NL West

The San Francisco Giants have won three world championships in the past five seasons, and the cornerstone of their success has been strong pitching.

Whether it is the starting rotation or the bullpen, general manager Brian Sabean has consistently built a solid pitching staff. Manager Bruce Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti know how to get the most out of their pitchers.

Looking ahead to the 2015 season, once again, pitching will be essential to the Giants' success. 

Joc Pederson emerged from the woodwork in 2014 to become a relatively household name among Los Angeles Dodger fans. The year before, Yasiel Puig filled that role.

The 2014 Major League Baseball season has been over for two months, but San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner is still reaping the rewards for his postseason heroics. On Tuesday, he was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.     

With 2015 set to begin, the Arizona Diamondbacks have issues to address that ailed them throughout this past season. 

The D-Backs 2014 season ended 64-98—the worst record in the MLB.

However, several injuries could be to blame for such a poor year—Paul Goldschmidt, Patrick Corbin, A.J. Pollock and Mark Trumbo, to name a few.

The Los Angeles Dodgers may have revamped their roster this offseason with a flurry moves during the winter meetings, but there are still questions remaining now that the dust has settled for the time being.

There's going to be a lot of pressure on Yasiel Puig when the Los Angeles Dodgers take the field in 2015.

Alright, maybe that sounds like stating the obvious. Between the pressure on him to behave and the pressure on him to perform, there's always pressure on Puig. But it will be a different, more heightened sort of pressure in 2015, and whether he'll be able to respond to it is a good question.

The San Francisco Giants have won three World Series titles in the past five years. Manager Bruce Bochy guided his team through several peaks and valleys in 2014.

His calm demeanor was a soothing influence when the Giants struggled in the middle of the season. Bochy then pushed all the right buttons, and the Giants produced, enabling them to win it all.

Ever since Guggenheim Baseball Management purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012, the Dodgers have been the most polarizing team in MLB.  They immediately went out and acquired superstars like Adrian G

With the flurry of moves that the Los Angeles Dodgers have made this offseason, it's difficult to hone in on just one.

After all, some of these deals were interconnected, a web of swift transformation ushered in by the metric-minded tandem now running the front office at Dodger Stadium: Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi.

Change is certainly on the wish list of Arizona Diamondbacks fans as the holiday season approaches. 

And with spring training and the regular season also approaching, change must happen now. The 2014 season was one to forget. The D-Backs finished 64-98—worst in MLB.