Opening Day is drawing near and one of the most compelling divisions heading into the MLB season is the NL West.
The Dodgers are looking to take their fourth straight division crown, while the Giants will hope to make it four straight even years with a World Series and the Diamondbacks look vastly improved.
We've already projected the NL East, AL East, NL Central and AL Central, here are our 2016 projections for the NL West. To view this article in slideshow form, CLICK START at the top right of this page.
Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70 in 2015)
The Dodgers won their third straight NL West division title in 2015, but once again didn't get very far in the playoffs, getting ousted by the Mets in the NLDS in five games.
Los Angeles still boasts its ace, Clayton Kershaw, who led the MLB with 301 strikeouts and placed third with a 2.13 ERA last season, but Zack Greinke defecting to Arizona is a huge loss. The Dodgers added Scott Kazmir (7-11, 3.10) out of free agency and purchased Kenta Maeda from Japan to help fill the void.
The team also returns a solid lineup, led by Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner. First-round pick Corey Seager is also certain to keep developing on the big league level, while Joc Pederson will continue to feast (26 homers) or famine (170 strikeouts) at the bottom of the lineup.
L.A. boasts a pretty well-rounded team under Dave Roberts, who takes over for the fired Don Mattingly this season. It could be another first-place finish for the Dodgers, but they'll have a lot of competition.
San Francisco Giants (84-78)
The Giants missed the playoffs last season, but have a striking run of World Series titles in 2010, '12 and '14, so in 2016, there is plenty of hope.
The optimism, of course, goes much further than what year it is. San Francisco brought in Denard Span out of free agency this offseason to lead off for a lineup that has mostly stayed consistent from last season. The likes of Joe Panik, Matt Duffy, Buster Posey (fourth in NL with .318 batting average in 2015) and Hunter Pence give the Giants a formidable lineup.
Madison Bumgarner also has some help shouldering the load in the rotation. Coming off of a season in which he ranked third in the NL in wins (18) and fourth in strikeouts (234), Bumgarner now has Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija pitching behind him in the revamped Giants rotation. Jake Peavy and former first-round pick Matt Cain round out the starting five.
The Giants appear poised to give the Dodgers a run for their money with a solid lineup and a reenergized rotation in 2016. The Giants led the NL with a .267 batting average last season and appear poised to be a threat in the NL this year.
Arizona Diamondbacks (79-83)
The Diamondbacks halted their rebuild and decided to go for it this offseason and they may risk becoming the Padres of 2016.
Arizona outbid everyone for Zack Greinke, inking him to a six-year, $206.5 million pact. Greinke earned his money by ranking first in the Majors with a 1.66 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP in 2015, while racking up 19 wins.
The Diamondbacks then dealt mega prospect Dansby Swanson and a package of players to Atlanta to land Shelby Miller (6-17, 3.05 ERA) to give themselves a fantastic 1-2 punch.
Miller's league-leading 17 losses last season are a reflection of how bad the Braves were, not an indictment on his own performance. Patrick Corbin (6-5, 3.60 ERA) will be right behind the Big 2 for the top-heavy rotation, while Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray bring some questions to the table.
The lineup is anchored by Paul Goldschmidt, who was second in the MLB in OPS (1.005) and fourth in average (.321) last season. A.J. Pollock, who was second in the NL with 192 hits and fourth with 39 steals, is slated to be sandwiched between newcomer Jean Segura and Goldschmidt in the lineup.
The Diamondbacks certainly shook things up this offseason and seem to have a ton of upside by bringing in Greinke and Miller, while their lineup should also be solid. It'll be interesting to see if they suffer the same fate as other teams who lured in big free agents only to falter, or if they will be a threat in the NL West.
San Diego Padres (74-88)
The Padres loaded up on free agents last offseason, but things didn't go as planned and the team ended up unloading most of them. They enter 2016 hoping to bounce back.
San Diego brought in Jon Jay to place at the top of the order, while Matt Kemp, Wil Myers and Yangervis Solarte will anchor the heart of the lineup. After escaping the outfield glut the Dodgers had, Kemp raked in 100 RBIs last season -- his first in San Diego -- to place fourth in the NL. Another notable offseason addition saw the club sign shortstop Alexei Ramirez.
Tyson Ross (10-12, 3.26) and the durable James Shields (13-7, 3.91) will hold down the top of the rotation, but there are some question marks beyond them, including Andrew Cashner, who pitched to a 4.34 ERA last season.
The Padres brought in Fernando Rodney to handle the closing duties after dealing Craig Kimbrel to the Red Sox this offseason.
San Diego has some exciting pieces, but it will likely get lost in the shuffle in the highly-competitive NL West.
Colorado Rockies (68-94)
The Rockies will enter Opening Day without Troy Tulowitzki for the first time after trading him to the Blue Jays late last season, and the trade rumors are likely to follow Carlos Gonzalez around until the team finally pulls the trigger. CarGo placed third in the NL with 40 homers last season.
Nolan Arenado had a breakout season for Colorado in 2015, pacing the NL with 42 homers and 130 RBIs. The third baseman is projected to slot in between Gonzalez and newcomer Gerardo Parra to start the season, giving the Rockies a nice heart of the order.
Jose Reyes is currently on the MLB's restricted list for his domestic violence incident. While the authorities have opted not to pursue a case against him due to his wife's lack of cooperation, the MLB may still suspend him under its new policy. Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has already been banned for the first 30 games for a similar incident.
Jorge De La Rosa (9-7, 4.17 ERA) has the unenviable task of leading a rotation in the most hitter-friendly ballpark in the Majors this season.
The Rockies have some nice pieces, but their rotation leaves a lot to be desired and the team appears destined for another last-place finish in the NL West.
The Prediction
1) Giants (90-72)
2) Dodgers (88-74)
3) Diamondbacks (84-78)
4) Padres (73-89)
5) Rockies (67-95)
