27. Arizona Diamondbacks

Big League-  The Diamondbacks have a abundance of young talent but they still have not been able to put together wins.  With Montero, Drew, Young and Upton they have a very solid core, but their youth is also their problem because their consistency lacks.  This offseason they also traded away Mark Reynolds to the Orioles, a player who added 40 home run power to the middle of the lineup.  They replaced him with Melvin Mora but that is quite the drop off.  The Diamondbacks have the beginnings of a team who can turn it around but it has yet to be seen.

Catcher-Miguel Montero

1st Base- Juan Miranda/ Brandon Allen

2nd Base- Kelly Johnson

Shortstop- Stephen Drew

3rd Base- Melvin Mora

Left Field- Xavier Nady/ Gerardo Parra

Center Field- Chris Young

Right Field- Justin Upton

Pitchers- Joe Saunders, Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, Barry Enright, Zach Duke

Relief- J.J. Putz

Brandon Webb's injury last year really hurt this ball club, and now he is onto the Rangers.  This pitching staff is loaded with potential though, with Daniel Hudson and Ian Kennedy anchoring the middle of the rotation.  Hudson came over from the White Sox in the Edwin Jackson trade, and Kennedy is the Yankees former top prospect.  At times last year both looked dominate and other times they struggled.  Zach Duke could be the real sleeper in the rotation finally getting out of Pittsburgh.  Also look at the addition of J.J. Putz to strengthen their bullpen greatly. 

Top 5 Prospects

RHP Jarrod Parker-  The Diamondbacks top prospect was looking to reach the big leagues last year, before injuring an elbow and spending the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery.   He has a popping fastball, hard slider, and an above average changeup.  He has regained his velocity after surgery, but the off speed pitches will need time.  The Diamondbacks will most likely start Parker in Double A or Triple A and he could be a late season call up.  

 LHP Tyler Skaggs- Skaggs was the 40th overall pick by the Angels in the 2009 draft and he had a very successful year as a 18 year old in Single A last year.  He was a major piece in the Dan Haren trade, and he didn't disappoint the Diamondbacks last season.  After the Haren trade, he started 4 games for the Diamondbacks farm system and had a 1.69 ERA and a 5 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio.  The lefty will begin next year at Double A with hopefully a Triple A promotion midway through.

SS Chris Owings-  Owings was the 41th overall pick in the 2009 draft, one pick after the Angels took Skaggs.  The young shortstop showed a slick glove at Single A last year with a fielding percentage of .962%.  He batted .298 but had limited pop and only drew 9 walks compared to 50 strikeouts.  The former South Carolina commit will have at least a couple years in the minors before we hear his name in the big leagues.  

 3B Bobby Borchering-  Borchering is another high draft pick in the 2009 draft.  This time the Diamondbacks chose the third basemen 16th overall.  Borchering already has a major league ready frame coming in at 6'3 and 200 pounds.  He hit 15 home runs and had 31 doubles in 135 games last year as a 19 year old in Single A.  He is another prospect that we won't see for a few years, but the 3rd base path is clear with the Diamondbacks trading away Mark Reynolds this offseason.

 OF Marc Krauss-  The Diamondbacks selected the Ohio University Bobcat in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft, and he showed his power in the 2010 season.  In high A ball last year the outfielder hit .302 with 25 home runs and 87 RBI's.  He is more mature than most of the Diamondbacks other prospects and if he keeps up his hitting he could be fast tracked to the majors, but we still don't see his ETA to be before 2012.  

Payroll and Direction

The Diamondbacks have a solid direction ahead of them, but with only an average farm system, they are going to need to succeed with their young big league talent and free agents.  It was surprising to see them shopping Justin Upton at the winter meetings because he is the cornerstone of this team.  Last year the Diamondbacks paid players almost 80 million dollars, and didn’t have much to show for it.  They were still stuck into paying Eric Byrnes the 11 million in his contract after his career fizzled.  Look for this Dback team to have potential, but not be consistent enough to make a playoff push.