Young Diamondbacks look to continue on success of last year. The Arizona Diamondbacks surprised a great number of people last year as they struck out of nowhere to claim the National League West division title. The Diamondbacks return most of their young prospects and added big names in order to take that next step in the playoffs.

Bats. This Diamondbacks team is simply loaded with young offensive talent. There really isn’t any other way to put it. The offense will rely on the young bats the likes of Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, Justin Upton, and Chris Young. All four of these guys proved that they belong in the bigs, and all of them are destined for great careers. The fact that they are all starting out in the same place at the same time is a testament to how well this organization has been run. In addition the Diamondbacks have Eric Byrnes, who will look to repeat his career year form last year, and hopefully avoid any announcing booths this fall. Mark Reynolds at third base is another young stud who had a good year in somewhat limited duties last year. Besides Byrnes the only real veteran of note is Orlando Hudson who will be about as consistent as you could ask for at second base hitting a solid .280 and hitting anywhere between 10-15 home runs and being solid defensively. This line is filled with talent, and the scariest part for the rest of the National League is that they’re all so very young, and that could be a concern for the Diamondbacks as well. What happens if all of these guys hit a sophomore slump? Fortunately for them it doesn’t appear as if that will happen, and really there isn’t a weak spot in this lineup. Read the rest of this entry »