NL West: Around the Foghorn Staff Predictions for 2018
![LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 22: Tony Cingrani #54 of the Los Angeles Dodgers sprays champagne in the clubhouse after their 4-2 win a MLB game against the San Francisco Giants to clinch their fifth consecutive National League West Division title at Dodger Stadium on September 22, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Faroundthefoghorn-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F09-2F852082820-san-francisco-giants-v-los-angeles-dodgers-jpg-dfc8cc503353126d61342fe6c56535be.jpg)
As we prepare for Opening Day on Thursday, the staff at Around the Foghorn has put together our predicted order to finish in the NL West this season.
Not that anyone needs a reminder — or wants one — but last year the Los Angeles Dodgers won the division, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and yes, the San Francisco Giants finished in last place.
This division looks to be one of the best in all of baseball this year with the Rockies improving their bullpen, the Giants improving their offense and the Padres youth growing up.
The Dodgers and Diamondbacks didn’t do much in the offseason to improve, but they return just about everyone and will likely be the favorites.
Here are our staff predictions for 2018 in the NL West:
Jake Mastroianni
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres
Daniel Sperry
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres
Michael Saltzman
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres
Jeff Young
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres
Luke Corvello
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres
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Hiren Patel
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants
San Diego Padres
Taylor Wirth
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres
As you can see, the two unanimous picks for the division are the Dodgers in first and the Padres in last. The battle will be for the three spots in the middle.
Last year the top three teams in the division all made the playoffs — if you consider the Wild Card game the playoffs. There is a good chance that could be the case this year as well, so jockeying for second and third place in the NL West is no joke.
Most people seem to think the Giants will finish in third place with the Diamondbacks finishing second. That means the Giants could still have a good chance of making the playoffs.
We’ll see how everything unfolds. As we all know, you can’t predict baseball. As obvious as some of these picks seem now, we could look very silly in a few months. That’s what makes baseball so great!