NL West

Justin Upton is one of the brightest young stars in baseball—at least, that’s what we are supposed to believe. 

We all know he has the talent, as we’ve seen it at times, but given what he’s shown recently, should we be rolling the dice on him in the late third or early fourth round of fantasy drafts (since his current ADP, according to Mock Draft Central. is 40.27)?

Let the record show, I am not a Dodgesr fan. In fact, I wouldn't hesitate to say I don't see any of the NL West teams being relevant in the playoffs. That being said, everyone raves about the Giants rotation, and it is awesome, but I had a "that can't be right" moment when I was researching the Dodgers rotation.

It is time people took notice of the most deceptive rotation in baseball. 

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This week marked the week highly anticipated by fans across the country, as the unofficial starting point to spring training, and the 2011 baseball season—pitchers, catchers, and then the rest of the squad, all report.

Looking beyond the symbolism, is the literal meaning—it's practically a reunion. Players, coaches, and staff all gather officially for the first time since the end of the season, and for new players, a chance to meet some of your team, most likely for the first time.

Adrian Gonzalez? Gone. David Eckstein? History. The Hairstons? Adios.

Miguel Tejada? Auf Weidersehen. Yorvit Torrealba? Movin on..

You get the picture. The Padres will be a different team in 2011.

The question becomes "Is different better?" I know that what I see on paper right now looks much better than the last two seasons teams did at this same point. Lets take a look at what should be the Padres starting line up for opening day.

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Justin Upton is coming off a year in which he took a considerable step backwards. Through his first 3 seasons in the big leagues, he had consistently improved his statistics as his playing time increased:

In Cameron Maybin's defense, he hasn't played an inning in a Padre uniform yet. But that inexperience didn't keep him from making headlines Monday.

Because for all of the positives that social media represents, it also has its drawbacks. Unfortunately, Maybin found out about the drawbacks the hard way.

Today's agenda takes us to the NL West, where I will take a look at what the reigning World Series champs will have to do in order to repeat their playoff push, and what some of the other teams will do that may surprise us.  It's day two of our trip around Major League Baseball, and there are some big predictions that come with today's teams.

The Arizona Diamondbacks 2011 Major League Baseball Season couldn't be any worse than their 2010 season, could it?

The 2010 MLB Season marked the second consecutive year the Arizona Diamondbacks finished with a losing record (65-97) and in last place in the National League (NL) West.

The team's slow start resulted in manager AJ Hinch and general manager Josh Byrnes losing their jobs midway through the season on July 1st.

Clayton Kershaw is not only quickly becoming the face of the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise, but he's also arguably on the fast track to being one of the premiere starters in all of baseball.

Among the larger criticisms of the Dodgers pitching staff is the lack of a true ace, however Kershaw's performance during his first full two years of service indicates that it's only a matter of time before he fills that void.

Baseball fans have their own version of Christmas. It is called Opening Day. However, Christmas wouldn't be the same without the holiday season. That is called Spring Training for the baseball fan.