Spring Training Job Battles: NL West

Our division-by-division tour of every job up for grabs this spring concludes with the National League West, where all five teams have a battle for the final spot in their rotation.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Center Field: Jake McCarthy (221), Alek Thomas (687)

Thomas had much more prospect pedigree than McCarthy in the minors, but their respective performances early in their major-league careers paint McCarthy as the favorite to start in center field. McCarthy has minimal power, homering 20 times in 364 career games while posting a 26.2 percent hard-hit rate. He makes plenty of contact and adds value on the basepaths, however, hitting .270 for his career and stealing 77 bases (good for 37.5 steals per 600 plate appearances).

Thomas is theoretically a similar sort of player with more respectable power (38.7 percent career hard hit rate), but the results haven't been there through his first three seasons. Despite making a good amount of contact (his 19.3 percent career strikeout rate is a near match for McCarthy's 19.4 percent), he's hit just .226/.271/.359, and he's managed just 20 homers and 17 steals across 277 games. Neither player is having a very good spring, with McCarthy posting a .668 OPS and Thomas a .708 OPS. 

Fifth Starter: Brandon Pfaadt (189), Ryne Nelson (561), Jordan Montgomery (642)

All three of these pitchers could wind up spending plenty of time in the rotation this year, especially if veterans Merrill Kelly or Eduardo Rodriguez take another step back, but for now, it looks like only one member of this trio will get to start the year in the rotation. Montgomery has seniority on his side and owned a career 3.68 ERA heading into last season, but he recorded an awful 6.23 ERA and 1.65 WHIP after signing late in spring training and was demoted to the bullpen late in the year. He's been dealing with a finger issue this spring and allowed five runs in a third of an inning in his lone Cactus League outing to date.

That leaves the door wide open for Pfaadt or Nelson, both of whom arguably deserve a spot. Pfaadt has struggled to a 5.06 ERA through his first two big-league seasons (277.2 innings), but his 3.88 xFIP and 3.86 SIERA tell a very different story. He's combined a slightly above-average strikeout rate (23.6 percent) with a strong walk rate (5.8 percent), which should lead to better results in the future. Nelson's 4.57 ERA in 313 career innings isn't particularly impressive, but he showed something different over the final three months of last year, striking out 24.8 percent of opposing batters while walking just 5.0 percent en route to a 3.14 ERA. 

Closer: Justin Martinez (219), A.J. Puk (260) 

Paul Sewald led the Diamondbacks with 16 saves last season but left for Cleveland in free agency. Martinez finished second with eight saves and very much has the look of a future closer about him, but there's no guarantee the 23-year-old wins the job outright just yet. He has a closer's repertoire led by a sinker that sits in the triple digits, helping him to an elite combination of a 29.5 percent strikeout rate and 58.9 percent groundball rate. His 11.7 percent walk rate was high but not high enough to raise his ERA beyond 2.48.

Puk is a very capable challenger, however, and manager Torey Lovullo has indicated that the team would be comfortable deploying a left-handed closer. After a disastrous attempt to return to the rotation at the beginning of last year with the Marlins, Puk went back to the bullpen and produced a 1.72 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 35.0 percent strikeout rate and 5.1 percent walk rate. Those strikeout and walk numbers weren't new territory for the 30-year-old, who struck out 32.2 percent of opposing batters while walking 5.4 percent in 2023 as well. He only saved two games after joining the Diamondbacks last season, but it's not hard to envision him beating Martinez for the job. 

Colorado Rockies

Right Field: Hunter Goodman (429), Jordan Beck (535), Zac Veen (689), Sam Hilliard (734), Nick Martini (N/A)

I've included Goodman in this group as he spent more time at right field than catcher last season, and he's going to have to spend some time here if he's going to play enough to matter in fantasy, as it looks like he'll be Jacob Stallings' backup behind the plate. Goodman owns a .192/.233/.409 slash line in 99 big-league games to date, but he has a strong barrel rate (12.2 percent) and a strikeout rate (29.2 percent) which is poor but which shouldn't completely sink him, especially considering the lower offensive bar at catcher.

It would be a surprise if Goodman is the team's primary right fielder, however, given that he has a role to play behind the plate. Beck entered camp looking like the top candidate, but he has options left and reportedly might not break camp in the majors. He owns a .619 OPS and a 34.2 percent strikeout rate this spring, not far from his .521 OPS and 35.3 percent strikeout rate in his 55-game debut last year. That could open the door for Veen, whose progress has been slowed by injuries after being taken ninth overall in the 2020 draft. He owns a .934 OPS with two homers and four steals this spring but still has options remaining, and the Rockies don't tend to rush prospects.

If none of the young players are trusted with the job, it will go to one of the veterans, Hilliard or Martini, two players who would have minimal fantasy appeal for any other team based on their unremarkable career numbers but who would have mixed-league viability with regular at-bats at Coors Field. 

Fifth Starter: Chase Dollander (692), Antonio Senzatela (750)

Dollander is a very talented young pitcher whose quest to win a rotation spot would be generating far more hype if he pitched for another organization. The 23-year-old was selected ninth-overall in the 2023 draft and cruised to a 2.59 ERA and 33.9 percent strikeout rate in his professional debut last season, making 14 starts at High-A and nine at Double-A. A lack of any Triple-A experience means it won't be hard for the Rockies to justify keeping him down at the start of the year, however, and he's making it easy for them by struggling to a 12.15 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 15.2 percent walk rate through 6.2 spring innings thus far. If Dollander is sent to the minors to open the year, the job will go to Senzatela, who owns a 4.90 ERA across parts of eight seasons with the Rockies. 

Closer: Seth Halvorsen (438), Tyler Kinley (645), Victor Vodnik (718)

It's probably worth thinking long and hard about whether you can envision yourself actually using a Rockies closer in your lineup at any point this season before reading the rest of this paragraph. If you're still here, I recommend doing so again, coming to a different conclusion, and skipping to the next section. If a Rockies closer really does make sense for your league settings, Halvorsen is the name to know as the only one generating any real fantasy interest. He had a 1.46 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB in his 12.1-inning debut and even picked up a pair of saves, though his 4.47 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in the minors last year prior to his call-up hardly look like closer material. The alternatives are even less exciting. Kinley picked up 12 saves last season but finished with a 6.19 ERA and 1.47 WHIP, while Vodnik had nine saves with a 4.28 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. 

Los Angeles Dodgers

Second Base/Center Field: Tommy Edman (184), Hyeseong Kim (518), Andy Pages (556), Miguel Rojas (749)

Edman will start nearly every game at one of these two spots (and possibly others), but which position he occupies will be determined by who else wins a starting role. It won't be Kim, who left the KBO and signed a three-year, $12.5 million contract but has been tasked with revamping his swing to add more power, a project he'll undertake in the minors. That means the battle is now between Pages in center (with Edman starting at second) and Rojas at second (with Edman in center). Pages hit a respectable .248/.305/.407 (100 wRC+) with 13 homers in his 116-game debut last year, though the defensive metrics had him as a sub-par defender in center field. Rojas is at the opposite end of his career but hit .283/.337/.410 in 103 games last season, striking out a career-low 10.1 percent of the time. 

Fifth Starter: Dustin May (373), Tony Gonsolin (411), Bobby Miller (569)

This battle has been officially won by May, who was named the team's fifth starter Tuesday. May owns an excellent 3.10 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, but he's also never thrown more than 56 innings in a season in the majors, so the rest of this group will factor into the picture at some point. Gonsolin looked like the favorite but injured his back while lifting weights and will open on the injured list. Miller's attempt to bounce back from a disastrous 2024 campaign was disrupted when he was struck by a comebacker in late February. While he's starting to ramp up again, he'll open the year in Triple-A. 

San Diego Padres

Catcher: Luis Campusano (553), Elias Diaz (637)

The Padres signed Diaz to a minor-league deal in late August after he was cut by the Rockies, and he quickly took over the backup role behind Kyle Higashioka, bumping Campusano to Triple-A. With Higashioka now in Texas, that could mean Diaz is now the starter by default with Campusano his backup, though the situation isn't entirely clear. Diaz is the better defender, but he owns a 78 wRC+ over the last three seasons compared to a 98 wRC+ for Campusano. Campusano is 26 years old and may still have some growth ahead of him, while Diaz is 34. 

Fifth Starter: Kyle Hart (665), Matt Waldron (683), Randy Vasquez (746)

Hart signed a one-year, $1 million contract in February after a successful one-year stint with the KBO's NC Dinos, where he posted a 2.69 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. He'll aim to follow in the footsteps of Merrill Kelly and Erick Fedde, who parlayed success in Korea into rejuvenated MLB careers, but he's no lock for a rotation spot. Knuckleballer Waldron has a chance as well, though he's struggled to an 8.68 ERA and 7:7 K:BB in 9.1 spring innings. He had a 3.71 ERA in the first half last year but struggled to an 8.10 ERA after the break. Vasquez made 20 starts last year and should be in the mix, but his 4.87 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 14.4 percent strikeout rate are rather unappealing marks. 

San Francisco Giants

Designated Hitter: Jerar Encarnacion (539), Wilmer Flores (733)

Encarnacion was plucked out of the Mexican League last May and wound up appearing in 35 games for the Giants late in the year, slashing .248/.277/.425 with five homers. His plate discipline (4.2 percent walk rate, 28.6 percent strikeout rate) was quite poor, but his 15.0 percent barrel rate and 58.8 percent hard hit suggest he has enough power to make up for it. The 27-year-old has struck out at just a 17.6 percent clip through 12 Cactus League games, but there's no guarantee he wins the job. The veteran Flores struggled to a .595 OPS last year but recorded a .786 OPS over the previous eight years. He would fit well on the short side of a platoon, but Encarnacion also bats right-handed. 

Fifth Starter: Kyle Harrison (493), Hayden Birdsong (575), Landon Roupp (638), Keaton Winn (742)

While he isn't the drafters' favorite, Roupp is reportedly the favorite to win this job. Roupp has had an excellent spring, striking out 14 and walking just one in 12 innings, but his 3.58 ERA as a rookie (which came mostly in relief) came with a much worse 4.39 SIERA and a poor 12.0 percent walk rate. Even if he does open in the role, he'll have to pitch much better to keep it.

Harrison has the most experience of anyone in this group, but his 4.47 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through 31 MLB starts are decidedly unremarkable. Both his 22.5 percent career strikeout rate and 7.8 percent walk rate are right around league average, so he should be at least a capable back-end starter (in a great pitchers' park) should he find himself in the rotation at some point. He's given up five runs in 3.2 innings this spring but does have a 5:1 K:BB.

Birdsong produced an unremarkable 4.75 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 16 starts as a rookie last year, with a poor 13.7 percent walk rate offsetting a promising 27.9 percent strikeout rate. That bat-missing ability gives him arguably the most upside in this group if he can just find the zone, and his 10:0 K:BB in seven Cactus League innings represents a great start.

Winn looks like the longest shot of the group, but he's off to a good start this spring as well, posting a 5:1 K:BB in three scoreless innings. He struggled to a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts before undergoing elbow surgery last year, but the ERA estimators (4.07 xFIP, 4.26 SIERA) were far kinder.