly as much of a liability as some may perceive it to be.

It was almost as if in the course of just one year, he experienced the extremes of good and bad luck that Cole Hamels did in ’08 (good luck) and ’09 (terrible luck).  So it seems to me that Ubaldo’s 2011 ERA should fall somewhere in between, perhaps in the 2.70–3.30 range with another 200+ strikeout season.

That’s not bad, right?

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Colorado Rockies (2010 record: 83-79)

Notable additions: RHP Matt Lindstrom, INF Jose Lopez, C Jose Morales, INF/OF Ty Wiggington

Notable subtractions: 2B Clint Barmes, RHP Octavio Dotel, SP Jeff Francis, 3B Melvin Mora, C Miguel Olivo

The offense:

Catcher: Chris Iannetta
Infield: Todd Helton (1B), Eric Young Jr (2B), Troy Tulowitzki (SS) and Ian Stewart (3B)
Outfield: Carlos Gonzalez (LF), Dexter Fowler (CF) and Seth Smith (RF)

The Rox finished in third place in the NL West last year, but they could challenge for the division title this year. The key to the Rockies’ fate in 2011 is whether they learn to bring their bats to the ballpark when they are on the road, where they were a dismal 31-50 last year (largely because they hit 72 points less in road games).

Gonzalez and Tulowitzki are the heart of the Rockies offensive attack. This will be a big year for both players in terms of solidifying themselves among the elite offensive players in the game. Gonzalez had a breakout campaign in 2010, but needs to prove he isn’t a one-year wonder. Tulowitzki was relatively pedestrian throughout the majority of the year, but then had an extraordinary month (.303, 15 HR and 40 rbi over his last thirty games) to salvage the season.

The team needs Chris Iannetta, Todd Helton and Dexter Fowler to improve markedly if it is to make a run at the division title. I could throw Smith and Stewart on the list as well, but at least they provided a little bit of power last season, whereas the others provided little in the way of anything.

Iannetta was brutal last year no matter where he played. Helton performed well below expectations whether at home or on the road. Fowler was okay at home but was a non-factor in road games (he hit just .211 and compiled a .297 OBP away from Coors).

The organization is hoping that new hitting coach Carney Lansford will be able to make a significant impact on the offense in his first year in Denver.

On the bench, I like the acquisition of Wiggington, as he will provide some right-handed pop at the corners and enable Helton to rest periodically. I don’t believe Jose Lopez will contribute much to the team and expect he will eventually just serve as a backup for EY, though even that role could fall to Wiggington if Lopez struggles.

The pitching staff:

Rotation: Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge de la Rose, Aaron Cook, Jhoulys Chacin and Jason Hammel

Bullpen: Huston Street, Matt Belisle, Rafael Betancourt, Matt Lindstrom, Matt Reynolds and Franklin Morales

Back in the day, you could count on Rockies pitchers to struggle at home while posting a pretty solid set of numbers on the road. Those days are in the past. Last season the club posted a better ERA at home (3.86) than on the road (4.04).

Jimenez had a brilliant start to the 2010 season, going 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA in the first half. He came back to earth in the second half, but still finished the year at 19-8, with a 2.88 ERA and 1.155 WHIP. De la Rosa likewise got off to a nice start, but injuries derailed him and he was largely ineffective when he returned.

The club must hope Aaron Cook’s performance last year was nothing more than a blip in his career progression, as his 5.08 ERA was more than a run higher than his average for the previous five years.

If the club is to improve away from home, better efforts from Cook and Hammel would go a long way towards achieving that goal: they posted 5.85 and 5.71 ERAs, respectively, in road games last year.

Felipe Paulino, acquired from Houston in the deal that sent infielder Clint Barmes to the Astros, is a dark horse to join the rotation this spring if any of the other starters should struggle or get injured.

The back end of the bullpen is very strong. Huston Street enters the season as the closer after posting 20 saves in 25 opportunities last year. The bullpen in front of him is deep and includes a solid veteran trio in Belisle, Betancourt and Lindstrom, who would be a tremendous addition if he can harness his stuff and remain healthy. The Rox potentially have one of the top bullpens in the league if everyone can stay healthy.

Prediction for 2011: 2nd place (87-75)

The Rockies spent a lot of money this winter, but it wasn’t in free agency. They opted to lock up Tulowitzki (6 years, $119 M) and Carlos Gonzalez (7 years, $80 M) to long-term deals. Those two guys, along with SP Ubaldo Jimenez, provide the core for a team that could compete for a division title this season.

As stated in the body of the article, the club’s ability to compete for a title will be predicated on its ability to compete tougher and win ballgames on the road. I expect some improvement in that regard in 2011, but not to the point where they will be able to overtake the defending world champions.

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Top Five Prospects:

1. Tyler Matzek, LHP
2. Wilin Rosario, C
3. Christian Freidrich, LHP
4. Kyle Parker, OF
5. Rex Brothers, LHP

Matzek was the Rockies’ first-round pick (11th overall) in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, when he was the top high school pitcher in the country. Some pundits believe he fell out of the top ten in the draft due to his pre-draft declaration that he was “looking for unprecedented money” to forego college. The Rockies opened up the vault and gave Matzek $3.9 million late in the signing period to join the organization.

He pitched for Asheville (South Atlantic League) last year and posted a 5-1 record with a 2.92 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. He was named the league’s No. 3 prospect (No. 1 pitching prospect) at the end of the year despite having suffered with a bout of biceps tendinitis.

He has four good pitches, but his low-90s fastball is clearly the strongest pitch in his repertoire (rating a “70″ on the scout’s 20-80 scale). His fastball sometimes hit 96 during his rookie campaign, but it would often touch the upper-90s when he was in high school. Scouts believe he has the potential to increase his velocity as he matures.

His secondary pitches are still a work in progress, with the slider being the most well-developed among them (rating a “60″ on the scouting scale). His curve ball is pretty good but needs some work. His changeup is furthest away, as the scouts say he slows his arm speed noticeably when throwing it.

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Pitchers in hitter-friendly ballparks or tough divisions may benefit from being traded. The same applies to struggling pitchers in search of redemption.

The Seattle Mariners would be a good destination for such pitchers. The home of the Mariners, Safeco Field, is the most pitching-friendly venue in the American League and the AL West division isn’t too frightening.

The following ten pitchers would benefit from moving to Seattle. Interested to find out who they are? Read on.

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Bryan: 15-1. 4-7. Those are Ubaldo Jimenez‘s first- and second-half records last season. He went from unbelievable to unbelievably pedestrian, so which Jimenez is the real Jimenez? Any time you ask that question, the real answer is, “Somewhere in the middle, of course!” and the same holds true here.

Chris: Clayton Kershaw turned in a marvelous pitching performance in 2010. He made 32 starts and compiled a 2.91 ERA and 1.18 WHIP to go along with 212 Ks. At 23 years old he’s primed to enter fantasy’s elite.

Bryan: Let me clarify something: When I said the real Jimenez is somewhere in the middle, I neglected to mention that means something along the lines of 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 214 Ks…a line he actually amassed last season despite that second half slump…a line better than Kershaw’s in every way.

Chris: I hope you’re not reading too much into Jimenez’s numbers being better than Kershaw in every way. An ERA difference of .03, a WHIP difference of .03 and two extra strikeouts seems more like a wash to me. You mention a tale of two seasons for Jimenez. I’m sure his head-to-head owners appreciated that. I bet they wish they had Kershaw’s consistency all year instead.

Bryan: Hey, Chris. Better is better. I’ll have my roto boys back me up. Don’t be gettin’ all defensive, homes.

Chris: You’re right. Better is better. Kershaw’s BB/9 ratio of 3.57 was better than Jimenez’s 3.74. Also, Kershaw’s K/9 ratio of 9.34 was quite a bit better than Jimenez’s rate of 8.69. And isn’t the point of debating to defend your position? As Marshall Eriksen says, “Lawyered!”

Bryan: Kershaw had the better strikeout and walk rates fo’ sho, but Jimenez wins opponents average (.208 to .217) and the all-important ground ball battle (48.8 percent to 40.1 percent). And you know what else is nice? Jimenez has thrown 218 and 221.2 innings in the last two seasons, respectively.

Chris: You seem to be neglecting the point that Kershaw is trending upward while Jimenez is trending downward. From 2009 to 2010 Kershaw lowered his walk rate from 4.79 to 3.57 and increased his ground-ball rate from 39.4 percent to 40.1 percent. On the other hand, Jimenez’s walk rate rose from 3.51 in ’09 to 3.74 in ’10, and his ground-ball rate declined from 52.5 percent to 48.8 percent.

And don’t forget that Kershaw pitched over 200 innings last year, as the Dodgers have methodically built up his endurance over the past three years.

Bryan: I hardly think you could call Jimenez’s increase in walks and decrease in ground balls a trend. His GB percentage was over 50 percent in the prior two seasons, so 48 percent is still in that same neighborhood, and the 3.74 BB/9 is lower than the 4.06 and 4.67 rates he had in ’07 and ’08. He’s not trending down as much as he’s remaining elite in his ground balls while still maintaining the same control he had during his pre-breakout ’09 season.

Chris: Even if you don’t think it’s a trend, there’s no denying that Kershaw has been improving every year (and by the way, he doesn’t have to pitch half his games at Coors Field). He is one of the best young pitchers in the game who delivers a low ERA and WHIP and strikes out over 200 batters. He was almost a top 10 starting pitcher last year, and with another year of experience, he will hurdle over Jimenez and become a fantasy ace.

For the original article, check out Baseball Professor.

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The Milwaukee Brewers pulled the trigger on a big-time trade Sunday, and no it wasn’t the much talked-about Prince Fielder move, as they acquired disgruntled Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke.

That begs the question, where does Greinke fall in amongst the best of the National League? Between the St. Louis Cardinals duo of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, the Philadelphia Phillies “Big Four” and the San Francisco Giants duo of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, among others, the NL is not short on great starting pitching.

So here is the list of the NL’s ten best pitchers for 2011 and where Greinke falls into the mix now that he has joined Milwaukee.

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Cliff Lee just shocked the baseball world by going back to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Texas Rangers and New York Yankees were widely thought to have been the front-runners for his services, but they’re now left in the dark after his signing.

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The Colorado Rockies watched the San Francisco Giants celebrate a World Series championship, then watched the Los Angeles Dodgers solidify their pitching staff and second base spot within the month since the season ended. Now, they are doing their own moving and shaking.

The Rockies, according to multiple reports, have agreed to a contract extension with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki through the 2020 season, and have also agreed to pay roughly $32 million over three years to retain the services of free-agent starting pitcher Jorge de la Rosa. Both men will return to a Rockies club that made a strong, desperate September run in the NL West and Wild Card races last year before falling just short.

If it seems at all insignificant next to the outside acquisitions (notably Jon Garland and Juan Uribe) that the Dodgers have made this winter, or if it seems insufficient to overtake the stellar pitching staff of the Giants, then this pair of moves at least clears the way for Colorado to get serious about adding a solid hitter for one of their corner outfield spots, and gives them enough certainty in the starting rotation to aggressively pursue the closer or other relief ace they badly need to compete.

Tulowitzki is perhaps the best shortstop in baseball, and certainly the most well-rounded. He has hit .305/.379/.560 over the past two seasons, averaging 30 homers, 94 RBI and 16 steals in those campaigns. More importantly, he is perhaps the best defensive shortstop in baseball, and certainly one of the top five in that respect. Hanley Ramirez is as good a hitter, but not in Tulowitzki’s league defensively.

De la Rosa figures to be a solid complement to Ubaldo Jimenez in Colorado’s rotation for the foreseeable future. Though he struggles with control at times and battled finger injuries in 2010, he strikes out about a batter per inning and is one of the league’s most prolific ground-ball pitchers. That has obvious and tremendous value in an environment like Colorado, and de la Rosa’s ability (as a left-handed hurler) to get both right-handed and left-handed batters out is a huge bonus.

The Rockies overpaid a bit for him in what is becoming a player’s market for pitching salaries, but if he can stay healthy, he will offer plenty of return on their investment.

The next step for the Rockies is to beef up their corner outfield and/or first base spots.

Carlos Gonzalez is a monster in left field, but may move to center eventually if the team feels it can do better than Dexter Fowler by adding a left fielder. Still, the team has taken big strides toward seriously contending in 2011 just by locking down its two big contributors. Here is a look at all five NL West teams, and who would reign supreme if the season began tomorrow:

1. San Francisco Giants

Yes, the Giants still sit atop the heap for now, although their lack of offense is becoming conspicuous and the rumor mills are not friendly to the team’s insistence that it will add a big bat like Carl Crawford. They need a shortstop better than Edgar Renteria to balance the loss of Uribe to the division-rival Dodgers, but there are ample options out there for them in that respect.

If they can add even one impact bat (and it need not be an elite bat, just a better one than Renteria’s or Mark DeRosa’s), the pitching staff that so dominated the playoffs will be able to carry the team to another division crown.

2. Colorado Rockies

They were almost as good as the Giants in the second half, and they have a pair of aces to match anyone but the Giants in this division. Tulowitzki and Gonzalez are not merely great hitters, but versatile contributors on both offense and defense, with speed, power and range. No offensive duo in the division can match them. In fact, only Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday are a better top tandem in the entire league.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

Hot on the trail of San Francisco and Colorado, the Dodgers still have holes to fill. Catcher and left field remain very much in limbo, and even if Ned Colletti swings a clever deal of James Loney to address one of those spots, they will need to open the wallets wide enough for first baseman like Adam Dunn.

All in all, though, the Dodgers have taken some huge steps forward by locking up their pitchers for 2011 and adding Juan Uribe for a bit more pop in a lineup that needed it badly.

4. San Diego Padres

The Padres have been conspicuously quiet this winter, and not moving at all is about the same as going backward in the current climate of the NL West. Adrian Gonzalez may now be a true goner, since GM Jed Hoyer’s staff seems highly pessimistic about the team’s ability to sign Gonzalez beyond this season and since the Padres (who lost Garland to Los Angeles) are a fistful of moves from viable contention in 2011.

5. Arizona Diamondbacks

Kevin Towers is a great team-builder, but he has more than one winter’s worth of construction ahead of him. Even if Rome were built in a day, Towers would be at a loss. The organization he inherits looks more like Chicago circa 1800, a vast swamp with only the barest signs of potential. Trade rumors abound around this team, with Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton the hottest commodities.

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