Vaughn: Previewing the National League West

by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Arizona Diamondbacks

(2022: 74-88, .457)

The Arizona d iamondbacks look to bounce back after their third-consecutive losing season. m anager Torey

Lovullo returns for his seventh season, hoping to guide the d -backs to their first postseason birth since 2017. Though finishing near the bottom of the n L, the team looks to be much-improved, thanks in large part due to great outfield depth, particularly with young players like Jake m c c arthy, Alek Thomas and c orbin c arroll (the n o. 2 prospect in all of baseball) entering the season age 25 or younger. o n the infield, Arizona returns with gold-glove first baseman c hristian Walker, as well as switch-hitting infielder Ketel m arte.

The pitching staff looks to be anchored by young aces in Zac Gallen and m errill Kelly, both of whom showed great improvement under the tutelage of pitching coach b rent s trom, who came over from the h uston Astros following the 2021 campaign. In terms of transactions, the d iamondbacks didn’t make many moves. h owever, they did complete a blockbuster trade, dealing a rising star in utilityman d aulton varsho for catcher Gabriel m oreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. In m oreno, a highly-touted prospect, Arizona should have their everyday backstop while Gurriel provides the lineup with a high on-base percentage. Though it will be difficult for the d iamondbacks to reach o ctober this season, expect much improvement and many strides towards a bright future.

Colorado Rockies

(2022: 68-94, .420)

The c olorado r ockies carry their rebuilt into 2023, hoping to move past their 94-loss season in 2022. Though c olorado stayed pat in the offseason with minimal trades and free agent signings, they hope to receive a major boost with the addition of four time All s tar and 2016 n L mv P Kris b ryant. Inked to a seven year, $182 million deal prior to the 2022 season, b ryant appeared in just 42 games last a season, by far his lowest over a full, nonc ovid season.

Aside from b ryant, the club does have some bright spots in the lineup, with 2022 All s tar c .J. c ron and Gold Glove winner b rendan r odgers patrolling the right side of the infield. In fact, that infield looks to improve even more with top prospects e zequiel Tovar ( ss , n o. 25 prospect in all of baseball) and m ichael Toglia (1 b / o F, #6 1 b prospect in baseball) slated to be key contributors. For the team to be competitive, though, they will also need bounce-back seasons from former top prospect r yan m c m ahon, as well as aging outfielder c harlie b lackmon. o n the pitching side (which never has been a strong suit for a team playing half its games a mile above sea level), the r ockies will need to lean on their workhorses in Kyle Freeland, German m arquez and Antonio s enzatela, all of whom are entering their late-20’s primes. o ut of the pen, closer d aniel b ard looks to shut down opposing offenses as he did in 2022, anchoring down a bullpen full of unknown and unproven arms. It will be a large climb for the r ockies, with 2023 appearing to be another season out of contention.

Los Angeles Dodgers

(2022: 111-51, .685) d espite these changes, the current lineup remains loaded with talent, led by 2022 all-stars m ookie b etts (who took home both a Gold Glove and a s ilver s lugger) and Freddie Freeman and complimented with young position players Gavin Lux and Will s mith. o n the other side of the ball, the d odgers boast many quality arms from lefties c layton Kershaw and Julio Urias to righties Tony Gonsolin and d ustin m ay, though losing Walker b uehler to Tommy John surgery for the season is a major blow, even for a roster this deep. o h, and by the way, the d odgers have one of the top farm systems in baseball with seven prospects in the top 80, all of which are slated to reach the majors some time this season. s o yes, despite the disappointment last o ctober, the d odgers remain a force to be reckoned with.

The Los Angeles d odgers were once again a very successful team in the regular season in 2022, winning 111 games en route to their ninth division title in the past ten years. h owever, despite entering o ctober with the best record in baseball, the d odgers title aspirations were short-lived, ending with a three games to one loss to the Padres in the n L d ivision s eries.

This offseason, the d odgers have experienced more than their fair share of transactions, witnessing the departure of n L s ilver s lugger Trea Turner, longtime third baseman Justin Turner, outfielder c ody b ellinger and closer c raig Kimbrel, the latter three of which were coming off down seasons, particularly by their own standards. The d odgers refused to stand idle, though, signing flamethrower n oah s yndergaard and slugger J. d m artinez, both of whom look to return to their all-star form.

San Diego Padres (2022: 89-73, .549) h owever, general manage A.J. Preller backed his reputation as an aggressive executive, signing all-star shortstop Xander b ogaerts away from the b oston r ed s ox while bringing in veteran sluggers n elson c ruz and m att c arpenter as well. They will join one of the most star-studded lineups in baseball, joining up with 2022 all stars Juan s oto, m anny m achado and Jake c ronenworth, not to mention potential mv P candidate Fernando Tatis Jr., who returns from his P ed suspension the second half of April.

After making a run to the n L c hampionship s eries in 2022, the Padres look to take the next step forward in 2023. The offseason saw many roster changes via free agency with former s ilver s luggers Josh b ell and b randon d rury and starting pitchers s ean m anaea and m ike c levinger among the notable exits.

This roster is solid defensively as well, featuring five gold-glove finalists, including center fielder Trent Grisham, who won the award for his position. o n the pitching side, s an d iego’s staff is headed by ace Joe m usgrove, with many quality starters like Yu d arvish, b lake s nell, alongside former Top 100 prospect b rent h oneywell Jr. The bullpen is anchored by flamethrowers r obert s uarez and Josh h ader, with young arms r ay Kerr and m ichel b aez slated for increased roles. After coming within three wins of the World s eries, the Padres look to play deep into o ctober once again.

San Francisco Giants (2022: 81-81, .500)

d espite vastly outperforming expectations with a 107-win division title in 2021, the s an Francisco Giants came back down to earth in 2022, finishing at .500, good for third in the division. After an offseason characterized most by what could have been in the failed signings of Aaron Judge and c arlos c orrea, as well as the loss of their allstar lefty c arlos r odon, the Giants look to stay competitive as they continue their transition from their dynasty of the early 2010’s to making their next o ctober run. The outfield, bolstered by the signings of m ichael c onforto and m itch h aniger to go along with Joc Pederson and m ike Yastrzemski, looks to be the strength of the lineup, with the infield featuring a combination of aging veterans and unproven young players. The ceiling of this team will be determined by the ability to pitch, with s an Francisco hurlers combining for a 3.85 era in 2022. With the return of ace Logan Webb and the addition of s ean m anaea (as well as n o. 18 prospect in L h P Kyle h arrison expected to reach the bigs this season), the rotation looks to be one of the stronger ones in the league. The r odgers brothers should bring stability to the bullpen, allowing the team to win some close games. Although not full of the star power typically seen for the Giants, this team has the potential to be competitive this season, with a chance to sneak into o ctober with a wild card birth.

Closing Thoughts and Other News

The n L West looks to be a compelling division featuring two World s eries contenders in the d odgers and Padres. m eanwhile, the d iamondbacks feature many young players and look to take the next step in their rebuild, while the Giants hope to remain competitive. As for the r ockies, 2023 looks to be a season of potential development, and not much more.

Look out for next week’s edition, as I continue these previews with the n L c entral.

Wbb

con T inued from page 16 f rom there, an avalanche of i rish baskets sent the e agles away for good. i n just over three minutes, s onia c itron and sophomore guard o livia m iles teamed up to tally 14 unanswered points. b efore they knew it, the e agles trailed 69-50 and faced an i rish team in full control of the game. b oston c ollege went down quietly, wrapping up a 72-59 i rish road victory. With the win, n otre d ame secured its first season sweep of the e agles since the 2018-19 campaign. s onia c itron and o livia m iles, who anchored n otre d ame’s three major runs, accounted for 45 of the 72 i rish points. c itron’s 23 fell one short of a season-high, as did m iles’ 22. b eyond her scoring output, m iles played her typical brand of remarkably dynamic basketball. s he grabbed 8 rebounds and issued 10 assists, earning her 7th double-double of the season and her first of 2023. i n Lauren e bo’s absence, KK b ransford delivered a strong performance on the inside, collecting 10 points and 8 rebounds. n otre d ame committed an alarming 22 turnovers but evened them out with a field goal percentage of 50.7 and a +14 rebounding margin.

Though junior forward m addy Westbeld fouled out after a 4-for-4 effort from the field, n otre d ame had plenty of room to work with it.

The e agles enjoyed success from the charity stripe (14for-17), but endured a difficult night everywhere else. They shot just 35.6 percent from the floor, including a 17.6 three-point mark. s ophomore forward-center m aria g akdeng racked up 16 points, while T’Yana Todd battled through an inefficient night to score 13. a ndrea d aley also scored in double-figures with 10 and added 8 rebounds.

Up next n o. 16 d uke (19-3, 9-2) will visit p urcell p avilion in the only regular season meeting between the two schools this year. The i rish and b lue d evils are currently tied atop the acc standings with under a month remaining. d uke’s schedule has stiffened recently, yielding losses to n o. 11 n orth c arolina and n o. 23 f lorida s tate. d efense has carried the b lue d evils to the top of the standings this season. a s of Thursday night, d uke ranked in the nation’s top 20 in blocks per game (5.0) and opponents’ field goal percentage (35.0). The b lue d evils also own one of a merica’s top scoring defenses, allowing just over 50 points per game. Kara Lawson’s team has surrendered more than 58 points just three times, accounting for their only three losses. o ffensively, d uke puts forth a balanced attack and wields one of the deepest benches in the acc s enior guard c eleste Taylor (11.9) and senior guard-forward e lizabeth b alogun (10.3) are the only scorers averaging double-figures. h owever, eight players behind them are healthy and have played at least 200 minutes. s unday’s acc showdown will tip-off at 1:00 p.m. e T and will be available on r egional s ports n etworks and the n otre d ame r adio n etwork.

With the top spot in the acc on the line, n otre d ame will play its biggest game of the season to date on s unday.

The b lue d evils defeated p ittsburgh 53-44 at home Thursday night, leaning on their defense again. n either team exceeded 38 percent from the field or 58 percent from the free throw line. Taylor and sophomore guard s hayeann d ay-Wilson each put forth 13 points to lead d uke to victory at c ameron i ndoor s tadium.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

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