Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: NL West

The National League West looks like a one-team race in 2019 but how will that affect fantasy baseball?

The National League West looked competitive entering the 2018 season. The Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies added enough pieces in the offseason to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Francisco Giants even tried to join the race. There was a lot of fantasy baseball value to be had in this division.

It was a two-team race at the end with the Dodgers winning the division by just one game. The Rockies earned a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. The Padres and Giants suffered a lot of injuries and poor performance. The Diamondbacks fell off by the All-Star break.

Entering this season, it looks like it’s the Dodgers division to lose. The Padres are still a couple of years away. The Giants don’t seem to be interested in signing any more free agents. The D’backs are letting all of their big pieces go and the Rockies need some help.

Even the Dodgers let some big names go but they have enough in the reserves and budget to stay competitive.

But with the players that still remain in the division, fantasy baseball owners can find value in all parts of the draft. Whether it’s a first-round pick like Nolan Arenado or a late-round flier in Franmil Reyes, the NL West is packed with talent.

In this six-part series, I will go over each team’s key departures, arrivals and their remaining needs heading into Spring Training. I will also talk about some players to watch for in 2019.

Here it is, the NL West team breakdown.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: San Francisco Giants

Key Departures

Gregor Blanco, Hunter Pence, Derek Holland

Key Additions:

None

The Giants made a big splash last offseason when they traded for both Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria. With the current group of players they had, adding two more all-stars seemed like the next step in bringing them back to the World Series.

It did not go as planned. Longoria played 125 games and hit .244. McCutchen was traded to the New York Yankees. The Giants finished in fourth place, 18.5 games back.

There were rumblings that they were going to trade Madison Bumgarner but that doesn’t seem to be happening. The team still has some solid pieces on offense with Buster Posey, Brandon Belt (if he can stay healthy), Joe Panik and Brandon Crawford.

The outfield is a big question mark. Roster Resource lists Steven Duggar, Mac Williamson and Chris Shaw as the starters. I don’t want any part of that.

The front office needs to add at least one more starting pitcher, two corner outfielders and a catcher, especially if Posey misses time again. Outside of Posey, none of the starters hit over .260 last season.

One player to target in the late rounds is Dereck Rodriguez. He posted a 2.81 ERA, 1.132 WHIP, 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 with a 6-4 record over 118.1 innings. Rodriguez may not get a lot of wins, and you shouldn’t be using that as a category anyway, he can give you some good outings.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: San Diego Padres

Key Departures:

Cory Spangenberg, Freddy Galvis, A.J. Ellis

Key Additions:

Ian Kinsler, Greg Garcia, Garrett Richards

Padres came out strong last offseason by offering Eric Hosmer a big contract. He didn’t perform like he was supposed to, .253 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs in 157 games. Then again, most of the Padres hitters didn’t hit well.

The team added a big prospect at the trade deadline when they got Francisco Mejia from the Cleveland Indians for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. He will compete for playing time at the start of the season.

The team’s big addition this year, so far, has been second baseman Ian Kinsler. Between Los Angeles and Boston, he hit .240 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs. In a pitcher-friendly park like Petco Park, he’s going to struggle to hit for power, though we may see that average rise a bit.

The starting pitching has some holes as both Dinelson Lamet and Garrett Richards recover from Tommy John surgery.

Kirby Yates as the Padres full-time closer could get some looks late in draft. I don’t like drafting closers early, so stocking up on guys like Yates, Blake Treinen and the like allows you to add more top hitters first.

The Padres need a pitcher, a shortstop (currently Luis Urias), third baseman (currently Wil Myers) and one or two relievers.

As for my late-round flier, Franmil Reyes gets the nod. In his first season, 87 games, he hit .280 with 16 home runs and 31 RBIs. I think he’ll add power while keeping a .270 batting average over a full season.

(Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Arizona Diamondbacks

Key Departures:

Paul Goldschmidt, Daniel Descalso, Chris Owings, Jeff Mathis, Patrick Corbin, A.J. Pollock, Jon Jay, Brad Boxberger

Key Additions:

Carson Kelly, Luke Weaver

The Diamondbacks didn’t make any significant moves last offseason. They made the first big move of this offseason as they traded first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals for Luke Weaver, Carson Kelly and Andy Young.

This was the first sign that the Diamondbacks were not going to compete in 2019. The second was letting Patrick Corbin go. Arizona wasn’t going to pay him nearly what the Washington Nationals did, so now they don’t have an ace.

They also lost key infielders in Chris Owings and Daniel Descalso. A.J. Pollock hasn’t signed yet but a few teams are interested in him.

The team did trade for Eduardo Escobar at the deadline, trying to make a last-minute push for the playoffs. He hit .268 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs in 54 games with Arizona.

As of now, Escobar is the third baseman, Jake Lamb at first, Ketel Marte at second and Nick Ahmed at shortstop. It’s good but not as good as it could have been.

Zack Greinke leads the starting rotation followed by Robbie Ray, Zack Godley, Weaver and Merrill Kelly. One more option in there would benefit the team.

The team needs a corner infielder, an outfielder and one more bullpen arm. The humidor in Chase Field helps their pitching but does affect their hitters. The Diamondbacks were 21st in home runs at home last season. They were fifth in 2017.

Marte is my breakout pick. While he may have had his breakout season in 2018, .260 with 14 home runs, 59 RBIs and 12 triples, I think he builds off that. He can hit for power, make good contact and run. Good middle infielders are hard to find late in drafts, so keep an eye on Marte.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: Colorado Rockies

Key Departures:

DJ LeMahieu, Carlos Gonzalez, Adam Ottavino, Gerardo Parra, Matt Holliday

Key Additions:

Daniel Murphy

The Rockies didn’t add a big name last offseason. They traded for reliever Seung Hwan Oh in July and he surprisingly bounced back in Colorado. With their current team, the Rockies had their first 90-win season since 2009. I don’t think they will get back there in 2019.

Losing a great hitting second baseman in DJ LeMahieu will affect everyone around him. Garrett Hampson is listed as the replacement. He can hit for average, .315 in the minors, but has little power.

Pitching well in Colorado is hard but Adam Ottavino made it work. He has a better career ERA and WHIP at home than on the road with 16 more innings pitched. His loss will hurt the Rockies throughout the season.

I still like Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado as top-30 hitters. Trevor Story was able to combine power with contact while striking out less last season. Ian Desmond can hit for power but it comes with a .225 batting average.

Daniel Murphy is slotted as the new first baseman. The Rockies struggled at that position, switching between Desmond and Ryan McMahon. Desmond will go back to the outfield while McMahon rides the bench.

German Marques and Kyle Freeland are the only starters I want from Colorado. They had under 4.00 ERAs and good strikeout totals. With the division getting a bit weaker, they will succeed again in 2019.

The Rockies still need another outfielder, an Ottavino replacement and a second baseman. There are cheap but serviceable options on the market that they should have no trouble bringing in.

My sleeper pick is reliever Bryan Shaw. He had a down year last season but I’ll blame that on adjusting to Colorado. If you use holds in your league, Shaw could be a great help coupled with his strikeouts.

Fantasy Baseball 2019 Division Breakdown: LA Dodgers

Key Departures:

Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood, Yasmani Grandal, Brian Dozier, Manny Machado, Daniel Hudson, Ryan Madson

Key Additions:

Joe Kelly, Jeter Downs

The Dodgers brought back Matt Kemp last offseason and he lit the ball up for the first couple of months. He had 15 home runs with a .310 average in the first half but only a .255 average and six home runs in the second half.

The Dodgers also dealt with a lot of injuries last season. Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor were the only two to play at least 150 games. Clayton Kershaw made less than 30 starts for the third-straight season. In fact, no Dodgers pitcher had 30 starts.

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The team will be without a lot of their offense this season. Kemp and Yasiel Puig were traded to Cincinnati, likely to free up space for a certain outfielder. Yasmani Grandal is a free agent. We all know what’s going on with Manny Machado.

While not having those pieces may hurt, the Dodgers have enough on the bench to field a competitive team. I wouldn’t mind having one or two Dodgers in my fantasy baseball lineup.

The other question mark is the bullpen. Kenley Jansen is recovering from heart surgery and is expected to be ready for Spring Training. The rest of the bullpen, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

They added Joe Kelly but that’s not enough in today’s baseball. Teams are building “super bullpens” to limit their starters. With Kershaw’s injury history, the Dodgers may need to look into that.

It’s hard to pick a breakout or sleeper pick from this team because they are all going to get drafted. Someone you should draft earlier than expected, though, is Max Muncy. Currently the starting second baseman, he can hit for power while giving you a decent batting average. Hitting between .255 and .260 while racking up 30 home runs is good for a middle infielder.

The NL West still has some talent, especially on offense. However, when drafting, don’t get caught up on name value. You can find the Nick Markakis types with your final picks or even on the waiver wire. Draft your fantasy baseball team based on team needs but don’t reach for last year’s Cinderella, either.

Next division will be the National League Central.

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