Citizen Staff Writer
SPRING TRAINING
LIKELY OPENING DAY STARTING LINEUP
Pos. Player No. 2008 stats
CF Chris Young 24 .248, 22 HR, 85 RBI
SS Stephen Drew 21 .291, 21 HR, 67 RBI
1B Chad Tracy 18 .267, 8 HR, 39 RBI
LF Conor Jackson 34 .300, 12 HR, 75 RBI
3B Mark Reynolds 27 .239, 28 HR, 97 RBI
RF Justin Upton 10 .250, 15 HR, 42 RBI
2B Felipe Lopez 2 .283, 6 HR, 46 RBI
C Chris Snyder 19 .237, 16 HR, 64 RBI
LIKELY STARTING ROTATION
Pos. Player No. 2008 stats
RHP Brandon Webb 17 22-7, 3.30 ERA
RHP Dan Haren 15 16-8, 3.33 ERA
LHP Doug Davis 49 6-8, 4.83 ERA
RHP Jon Garland 52 14-8, 4.90 ERA
RHP Max Scherzer 39 0-4, 3.05 ERA
KEY RELIEVERS
Pitcher No. 2008 stats
RHP Chad Qualls 50 17 saves, 4-8 record
LHP Scott Schoeneweis 60 2-6, 3.34 ERA, 1 save
RHP Tony Pena 56 3-2 4.33 ERA, 3 saves
RHP Jon Rauch 57 4-8 4.14 ERA, 18 saves
Rest of 40-man roster – Pitchers: 37 Travis Blackley, 33 Billy Buckner, 40 Jonathan Coutlangus, 36 Tom Gordon, 58 Juan Gutierrez, 44 Jose Marte, 61 Kyler Newby, 48 Yusmeiro Petit, 47 Leo Rosales, 45 Doug Slaten, 62 Leyson Septimo, 43 Cesar Valdez, 65 Esmerling Vasquez, 64 Clay Zavada. Catchers: 26 Miguel Montero, 25 James Skelton. Infielders: 63 Pedro Cinaco, 31 Tony Clark, 11 Augie Ojeda, 29 Josh Whitesell. Outfielders: 22 Eric Byrnes, 28 Alex Romero.
D’BACKS SCHEDULE
Games at 1:05 p.m., unless noted
Home: Tucson Electric Park
Date Opponent Site
Feb. 25 at Rockies Hi Corbett
Feb. 26 at Indians Goodyear
Feb. 27 White Sox TEP
Feb. 28 Rangers TEP
March 1 Athletics TEP
March 2 at Cubs Mesa
March 3 at Giants Scottsdale
March 4 Mexico TEP, 5:05
March 6 at Mexico Mexico
March 7 Angels TEP
March 8 Mariners Peoria
March 9 Padres TEP
March 10 at Dodgers Glendale
March 12 at Athletics Phoenix
March 13 Mariners TEP
March 14 at Royals Surprise
March 15 Cubs TEP
March 16 Rockies TEP
March 17 at Athletics Phoenix
March 18 Brewers TEP
March 20 at Angels Tempe
March 21 Royals TEP
March 22 at Padres Peoria
March 24 Giants TEP
March 25 at Rangers Surprise
March 26 at White Sox Glendale
March 27 Angels TEP
March 28 Indians TEP
March 29 White Sox TEP
March 30 at Rockies Hi Corbett
April 1 at Brewers Maryvale
April 2 Rockies TEP, 12:05
April 3 White Sox Chase, 6:40
April 4 White Sox Chase, 6:40
SPRING OUTLOOK
What’s set: Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Doug Davis are set as starters. Chad Qualls is the closer for now. Conor Jackson will start in left field but could move back to first base to make room for Eric Byrnes. Stephen Drew has established himself at shortstop after hitting 21 home runs last season.
What’s not set: Who will fill the gap in middle relief? The candidates include Leo Rosales, Yusmeiro Petit, Tom Gordon, Billy Bucker and Juan Gutierrez.
Tony Pena and Jon Rauch are prime candidates for the setup role. Gordon is also a candidate if he’s healthy.
Top prospects
The Diamondbacks are set with young players at every position. Pitcher Max Scherzer was back and forth between Arizona and Triple-A Tucson last season. He’s expected to be the fifth starter.
Quotable
“We’ve held first place 80 percent of the time the last couple of years, which is a point to be proud of. Obviously, we came up short last year. We’re confident we will turn things around and have some success.” – Arizona Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall, on the upcoming season.
The bottom line
The Diamondbacks have the pitching, especially starters. But will their bullpen hold up? Where does Byrnes fit in with Jackson set to start in left field?
The Diamondbacks may not have enough firepower coming off the bench. Veteran Tony Clark, an ex-Arizona Wildcat, is the lone exception. Byrnes will also be available but he’s coming off an injury-plagued season.
KEN BRAZZLE
kbrazzle@tucsoncitizen.com
FANTASY NOTES
• You pretty much know what you’re getting with Brandon Webb. He’s not the best pitcher in the game, but he’s in the top five or 10.
• Don’t draft Eric Byrnes, but keep an eye on him. He won’t begin the year as a starter, but could put up big home run and stolen base numbers if he eventually gets a chance.
• Max Scherzer should post strong stats, but be aware the D’backs hope to limit him to around 170 innings
• Stephen Drew was one of the best shortstops in the game the second half of last season, but can he do it over a full year?