Looking at Lineups - NL West

Examining spring lineups to try to guess at what we'll see when the season begins

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Dodgers

Jon’s Guess:

1. Shohei Ohtani DH

2. Kyle Tucker RF

3. Mookie Betts SS

4. Freddie Freeman 1B

5. Will Smith C

6. Teoscar Hernandez LF

7. Max Muncy 3B

8. Andy Pages CF

9. Hyeseong Kim 2B

Notes:

• This one is pretty clear! Tommy Edman is beginning the year on the shelf, so Hyeseong Kim will take the 2B duties, locking Andy Pages into centerfield. The 1-4 has been announced already, and it’s a beauty.

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Padres

Jon’s Guess:

1. Xander Bogaerts SS

2. Jackson Merrill CF

3. Manny Machado 3B

4. Fernando Tatis Jr. RF

5. Gavin Sheets 1B

6. Jake Cronenworth 2B

7. Ramon Laureano LF

8. Nick Castellanos DH

9. Freddy Fermin C

Notes:

• Bogaerts appears to be the lead-off man with Merrill-Machado-Tatis in the power spots at 2-4

• After that, we’ll see the trio of Ramon Laureano, Gavin Sheets, and Jake Cronenworth. I’m not sure in what order, but I’m confident it will be those three against righties

• Nick Castellanos and Miguel Andujar will probably platoon at DH? I don’t know, maybe Andujar takes more than Castellanos. But I do think they’ll give Castellanos a look early on.

• There’s no much depth on this roster, so it’s pretty easy to figure out the normal starting nine

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Giants

Jon’s Guess:

1. Luis Arraez 2B

2. Rafael Devers 1B

3. Willy Adames SS

4. Heliot Ramos LF

5. Matt Chapman 3B

6. Jung Hoo Lee RF

7. Harrison Bader CF

8. Bryce Eldridge DH

9. Patrick Bailey C

Notes:

• We’d expect to see Bryce Eldridge in a power position someday, but they’ll likely ease him into it to see if he can actually hang

• The 1-2 seems pretty clear with Luis Arraez and Rafael Devers teaming up at the top, and Willy Adames

• Heliot Ramos and Matt Chapman figure to be in the top five, but it’s possible they line up in a different way than what I’ve done here

• Harrison Bader should play a good bit with this centerfield defense and the power breakout he had last year

• This has been one of the most platoon-heavy teams in the league in recent years, but I don’t see quite as much of that this year. The bench bats are Casey Schmitt, Luis Matos, Jerar Encarnacion, and the backup catcher Daniel Susac. Not much there.

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Diamondbacks

Jon’s Guess:

1. Geraldo Perdomo SS

2. Ketel Marte 2B

3. Corbin Carroll RF

4. Pavin Smith DH

5. Nolan Arenado 3B

6. Gabriel Moreno C

7. Carlos Santana 1B

8. Jordan Lawlar CF

9. Alek Thomas LF

Notes:

• Carroll has been hurt, and Perdomo and Marte have been at the WBC, so we haven’t seen those three together yet this spring, but they’ll be the 1-3 in some order.

• It’s a different look this year with no Eugenio Suarez or Josh Naylor hanging around. That pushes guys like Smith/Arenado/Moreno into the power alley. Not a great situation for the Snakes!

• They have a very athletic outfield, though, and Jordan Lawlar will be a part of it at the beginning of the year. He’s having a big spring, and he’s a potential breakout pick as a super post-hype prospect sleeper.

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Rockies

Jon’s Guess:

1. Ezequiel Tovar SS

2. Willi Castro 3B

3. Hunter Goodman C

4. Brenton Doyle CF

5. Mickey Moniak DH

6. Jordan Beck RF

7. Troy Johnston 1B

8. Edouard Julien 2B

9. Jake McCarthy LF

Notes:

• I have no idea, man! The only locks are the first four there, I think.

• There’s a ton of outfielders on this team. It’s Beck/McCarthy/Moniak fighting for a corner spot. I’ve got them all in here with Moniak at DH, which I think he earned after his performance last year - but you’d be silly to feel confident in that guy

• We’ll have to kind of wait and see what they do, but it will probably be a mix-and-match as they search to figure something out all year long like usual. And it will be a really, really bad lineup when they’re away from home once again.