Posted on 3/30/2008 11:56:11 PM

2008 MLB Betting Previews - Arizona Diamondbacks

By Dave Golokhov

Starting Pitching:

With Cy Young candidate Brand Webb at the top of the order, the Arizona Diamondbacks were led by pitching last season. The will be the case again this year.

Webb leads a staff that has added a co-ace in the offseason: Dan Haren. Haren will relish the switch the National League where he gets to face one less hitter in the batting lineup.

Haren has looked strong in spring training, striking out 26 batters while walking only 20.

Randy Johnson and Doug Davis are two veteran lefties that will follow suit. Johnson is past his prime but nobody is asking him to lead the NL in strikeouts or carry the burden of a whole team on his back. Davis is a steady arm and won 13 games last year.

Micah Owings is a decent pitcher who will fill out the starting five and he’s actually a bonus as a batter, since he hits fairly well for a pitcher.

This is one of the better rotations in the National League.

Relief Pitching:

Surprisingly, the Diamondbacks trade closer Jose Valverde, who led the league in saves last year, this offseason without any obvious replacement on staff.

Brandon Lyon gets the first crack but he’s nothing out of the ordinary and has struggled with his command this spring.

Tony Pena and Chad Qualls are both slated to work the eighth inning, but both have closing experience as well.

Losing Valverde might throw everything off kilter in the bullpen. Lyon was a decent arm prior to the ninth, but now has to take on that role himself. And it thins out the rest of the unit.

Dustin Nippert, Edgar Gonzalez and Juan Cruz are the other bullpen arms.

Hitting:

The Arizona Diamondbacks scored the fewest runs last season but they are counting on the maturation of one of the youngest lineups to be the biggest difference this year.

Chris Young hit for power, not average last year and considering he bats at the top of the order, that’s an ongoing issue. Orlando Hudson will hit second and is in a contract year.

Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Mark Reynolds and Justin Upton played well in spurts last year but none have pieced together a full season in their MLB careers.

Eric Byrnes is one of the few veterans around and is off a career-year.

With a young lineup, expect them to play to the spirit of the rest of the team. If the Diamondbacks are competitive, expect them to overachieve and hold up their end of the bargain. If the Diamondbacks are struggling in the standings, don’t expect this unproven lineup to bail them out.

Regular Season Win Total: 87.5

Although the Diamondbacks made the playoffs and will essentially add Dan Haren and a healthy Randy Johnson this year, 88 wins is a tall order for this squad.

The lineup is still extremely young and even they some of their hitters are on the cusp, there are no guarantees that they will emerge.

The other lingering concern is in the bullpen, where the Diamondbacks swapped out and All-Star closer for Brandon Lyon. The Diamondbacks were a league-best 32-20 in one-run games last year, which makes losing Valverde a significant downgrade.

MLB Free Picks: Under 87.5 wins

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