NL West: Sizing Up the Offense, Starting Pitching and Bullpen for Each Team

May 16, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) takes Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner (10) for an out in the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey (28) takes Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner (10) for an out in the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 17, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) throws a pitch during the sixth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) throws a pitch during the sixth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

Starting Pitching

  1. Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers have the best starters ERA of any NL West team at  3.53, which is second best in the NL. They’re also second in the NL in strikeouts with 236 in 237 innings pitched. They’re tied for third in the NL in batting average against (BAA) at .243.
  2. Arizona Diamondbacks: Surprisingly, the Diamondbacks have the second best starting staff in the NL West right now. They’re actually tied with the Dodgers in BAA, and are third in ERA at 3.85. To top things off, they are first in the NL in strikeouts with 251 in 245.2 innings pitched. So really, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks are neck-and-neck here.
  3. San Francisco Giants: I’m going to be nice and put the Giants third even though the numbers suggest they are last in the NL West. But really the Giants, Padres and Rockies are all pretty close. The Giants are 10th in the NL with a 4.58 ERA and eighth in BAA at .261. Both of those rank last among NL West teams. However, they are fourth in strikeouts with 224, but Giants starters have also thrown the most innings among any NL team with 255.1.
  4. San Diego Padres: The Padres have the sixth best starter ERA in the NL at 4.36, and they’re seventh with a .260 BAA. Their starters have struck out 200 batters in 241.2 innings pitched.
  5. Colorado Rockies: A lot of people think the Rockies starters have improved a lot this season, but the numbers don’t support that theory. They’re ninth in the NL with a 4.45 ERA, but they are sixth in BAA at .251, which is third best in the NL West. However, they are just 11th in strikeouts with 182, while their starters have thrown the sixth most innings in the NL at 236.2.