The Arizona Diamondbacks are of the best teams in baseball. The starting rotation is anchored by Cy Young award winner Randy Johnson, the most overpowering pitcher in baseball. He won another Cy Young last season and there is no reason to believe that he can't win his 3rd straight. Curt Schilling is another dominant starting pitcher. He gives Arizona one of the top tandems in the game today as he has an overpowering fastball. Brian Anderson has the potential to become a big time lefty starter. Armando Reynoso has always been a consistent pitcher. Closer Matt Mantei, who saved 32 games in his last full season, is feared. Byung-Hyun Kim has overpowering "stuff". The offense is also potent. 1b Mark Grace hit only .280 last year, his lowest average in years, but is still one of the best fielding 1st basemen in the game. 2b Jay Bell had his best season ever with the Diamondbacks but only hit 18 home runs last year. SS Tony Womack is one of the best base stealers in baseball. 3b Matt Williams is a tremendous threat at the plate when healthy. C Damian Miller is a young catcher who could call the signals for Arizona for many years. LF Luis Gonzalez played in every game last season and is a very productive outfielder. CF Steve Finley is coming off of back surgery and will look to rebound from a sub-par 2000 season. RF Reggie Sanders provides Arizona with speed and could return to his form as one of the best hitters in the National League if he remains healthy.
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The Colorado Rockies retooled their ballclub this offseason with hopes to improve. The offense is still potent. 1b Todd Helton led the National League in batting last season and flirted with .400 for a good part of the year. 2b Todd Walker was once a strong player with the Twins and could put up good numbers in Colorado. SS Neifi Perez has the potential to be one of the best hitting 3rd basemen in the game. 3b Jeff Cirillo, a former All Star, had a very productive season last year, driving in over 100 runs without much use of the long ball. C Brent Mayne is one of the better fielding catchers in baseball. LF Larry Walker was having a great season last year until he got hurt. Expect a superb season out of Walker in 2001. CF Juan Pierre is very fast and should be a solid fielder in center. LF Ron Gant is no longer a feared hitter but is still good for between 15 and 20 home runs. Major improvements were made in the pitching department. Ace Mike Hampton was signed as a free agent to become the team's 1st number one starter. Denny Neagle, who won 15 games last year, was also signed to improve what was a terrible staff. Pedro Astacio was the team's most consistent pitcher last year and is a very solid starter. Brian Bohanon and ROn Villone are pitchers who have the ability to win around 10 games each. Jose Jimenez is the closer but has only a year of closing experience.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers have a lot of talented players. One of those is Kevin Brown, who anchors the starting rotation. Brown led the league in ERA last year and is easily one of the top 10 starters in baseball. Chan Ho Park had a breakout season, winning 17 games last year. Darren Dreifort is another young pitcher who has the ability to become a star. Andy Ashby, who was signed from Atlanta in the offseason, could be a big upgrade for the Dodgers. Eric Gagne, a young player with potential, fills out the Dodgers rotation. Closer Jeff Shaw is among the best in the game. If the offense comes around, the Dodgers could be serious contenders. 1b Eric Karros showed good power again last year and has become one of the best power hitters in Dodgers history due to his consistency. 2b Mark Grudzielanek moves from shortstop to second base in an effort to help him in the field. SS Alex Cora is young and unproven. 3b Adrian Beltre, a young star, must become the star that the Dodgers think he will be. The Dodgers lost Todd Hundley in free agency and they signed Chad Krueter to fill his shoes. Shawn Green, acquired for Raul Mondesi from Toronto last year, brings a big bat to the Los Angeles lineup. If he can improve on last season's down year, the Dodgers will be a contender in the West. RF Gary Sheffield hit over 40 home runs last year and established himself as a premier player once again. CF Tom Goodwin has great speed and is a threat on the bases.
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The San Diego Padres have young talent but are several players away from being a playoff contender again. Bobby Jones was signed from the Mets to bring experience to a young rotation. Adam Eaton and Matt Clement are young pitchers who could become solid starters for the Padres in the near future. Woody Williams, last season's most consistent pitcher, returns and will look to improve on a solid season. The status of Sterling Hitchcock is a major question mark. Closer Trevor Hoffman is able to dominate games with his great fastball. On offense the Padres have several talented players. One of them is 1b Ryan Klesko, who is a productive power hitter and has showed good speed last year. 2b Damian Jackson is one of the Padres young stars. If Jackson can become a solid contributor early in his career, the Padres could have a bright future. SS Chris Gomez is a veteran hitter and can produce at the bottom of the lineup. 3b Phil Nevin has great power and will improve on his 30 plus home runs that he hit in 2000. C Ben Davis has the potential to be one of the team's best hitters and is good behind the plate. Davis has good speed, which is rare for a catcher. RF Tony Gwynn is still a good hitter although he spent much time on the disabled list last season. CF Mike Darr is unproven and will not put up good numbers. LF Eric Owens, a converted outfielder who was once a catcher, is a similar player to Davis and could be a good contact hitter in the future.
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The San Francisco Giants are always a contender under manager Dusty Baker. He knows how to win games. Livan Hernandez became the team's ace last season and won a game in the postseason. Shawn Estes, once a top flight pitcher, was able to regain his form from 1997 and again become a very good starter. Kirt Rueter and Russ Ortiz both pitched well last season, leading the Giants to the NL West title. Mark Gardner is a veteran who gives the Giants a lot of innings and always wins games. Closer Robb Nenn became the premier closer in baseball last year and was virtually impossible to score on. The offense is also strong. 1b J.T. Snow continues to improve at the plate and, as always, played a great defensive first base. Jeff Kent is one of the best players in baseball and proved it again last year by winning the MVP award in the National League. SS Rich Aurilia has good power and has worked on making more contact in the offseason. Look for a big season from him. 3b Russell Davis joins Snow as former Yankee prospects who are big players with the Giants. C Bobby Estalella needs to improve his hitting. The outfield is led by all time great Barry Bonds. Bonds hit 49 home runs last year and was a top MVP candidate. In his last year before free agency, look for 50 home runs out of Bonds. CF Marvin Benard hits leadoff. He is a good hitter but needs to become more selective at the plate. Young RF Armando Rios has to try to fill the shoes of top RBI producer Ellis Burks, who departed to Cleveland to become the DH.
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