Major League Baseball

Arizona Diamondbacks 2017 preview

Published Apr. 4, 2017 12:05 p.m. ET

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Lindsey Foltin

This is the last of our 2017 team previews. This week: The NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers | San Francisco Giants | San Diego Padres | Colorado Rockies.

LAST SEASON

69-93 (fourth place in NL West)

WHAT'S NEW

Key additions: RP Fernando Rodney (free agent from Marlins), SS Ketel Marte (trade from Mariners), SP Taijuan Walker (trade from Mariners), OF Oswaldo Arcia (free agent from Padres), OF Jeremy Hazelbaker (waivers from Cardinals), C Chris Iannetta (free agent from Mariners), C Jeff Mathis (free agent from Marlins)

Key subtractions: 2B Jean Segura (trade to Mariners), RP Daniel Hudson (free agent to Pirates), C Welington Castillo (free agent to Orioles), OF Mitch Haniger (trade to Mariners), OF Peter O'Brien (free agent to Royals), OF Rickie Weeks (free agent to Rays)

3 STRIKES

1. Fresh faces in the front office. The Diamondbacks swung for the fences last offseason but struck out on most of their big moves, resulting in the firing of manager Chip Hale, general manager Dave Stewart and senior VP of baseball operations De Jon Watson. The Diamondbacks decided to pluck their replacements from winning franchises, hiring Red Sox GM Mike Hazen to take on the same role with Arizona. Hazen filled out his front office staff with Chicago Cubs executive Jared Porter and Red Sox VP of scouting Amiel Sawdaye, who will both take on the role as senior vice president and assistant general manager. And to round out the new staff as manager, you guessed it, another buddy from Beantown. Hazen chose 11-year MLB veteran and former Boston bench coach Torey Lovullo as the team's new manager -- a career-first for Lovullo. The two have worked together for more than a decade, dating back to their time with the Cleveland Indians organization. These moves were some much-needed changes that will hopefully be the beginning of a new era in Arizona.

 

2. Plenty of pitching potential. To say Zack Greinke failed to meet expectations in his first year with the Diamondbacks is an understatement, but on the bright side, he can't get much worse. Greinke is a three-time All-Star who's only two years removed from a Cy Young-worthy season (he was runner-up in Cy Young voting in 2015), so there's a good chance he'll bounce back this year now that he's adjusted to life in Arizona. Taijuan Walker is a former top prospect who has struggled to find his way in the majors, but has a high ceiling and lots of potential. Sure he put up a 4.41 ERA, 4.48 FIP and averaged 1.5 home runs per nine over 304 innings in his last two seasons with Seattle, but he's only 24 and could benefit from having a veteran like Greinke to learn from. Robbie Ray's solid spring training -- 3.29 ERA and 32:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 27 1/3 innings -- suggests that he could be primed for a breakout year. Shelby Miller and Patrick Corbin are great bounce-back candidates, while Braden Shipley and Archie Bradley provided plenty of talented depth.

3. Could they catch a break? The Diamondbacks did a complete overhaul at the catcher's position, dumping starter Welington Castillo and backup Tuffy Gosewisch and replacing them with two hardy veterans in Jeff Mathis and Chris Iannetta. While Iannetta isn't the hitter he once was and Mathis is a career .198 hitter, they're both known for their stellar defense and pitch-framing, which will come in handy with some of Arizona's young up-and-coming pitchers.

BEST-CASE SCENARIO

Greinke returns to his 2015 form (19-3, 1.66 ERA, 0.844 WHIP and 200 strikeouts), and with a healthy Miller and Corbin putting up solid starts, the D-Backs pitch themselves into the wild-card picture.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO

With a new manager, new battery mates and a regressing Paul Goldschmidt, the team suffers some growing pains that it is all way too familiar with and loses hope before the All-Star break.

 

BEST BETS

Projected win total (via Atlantis Casino Resort): 78.5

World Series odds (via Vegas Insider): 125/1

TOP FIVE FANTASY PLAYERS

1. A.J. Pollock, CF: After missing most of 2016 recovering from a fractured elbow, the anticipation Pollock could mimic 2015 production of 20 HR and 39 stolen bases seems to have waned. Projections have him hovering around 15 homers and 25 stolen bases in 2017.

2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B: The first baseman produces homers, scores runs, drives in 100+ per season, swiped 32 bags in 2016 with consistent .400+ on base percentage. What's not to like?

3. Jake Lamb, 3B: The then-25-year-old prospect broke out in 2016 with 29 homers, 81 runs, 91 RBI and -- yikes -- a .249 batting average. However, he hit a great wall the final two months of the season as his batting average dipped below .200 the final 53 games.

4. Zack Greinke, SP: Gone are the Dodgers' days of sub-2.00 ERA and sub-1.00 WHIP, but should still be counted on as a fantasy SP-2 in the rotation.

5. Robbie Ray, SP: Ranked only behind Jose Fernandez in strikeouts per nine innings last season -- 11.25 / 9 IP. Pundits promote cautious optimism for Ray's 4.90 ERA last season to dip more than a run in 2017. He could be thee value pick in fantasy drafts.

PREDICTION

The Diamondbacks have depth at pitcher, two young stars on the verge of a huge breakout (in Jake Lamb and Yasmany Tomas) and a veteran power hitter in Goldy, which should give them a legit shot to compete for a wild-card spot.

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