The Blue Workhorse

This year the battle could be just as highly contested as only the San Francisco Giants won’t bring a high-caliber team to the field each and every day. Arizona won the division last season but went out and made some huge trades. Colorado rode a late season hot streak all the way to the World Series. San Diego is determined to return to the playoffs after losing their last three games cost them a trip last season, and the Dodgers are looking to end one of the longest World Series droughts in the franchise’s storied history.

Here are our previews and predictions for all five NL West teams including last year’s records, key additions, key losses, projected starting lineup, projected rotation, overall outlook, fantasy impact players, and our prediction for this season:

The Red Sox, with two World Series titles in the last four years, are one of the favorites again this year. While the Red Sox are looking for championship titles, other division rivals have other goals: the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to move pass either the Red Sox or Yankees and get back into the top two in the division. However, they may have to hold off the upstart Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays just to keep the #3 slot. The Rays first goal will be to finish above .500 for the first time in team history, but greater goals are just beyond the horizon.