Last season, the Diamondbacks struck out more times than any other team in Major League Baseball with 1529 of them. The team also finished in 28th place with a team ERA of 4.81 in 1432 innings. As a result, the organization decided to go in a different direction in the offseason. The first major move of the offseason was to part ways with third baseman Mark Reynolds. Despite hitting 32 home runs and knocking in 83 runs, Reynolds hit .198 in 499 at-bats and led Major League Baseball with 211 strikeouts. The D-backs sent Reynolds to the Orioles for relievers David Hernandez and Kameron Mickolio.
The organization also added starting pitchers Zach Duke and Armando Galarraga, closer J.J. Putz, catcher Henry Blanco, corner infielder Geoff Blum, third baseman Melvin Mora, first baseman Russell Branyan, and outfielders Willie Bloomquist and Xavier Nady. Interestingly enough, Blanco, Blum, Branyan, Bloomquist, and Nady all played in San Diego while Towers was the GM there. Towers was smart enough to figure out that since he had success in San Diego with those players, then why not have them join his new team? These veteran players know what it takes to win in the big leagues and should help the young stars like outfielders Justin Upton and Chris Young, shortstop Stephen Drew, and starting pitchers Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy.
This young core group of players should be productive of years to come. Outfielder Justin Upton has tremendous ability but had a down year last season. He hit .273 with 17 home runs, 69 RBI, and 18 stolen bases. Upton is capable of being a .300 hitter with 30 to 35 home runs, over 100 RBI, and over 30 steals. The other young outfielder, Chris Young, had a nice bounce-back year in 2010. After hitting .212 with 15 home runs, 42 RBI, and 11 stolen bases in 2009, Young hit .257 with 27 home runs, 91 RBI, and 28 stolen bases. Both Young and Upton do strikeout a lot during the course of a season, but if they are able to make contact the baseball more often, they should be more productive in 2011.
At the start of the 2010 season, the Diamondbacks rotation featured Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Ian Kennedy, Edwin Jackson, and Rodrigo Lopez. Webb hasn’t pitched since 2009 and has since signed with the Rangers during the offseason, Haren and Jackson were traded during the season, and Lopez signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves during the offseason.
In return for the Haren and Jackson trades, the D-backs got White Sox top prospect Daniel Hudson and left-handed starter Joe Saunders from the Angels. Hudson finished the 2010 campaign on a high note with the D-backs. He finished 7-1 with an ERA of 1.69 in 11 starts. Saunders pitched okay in his stint with Arizona. In 13 starts, Saunders finished 3-7 with an ERA of 4.25 in 82.2 innings. Ian Kennedy made all 32 starts with the D-backs last season and pitched better in the second half with a 5-3 record and an ERA of 3.38 in 14 starts. During the 2010 season, the team called up Barry Enright to fill one of the rotation spots. Enright certainly made his case to be considered for this year’s rotation going 6-7 with an ERA of 3.91 in 17 starts. In Enrigt’s first 12 starts of his career, he went 6-2 with an ERA of 2.63 in 63.1 innings. The Diamondbacks also added Zach Duke and Armando Galarraga during the offseason to battle for a spot in the rotation in 2011. Unfortunately for Duke, he will miss the first month of the season with two broken bones in his left hand. So, Galarraga figures to be a lock for the final spot in the rotation.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have a young and exciting squad that should be successful in the near future. They probably won’t be in a playoff race during the second half of the season, but they should provide plenty of headaches for anybody who has to play them down the stretch.
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