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Wednesday, March.06, 2013

The Diamondbacks will need their rotation to be a strength as they compete in the NL West for a playoff spot this season.

By Chris Lacey (DiamondBacks Correspondent) Follow @aecanada12

The Arizona Diamondbacks will have to rely on their starting pitching more than ever this season. The two division rivals they have to contend with feature very good pitching rotations along with potent offensive lineups.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Hyun-jin Ryu from South Korea as a Free-Agent, and they also signed the top Free Agent pitcher this winter in Zack Greinke.

The San Francisco Giants have the 2012 NL MVP Award Winner & Batting Champion in Buster Posey. The Giants also have two very good pitchers in Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum to anchor their staff.

30 Clubs in 30 Days Arizona Diamondbacks:

Kennedy will need to have a bounce back and pitch like he did in 2011 when he was tied for wins in NL with 21.

When they play teams in their division, they will need their starters to be solid. The starters are going to have to be great especially when they play the Dodgers and the Giants. When they play these two teams, the starters will have to contain the lineup of both teams.The Diamondbacks will be able to score runs to keep them in games, but it will be their starting pitching that will allow them to win these games.

The one pitcher that the team is going to rely on the most will be Ian Kennedy. Ian is scheduled to start the season opener against the St.Louis Cardinals. Kennedy can set the tone for the season by pitching very well in the opener. Kennedy had a very subpar 2012 season when compared to how well he pitched in 2011. If the Right Handed Pitcher returns to how he pitched in the 2011 season look for the team to be competitive this season.

The next pitcher who will be key for the team is a guy who finished 2^nd in Rookie Of The Year voting. The person that I am talking about is Wade Miley. The guy did not even start the season as a member of the starting rotation. Miley began last season by pitching in the bullpen. He pitched so well out of the bullpen that the team gave him a chance to start when one of their pitchers went down due to injury. Once he earned his chance to start he never gave it up.

Miley would end the season being the team’s most consistent and valuable pitcher. The talented youngster had 16 wins in his first full season with the team. The team will need Miley to build upon the success he had last season. The sophomore hurler – along with Kennedy can form a good 1-2 punch that can stand up against other team’s top starters.

Another pitcher who the team will rely on is Trevor Cahill. This guy had a good but not great first season for the Diamondbacks. The man is an extreme groundball pitcher, which is good since his home starts will be at hitter friendly Chase Field. Cahill was good when he was able to keep his sinker ball down in the hitting zone. The problem that he ran into is when he left pitches up in the hitting zone, and he was also prone to walking hitters. Cahill will need to improve his walk rates, if he is going to succeed this season.

The fourth pitcher that the team will rely on is someone who they signed in the off-season. The pitcher that they signed is Brandon McCarthy. The former A’s pitcher was signed to add some veteran leadership to the rotation. McCarthy can be a mentor to the other young pitchers that the team has. He has also dealt with some adversity as well.

The 2012 season saw McCarthy have his season cut short, due to being hit by a line drive to his head. He has already overcame his first huddle by facing a batter for the first time in his first Spring Training start since he was hit by the line drive last season. McCarthy will be expected to stabilize the back-end of the rotation, and go deep into the games that he pitches.

Brandon McCarthy could be the steal of the off-season for the DBacks. McCarthy can also help fortify the backend of the team staring rotation.

Another pitcher that the team will rely heavily on comes from a group of three pitchers that are competing for the 5^th spot in the rotation. This group is composed of Patrick Corbin, Randall Delgado, & Tyler Skaggs. The early part of Spring Training one of these pitchers has separated himself from the other two. The pitcher who has done this is Patrick Corbin. Corbin has done a good job of locating his pitches early in the spring.

The one pitch that Corbin has control of the most is his fastball; he also has been working with pitching coach Charles Nagy on utilizing his slider more. Randall Delgado & Tyler Skaggs have both struggled with command of their pitches. There is still time for both Skaggs & Delgado to catch up with Corbin, but he is right now the front-runner to earn the 5^th spot in the rotation.

The last pitcher that the team can rely on is Daniel Hudson. Hudson is not expected to be back with the team until middle of the July at the earliest. I don’t expect the Diamondbacks to put too much pressure on Hudson this season. He would still be recovering from the surgery, so the team would not want to put too much stress on his arm and ease him back into the rotation.

The rotation will be an integral part of the Diamondbacks this season. If the team is to succeed and reach their goals this season, look the rotation to be the main reason why this happens. 

Patrick Corbin looks like he has a firm grip on the 5th spot in the rotation early in Spring Training. Corbin can the Dbacks version of Wade Miley this season.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank-you goes out to our ”Diamond Backs Correspondent’ Chris Lacey. Chris has been a fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks ever since he started watching baseball at the age of 13. Now he does like all sports – but his favorites after baseball are  hockey and basketball.  Chris is very good with computers and is a college graduate.  He is excited for this season to see what Arizona can do – and believes they will win the west.  Chris is very active on Twitter and especially during the baseball season chatting with other Diamondbacks fans. Be sure to follow him and talk about the great game of baseball. Follow @aecanada12

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