Dbacks-Rox NLCS Matchup: Scouting Reports?

To be honest, our bullpen was what we thought would be the big question mark going into this season. No big acquisitions, no hot prospects. (Slaten and Nippert are "prospects", but neither are really considered dominant.) Valverde was coming off a year in which he was sent down to AAA, how would he respond? Lyon was decent last year but often had to take the brunt of the workload. Cruz can be a strikeout machine but is prone to losing the strikezone for a few batters. How would they deal this season? And there's Gonzalez, the spot starter / long reliever / "lots of potential but..." guy. Would he work out?

But they have really stepped up. Peña-Lyon-Valverde are the 7-8-9 inning guys, Bob Melvin has no problem going to them, not even when Peña hit a rough patch in August/September. (Frankly, I'm more worried for Lyon possibly hitting a rough spot. ::knock on wood::) We usually pull in Cruz if we need to relieve someone in the 5th or 6th in a strikeout situation, Slaten as the LOOGY (but not really, as you guys seem  to know with Affeldt), and Gonzalez and Nippert as the extra arms. Gonalez was like 6-1 into July or August and then came out to start after we had horrible #5 starters for 5 turns in a row. He really helped us down the stretch.

Who wants to cover the rotation?

C - Chris Snyder. Snyderman's our best catcher, defensively and offensively. Brandon Webb calls him the best catcher he's ever been batterymates with, and our pitchers have a 3.73 ERA when Snyder's catching, good for 4th in the majors. Came up through the system, played some in '04 and '05 but was superseded by Johnny Estrada last year. Threw out 30% of baserunners this year, and had only 1 error and 9 passed balls all year. Batting below .220 at the All Star Break, he hit .292 with 16 doubles, 6 home runs and 31 RBIs in the 2nd half of the season. Finished with 20 doubles, 13 HRs and 47 RBIs. On another note, Snyder took up kickboxing to help his flexibility... and to use on hitters that don't appreciate being plunked. Came up through the farm system.

1B - Conor Jackson is the starter. 25 years old, CoJack has the greatest eye this side of Barry Bonds, and very rarely strikes out on a pitch outside the zone. He had our 2nd best OPS this season at .836. Finished with 15 HRs, 1 3B, and 29 2Bs. Notice only 1 triple. Yep, CoJack's almost as slow as they come. .368 OBP is his main asset. Dbacks fans are hoping in the coming years he turns more of those doubles into home runs. Another Dbacks system product, CoJack's defense has certainly improved but still leaves a lot to be desired.

2B - Augie "The Littlest Ballplayer" Ojeda. Generously listed as 5'8", Augie's done a more than adequate job of filling in at 2nd after O-Dawg Hudson went down with a torn tendon. Hit only 1 home run this year, and it was his 6th of his major league career; it also happened to be in his first ever game in a Dbacks uniform, against the Orioles. Finished the regular season batting .274, but went 4-9 with a BB and a HBP during the NLDS, and absolutely tore up his former team, the Cubs. He's a quick little guy, and plays great defense; his error during the NLDS was his first of the year, although he sometimes takes his eye off the ball while fielding. Augie's a catalyst to this team, and can also play shortstop. During a game where the Dbacks were being blown out earlier this season, Augie came in to pitch a hilarious scoreless inning and save our bullpen.

SS - Stephen Drew. For any of you who watched the NLDS, no introduction is needed. Maybe not quite on Tulo's level, but he also hit .316 his rookie year, so we'll see. Out-RBIed his better known brother with the prolific Red Sox, and was really the only Dbacks hitter to outhit Augie during the DS. 7-14 with 2 HRs, 1 3B, 1 2B, 4 RBIs and a SB against the Cubs, his 2nd HR, of course, came after that non-call HBP in game 3. Gotta love a guy who doesn't complain when the umpire doesn't give him 1st, and instead takes all 4. The knock on him coming up through our farm system was that his offense was solid, but his defense had a lot of holes. Well, if you can show me the holes, I'll give you a dollar. The reverse was true during this year's regular season, as he hit .238 but made a multitude of fantastic plays on defense. Stole a single and at least 1 RBI from Carlos Zambrano during the NLDS opener. Lefty.

3B - Mark Reynolds. The man himself. Rookie began the season in AA, and was called up directly from Mobile when Chad Tracy went down with an injury in May. Smacked a HR every 21.5 at-bats during the regular season, which was better than everyone on this team except Chris Young, Tony Clark and Micah Owings. Led the team in OPS with an .843 clip. Hit .426 during May with 15 RBIs and 4 HRs in 15 games, then hit only .162 in June and .194 in July as teams realized he had trouble hitting offspeed pitches. He bounced back nicely though, hitting .342 in August and .300 in September. Tied a major league record with 9 straight strikeouts in 9 ABs before being HBP, and struck out every 2.3 ABs during August before improving his eye and striking out every 3.2 in September. Always a risk to strikeout or hit a homer, much like Chris Young. Fear this man. As already stated, he owns the 3rd longest HR in Turner Field history and the 6th longest in PetCo history (which was the longest of this year at that park). He's deceptively fast on the basepaths, although he doesn't really steal yet, and has hit his fair share of infield hits. Great defender with good range as well. This is a guy to watch over the next few years. Went only 2-10 in the NLDS, but with a HR and 2 runs scored.

LF - Eric Byrnes. Probably the only player on this team besides Webb and Valverde with national exposure. The human crash dummy, he's got the best range of any left fielder in the NL, and has a strong arm; don't test his arm by going to 2nd or 3rd. He also does a stupid flip half the time he gets the ball back in. Went 1-7 with a steal during the first 2 games of the NLDS before going 2-5 during game 3, with a HR and a triple. 4th in the NL during the regular season in stolen bases with 50, and hit as many HRs(21) as Jason Bay and more than Jeff Kent. Was 2nd on our team in homers, and the only player in the NL to have more HRs and SBs this year was Hanley Ramirez (29 and 51, respectively). Has always had speed but wasn't really allowed to use it while with the A's. He's not really your prototypical leadoff hitter or #3 hitter, but he's usually in one of those spots. He's never really happy until his jersey's dirty, so watch for him to make a diving catch or two and try to steal. Pops up way too often for his new contract.

CF - Chris Young. Again, if you saw the NLDS, no introduction is needed. Not a bad return on a trade that primarily gave up Javier Vasquez. (White Sox fans want him back!) CY, (aka Chris Black Young or Good Chris Young, to distinguish him from Chris White Young/Evil Chris Young of the Padres) plays great defense in center, although he had one incident in Baltimore where a fly ball bounced off his glove over the wall for a homer. Still, don't test him either. Has been compared to Andruw Jones. 2nd among all rookies in HR during the regular season with 32, which also led our team, and was good for 10th in the NL overall. Stole 27 bases during the season, which led all rookies and was 13th overall in the NL. Was the first ever rookie with 30+ HRs and 25+ SBs, and came just short of the first rookie in the 30-30 club. He also led all rookies and our team with 141 Ks. Excellent at steals, with 9 straight before he was caught for the first time. Projected as a four tool player, minus hitting for average. Widely predicted to be ROTY this year, but that award will probably end up with Ryan Braun and his awful defense in Milwaukee. (Don't hate me!! I'm just the messenger. I didn't say it's right!!) Hit 9 leadoff home runs this year, and was compared to Alfonso Soriano during the NLDS. (Favorably, I would even venture to say) 3-11 with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs and a SB against the Cubs. As you saw in game 3, he loves to swing at the first pitch, especially when batting leadoff, and often deposits it into the bleachers for a souvenir for some lucky fan. 17.8 ABs/HR during the regular season.

RF - Justin Upton. Yeah, you've heard the name. Jupton's the guy they've compared to Gary Sheffield minus the bad attitude. He's BJ's little brother, and knew Mark Reynolds, David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman while growing up. National HS player of the year in '05. Upton was our reward for losing 111 games in 2004, being the first overall pick in 2005. Began this year in single A Visalia before being promoted to AA Mobile, and like Mark Reynolds, directly up to the bigs on August 2nd. Just turned 20 on August 25th, and is the youngest player in the majors and the youngest ever to wear the Dbacks' uniform. Had his first 2 intentional walks within a week of being promoted, and in his 4th MLB start, he went 3-4 while falling only a single short of hitting for the cycle. The rest of his regular season was less impressive, and he may need to spend some time in AAA next season to adapt to pitching. Went 3-5 with 3 BBs, 2 runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base during the NLDS. The most promising player on our team in terms of raw talent, and possibly, in the majors. Unfortunately, won't get the chance to be ROTY next year, as he's already used his rookie eligibility. Don't fear him yet, but be ready to. Was an absolute butcher this year in right field, and everytime he successfully catches a fly ball, the Dbacks Nation lets out a collective sigh of relief. Still adapting to the nuances, shall we say, of playing the outfield. He discovered this season that he doesn't like fog much.

Bench

C - Miguel Montero. Another promising rookie, Miggy moved to catcher while in the minors. Livan Hernandez's personal catcher, and often spells Snyder as a late-game PH. Miggy hits a blistering .318 during the 7th inning and later, with 6 HRs and 10 overall. As a pinch hitter, he does even better; .350 with 3 HRs in 20 PH ABs. Not particularly good at getting baserunners.

1B - Tony Clark. Hit a home run every 13 ABs during the regular season, and hit the 2nd longest in the majors this year with a 482 ft blast at Chase. Switch-hitting veteran tweaked his swing down the stretch, and hit .315 in September, although he went hitless during the NLDS. Finished the season with an .822 OPS. 3 PH HRs during the season, the 6'7" Clark's defense is much better than CoJack's, with a helluva range, and he'll often come in as a defensive replacement late in the game. TC's the undisputed leader of the clubhouse, and when the soft-spoken Clark says something, everyone listens. He's the guy who coined our mantra down the stretch: "Anybody, anytime." One of the genuine good guys in baseball, Clark also played basketball for Lute Olsen at the University of Arizona.

2B - Alberto Callaspo. Fast, could hit for average during the minors, and can play 2B, SS or 3B. Not sure what to expect from him, myself. Was supposed to be the starter at 2nd after O-Dawg went down, but Augie's really taken over that role.

3B - Jeff Cirillo. One of the active players on the top 10 games played list without a postseason appearance until this year. A waiver wire acquisition, Cirillo plays very solid defense at 3rd and has come through in a few major PH ABs. He'll play 1st sometimes, and can play 2nd if need be, but he'll usually come in at 3rd, as a defensive replacement. Like Augie, he came in to pitch a scoreless inning this year during a blowout, and actually struck out Craig Counsell.

RF - Jeff Salazar. The name should sound familiar; he was cut by the Rockies on the final day of spring training. Upton's been the official RF starter down the stretch, but Sally's started a lot of games in right as well, and has come in several times for his defense. His only HR this year came as a 3-run PH blast to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead and beat the Giants. Incidentally, his only other MLB homer came as a pinch hitter against the Giants last year, for the Rox. Had a walk but no hits against the Cubs, and was a slightly better hitter for average than Upton during t. Made a fantastic catch to rob Mike Cameron of a home run in one of his first games with the Dbacks, and has made others since. GREAT in the field. Lefty.

LF, RF, 1B, C - Robby Hammock. Robby's the last of the original Baby 'Backs that came up in 2003. (Besides Brandon Webb, of course) He'll play anywhere, but he's more likely to be used as a PH, or come in as a PH and C late in an extra-innings game. Robby also caught Randy Johnson's perfect game against the Braves in 2004.

Possibly on the roster(?)

RF - Carlos Quentin. Quentin's another guy who was billed as the next big thing after being drafted out of Stanford, but didn't quite come through this year. He's produced huge numbers all thoughout the minors, so we haven't completely given up on him yet, although we've now got Justin Upton and minor leaguer Carlos Gonzalez as outfielders too, and Eric Byrnes signed for 3 more years. Quentin was HBP 11 times this year in only 81 games, and set a AAA record last year for being HBP. Great arm in the outfield, and power in the bat, but wasn't on the NLDS roster, and most likely won't be on the NLCS roster or any prospective WS roster.

2B - Emilio Bonifacio. Barney was called up, like Reynolds and Upton, directly from AA Mobile for the 40 man roster. None of us had heard of him, but MAN, can he run. His speed translates to fielding as well; he made some dazzling plays at 2nd before the season was over, and with the bat, turned a few groundouts into infield hits. Most of us 'Pitters would rather see him on the roster than Callaspo. He reportedly broke down and started crying when he got the word that he'd been called up to the majors.

It should also be noted that Drew, CY, Montero, Callaspo, Hammock, Quentin, as well as Micah Owings, Tony Peña, Doug Slaten and Dustin Nippert, all played together for the Tucson Sidewinders last year, who won the AAA World Championship.