2007 Arizona Diamondbacks Preview

Hey all, in honor of opening day (2 days away!) I will be doing a breakdown of the D'Backs active roster as it stands right now. Enjoy!

Pitchers:

Juan Cruz- Needs to keep doing what he's doing. Decent overall numbers but could stand to drop his ERA at least .5 points if he wants to be a go-to-guy.

Doug Davis- Went 11-11 last year. Look for him to bring that win total up a game or two. The D'backs need him to. 203 innings pitched last year, gave up 206 hits. Something to think about.

J.D. Durbin- 2000 Arizona High School Player of the Year. Struggled in Minnesota in 2004, let's see how he handles being back in the desert.

Edgar Gonzalez- Was in talks of being possible 5th starter. Has since lost the job but will still be looked to for solid bullpen support.

Livan Hernandez- Needs a big year. Was supposed to be a solid 2 guy for the D'Backs last year but ended up struggling. Drop the ERA, hits and work on keeping up the strikeouts and he can be a 15 win guy.

Randy Johnson- You know the name. You know the history. You also know about last year in New York. Is he Randy of old, or Randy the old? Wait and see before you pencil him in for anything more than 13 wins and a 4+ ERA.

Brandon Lyon- Solid reliever. No numbers that will "wow" you but overall nothing awfull. Keep the homerun total low like in the past and he should be good.

Brandon Medders- Quality arm in the bullpen. Will probably be called on a lot more than some other guys. If he stays healthy and throwing hard, he should have a quality year.

Dustin Nippert- Saw limited action last year and what action he did see, wasen't fun. Let's hope for a rebound. 11.34 ERA....yikes.

Tony Pena- Threw 30.2 innings last year and gave up 21 runs. Drop that stat by a handful and he will be looked to much more. Otherwise, he'll spend a lot of time watching from the bullpen bench.

Doug Slaten- Young and unproven. Another BabyBax. Threw 5 innings last year and gave up 3 hits. I'll take it.

Jose Valverde- Can he be the dominant closer the D'Backs need him to be? Let's hope. Fun stat to chew on....batting average against Left: .152 vs. Right: .258.

Brandon Webb- Mr. Cy Young. Another career year? Let's hope. Look for at least 17 wins. I'll go out on a limb and say he ends with 20 wins and a sub 3.20 ERA. What do I know though?

Catchers:

Miguel Montero - Will take over Robby Hammack's spot as backup catcher. Went 4-16 last year, so is totally unproven. Had a decent spring but can he keep it up?

Chris Snyder- Hit .277 last year. Not awfull. Low power numbers (6 HR) from a big guy which he will look to bring up. Fun stat: Battint average during Day: .118 Night: .266.

Infielders:

Brian Barden- Backing up third base. Unproven rookie. Let's hope we dont see him too early in the season.

Alberto Callaspo- Backing up second base. Hit .238 in 42 at bats last year.

Tony Clark- Power numbers declined in '06 but so did at-bats. Defenitly a step slower. We'll see how it works out. Could be in the middle of a trade come trading deadline.

Stephen Drew- We got a glimpse of the future last year. And we all loved that glimpse. Put up some big numbers in a short ammount of time. Look for huge things from this talented shortstop.

Orlando Hudson- O-dog brought speed and exciment to the desert last year. Will be equaly as dangerous this year. Low numbers offensivly but brings a ton to the field defensivly.

Conor Jackson- .441 Slugging. .291 AVG. .368 OBP. Those will only go up. Big things for CoJack this year, no doubt about it.

Chad Tracy- 20 Hr, 80 RBI last year. Similar numbers this year? The D'Backs certainly hope so. They need his big bat.

Outfielders:

Eric Brynes- A stolen base threat, a dirt dog, and a huge bat. Oh, and he can chase down any flyball hit to him. A key ingrediant for the D'Backs possible NL West Championship run.

Jeff DaVanon- Getting up there in age but can still put up decent numbers. Needs to stay consistent.

Scott Hairston- Will have to replace Gonzo in left. Can he? Time will tell.

Carlos Quentin- Will be out to start the season with a hurt shoulder. Can he get past this and have a solid year? Let's hope.

Chris Young- People are looking for big things from this BabyBax. The hype is there, and it looks like the talent is too. Could have a big year depending on how Manager Bob Melvin wants to structure his outfield.

Overall Perdiction: New uniforms, decent pitching staff, young talent all around the starting 9, last years Cy Young winner and a fanbase hungry for a playoff team. Anything less than second in the NL West will be a dissapointment.

All stats courtesy azdiamondbacks.com