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

By Jake Mastroianni |
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 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 /

Everyone in the NL West has played at least 42 game to this point, so it’s a good time to size up the competition for the San Francisco Giants.

After the games on May 18, the Colorado Rockies hold a two game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers in the division. Just like everyone drew it up.

The San Francisco Giants currently sit in fourth place and are nine games back of the Rockies. Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres are dwelling in the basement 11.5 games back.

If the season ended today, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks would face each other in the Wild Card game. So it’s safe to say that the NL West is probably the best division in the National League to this point.

It’s still way too early to be looking at standings. A lot will change between now and September. For the sake of the San Francisco Giants, they certainly hope that’s the case.

Justin Turner for the Dodgers leads the National League in hitting with a .379 average. Buster Posey is right behind him at .378.

Mark Reynolds for the Rockies is in the top 10 in average, home runs and RBI in the National League.

The NL West is certainly a powerful division. The Rise of the Rockies and Diamondbacks will just make it that more entertaining this summer.

Some question whether the Rockies and Diamondbacks are for real, but I believe they are.

Even though we are just one-fourth of the way through the season, we’ll look at the hitting, starting pitching and bullpen numbers for each NL West team.

May 11, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) and first baseman Mark Reynolds (12) celebrate after the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez (5) and first baseman Mark Reynolds (12) celebrate after the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

Offense 

  1. Los Angeles Dodgers: Much to my surprise, the Dodgers have actually had the best offense in the NL West this year. They’re second in the NL in average at .264, and third in runs scored. And they do their damage without the long ball as they’re just 11th in the NL in home runs.
  2. Arizona Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks had an offensive explosion to begin the year and haven’t really slowed down. They’re hitting .263 as a team, right behind the Dodgers. And they’re fourth in the NL in runs with 206. Unlike the Dodgers, they do rely heavily on the home run as they’re third in the NL with 56.
  3. Colorado Rockies: Before writing this article I assumed the Rockies would be number one. But they’re hitting just .256 as a team with 199 runs scored and 52 home runs. That’s still puts them in the top 10 in every category in the NL, but you expect more out of Denver. Pretty scary that they’re in first place without the offense firing on all cylinders.
  4. San Diego Padres: The Padres have the worst average in the NL at .221 and are 14th in runs scored. However, they are tied for fifth in the NL in home runs — that’s very odd. Some of their young players are starting to develop, and I think this offense gets better as the year goes on.
  5. San Francisco Giants: The Giants are actually last in the NL in runs scored at 142, but they’re hitting .231 as a team, which is 13th in the NL. They also have the fewest home runs in the NL. There is no reason for the Giants’ offense to be this bad, and I don’t expect them to stay near the bottom of the NL all year.
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.
May 14, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Greg Holland delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
May 14, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Greg Holland delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

Bullpen 

  • Los Angeles Dodgers: There is a theme developing here, and it’s that the Dodgers are the best team in the NL West. They lead the NL with a 2.93 ERA from their bullpen. They’re third with a .223 BAA, and second in strikeouts with 168 in 135 innings. Their bullpen has the best K/9 rate in the NL at a ridiculous 11.20 rate.

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    Arizona Diamondbacks: I was a bit surprised the Diamondbacks bullpen has been this good. I feel like they’ve blown a lot of leads this season. But they’re tied with the Colorado Rockies for the fifth best bullpen ERA in the NL at 3.76. They’re fourth in the NL with a .224 BAA, and their bullpen has struck out 142 batters in 129.1 innings pitched. That’s a pretty good K/9 rate. In fact, it’s the second best K/9 rate in the NL at 9.88.

  • Colorado Rockies: Colorado was very close with the Diamondbacks as they have identical ERAs, but the Rockies have a .229 BAA, which is still fifth best in the NL. They’ve struck out 145 batters in 141.1 innings for a K/9 rate of 9.23.
  • San Francisco Giants: The bullpen was the biggest problem for San Francisco last year, and it’s actually been pretty good so far in 2017 despite losing their closer for a while. They’re eighth in the NL with a 4.00 ERA, but 10th in BAA at .256. They’ve struck out 118 batters in 126 innings. I said they needed more strikeout guys in the bullpen before the season, and that hasn’t happened yet.
  • San Diego Padres: The Padres are sixth in BAA at .243 and fourth in K/9 rate at 9.41, but those numbers haven’t turned into success. They’re last among NL West teams and 14th overall in the NL with a bullpen ERA of 5.32. The first two numbers tell me that this bullpen isn’t quite as bad as the ERA suggests. I think they make a lot of improvements between here and the halfway mark.
    • May 16, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) attends batting practice before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
    May 16, 2017; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30) attends batting practice before the game against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

    Final Thoughts and Reactions 

    So what do all these numbers mean?

    What it tells me is that the Dodgers are clearly the best team in the NL West, and that the Arizona Diamondbacks are right on their heels.

    It also tells me that the Rockies are due for a little regression. Or if you’re looking at it from the Rockies point of view, they haven’t even started playing their best baseball yet.

    I think the San Francisco Giants have some major issues offensively. A quarter into the season and they’er still last in the NL in runs scored and home runs.

    The Giants starting pitching and bullpen has been solid, but not good enough to withstand the lack of run support from the offense. If you’re not going to hit well enough, then you’re pitching is going to need to be lights out.

    I think the Padres will most certainly be the worst team in the NL West all year. But these numbers show me that they’re a scrappy bunch that is improving on the fly. They are going to cause some NL West teams trouble down the stretch.

    As mentioned in the beginning, I think the NL West is the best division in the National League right now. There will be at least two teams in the playoffs from this division.

    That’s going to make the San Francisco Giants path to the playoffs even harder. But this will be a fun division race to watch all summer regardless.

    Next: San Francisco Giants Minor League Report: How are the top 10 prospects faring?

    I look forward to revisiting these numbers after the next 40 games to see how teams have fallen or improved.

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