The National League West division was a two-horse race once again in 2016 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco 49ers battling for supremacy at the top. The rest of the division should be improved heading in to 2017 but in terms of bullpen strength the Dodgers and Giants remain a step ahead of their competition. Here is a look at the outlook for the NL West bullpens based in order of perceived strength heading in to the 2017 season.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers paid big money to make sure their closer Kenley Jansen didn’t sign with the Miami Marlins and the clear consensus is that they made the right move. Everybody knows what Jensen brings to the table by now and he is extremely reliable coming off a 2016 season in which he registered a 1.83 ERA, 13.63 K/9 and 47 saves. Grant Dayton is a safe secondary option should something happen to Jansen and the Dodgers have strong enough depth to feel very comfortable with their bullpen situation.
San Francisco Giants
San Francisco’s reliance on volume over quality hurt them in 2016 when their entire unit struggled down the stretch. The Giants brought in Mark Melancon to hold down the closer role and they have some decent depth behind him with Will Smith and Derek Law. The bullpen makeover was a key priority for a San Francisco team that struggled closing games at the end of last season and the changes should have a positive impact.
Colorado Rockies
Coors Field is one of the most difficult places to pitch in the majors but the Rockies landed an excellent closer in Greg Holland and it will be interesting to see how things play out. Holland will challenge Adam Ottavino for the closer role and even if he doesn’t win it he will represent a major upgrade to their bullpen. Remember that the Rockies had the worst ERA among bullpens in all of baseball last season with an ERA of 5.13. Holland should give the back end of that bullpen a big boost.
Colorado feels like a team on the cusp of being able to challenge for a Wild Card spot but they will need more from their starting pitching and bullpen in order to make it happen.
San Diego Padres
Brandon Maurer remains the closer in San Diego for now and while he has the potential to be an outstanding closer his volatility makes him a risky own for the Padres and for fantasy GM’s. Maurer will get another chance to prove he can be the man this season but if he struggles then San Diego could turn to Carter Capps. Capps showed flashes of his elite potential last season and he is definitely worth taking a chance on as a sleeper to unseat Maurer as the Padres closer this season.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks might have one of the worst bullpens in baseball heading in to the 2017 season with Fernando Rodney in the closer role and little behind him in terms of competition for that role. Rodney didn’t allow an earned run until the end of June last season, but the wheels fell off after he was traded to the Miami Marlins. As you might recall, he pitched very well with the Padres (0.31 ERA, 33/12 K/BB ratio over 28.2 innings) and then completely fell off with the Marlins (5.89 ERA, 41/25 K/BB ratio over 36 2/3 innings). The Diamondbacks have signed him to a one-year, $2.75 M contract that could be worth as much as $5 million based on incentives. However, he’s now approaching 40 years old and will hit that mark just before Opening Day. He might not have much left in the tank. Fantasy owners will definitely want to avoid Rodney and the rest of the Arizona bullpen this season.
The Diamondbacks bullpen had the fourth-worst ERA in the majors last season, posting a 4.94 mark. As far as closers go, the 5.22 ERA that the Diamondbacks’ closers posted was the second-worst mark in baseball. If Rodney can help in that realm, that would give this team a slight boost but they need much more than that.
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