This post continues our Depth Chart Discussions. You can find the Depth Chart Discussion posts gathered here.

There aren’t many more spots left to cover in our Depth Chart Discussions. It’s not surprising that the Rockies rotation was one of the last areas claimed. Even in the very capable hands of RotoGraphs writers (yours truly excepted, of course), there’s not much to get excited about when thinking about pitchers pitching half their games at Coors Field. No one has really seemed to crack the Coors Code yet when it comes to pitchers. Since the team’s inaugural season in 1993, qualified Rockies starters have put up an ERA under 3.00 exactly once: Ubaldo Jimenez did it in 2010. There are three other three qualified pitcher seasons under 3.50.

Jeff Sullivan recently wrote about how Jorge de la Rosa has figured out how to pitch at Coors Field; in fact, he’s been better there than in other stadiums as a whole. De la Rosa is actually a deep sleeper for me going into 2015, so let’s just dive right in and talk about him since he’s the undisputed ace of the staff (for now).

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It’s time for our Depth Chart Discussions to begin. In an effort to suss out every team, we’ve divided them into four parts (infield, outfield, bullpen, and rotation) and will begin breaking them down for you over the next few weeks. You can find them gathered here.

The Pirates have clearly learned lessons from the Rays and A’s. Those two scrappy clubs frequently contend by virtue of depth and unexpected breakouts. As a franchise, you make your own luck finding cheap talent. From the outside, it looks like they roster as many average major leaguers as possible and then hope for the best. Perhaps it looks the same from the inside.

In any case, the Pirates have enviable infield depth.

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With the news that Kenley Jansen is going to be sidelined into May after undergoing surgery on his landing foot, the Dodgers are going to need to find someone to close games for them in his stead. Over the past five seasons, Andrew Friedman has cobbled together bullpens in Tampa that ranked 11th in WAR in the majors. Not stellar, but definitely better than the 24th place the Dodgers have ranked over that same span. Has he given Don Mattingly the right mix to fill the hole left by Jansen, or is he going to go out and add a Rafael Soriano through free agency, or will he reach out to the Phillies and try to make a deal for Jonathan Papelbon?

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It’s time for our Depth Chart Discussions to begin. In an effort to suss out every team, we’ve divided them into four parts (infield, outfield, bullpen, and rotation) and will begin breaking them down for you over the next few weeks. You can find them gathered here.

It has been a whirlwind offseason for the San Diego Padres, who made blockbuster trades for a brand new, brand name outfield of Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, and Wil Myers. Between the new outfield, the free agent acquisition of James Shields, and the incumbent rotation talent, the Padres will make a play for their first postseason berth since 2006.

If they do reach the postseason, it will likely not be because of the exceptional player of their infield, which was left largely intact after a disappointing 2014 season. In fantasy, that unit is similarly unenticing, although there are a few bounce back candidates who could become fantasy relevant.
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It’s time for our Depth Chart Discussions to begin. In an effort to suss out every team, we’ve divided them into four parts (infield, outfield, bullpen, and rotation) and will begin breaking them down for you over the next few weeks. You can find them gathered here.

With Yu Darvish likely to miss the entire season, the Rangers are staring into the face of another lost season. In some ways, it’s liberating to know you won’t contend. Texas won’t have to worry about the shaky quality of the bullpen. They can give their pitchers an opportunity to prove themselves without focusing solely on runs allowed.

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It’s time for our Depth Chart Discussions to begin. In an effort to suss out every team, we’ve divided them into four parts (infield, outfield, bullpen, and rotation) and will begin breaking them down for you over the next few weeks. You can find them gathered here.

The Closer:

Addison Reed

Addison Reed’s first season in Arizona went off with just a little bit of a hitch. He converted 32-of-38 saves and posted career bests in strikeout minus walk percentage (21.4%), swinging strike rate (13.1% SwStr%) and Skill-Interactive ERA (2.63 SIERA). Unfortunately, Reed lost a tick on his fastball for the third consecutive season and fell victim to some bad luck in the home run per fly ball rate department (13.9% HR/FB), which is partially to blame for the 4.25 ERA he posted in 62 appearances.
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It’s time for our Depth Chart Discussions to begin. In an effort to suss out every team, we’ve divided them into four parts (infield, outfield, bullpen, and rotation) and will begin breaking them down for you over the next few weeks. You can find them gathered here.

The Colorado Rockies infield has some enticing fantasy pieces, although there are certainly legitimate questions swirling about. Several of these guys will be nearly universally owned, but which ones do you want on your team? Let’s take a trip around the diamond to determine how these players should be valued.

CATCHER

Wilin Rosario
Nick Hundley

Wilin Rosario seems like a pretty trendy pick this year, as he will reportedly get some playing time at first and/or in a corner outfield spot to keep his bat in the lineup. This being fantasy baseball, people like to freak out about catcher-eligible guys playing the position of not-catcher, and rightfully so. I’m all-in on Evan Gattis this year, for example.

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The San Diego Padres out ran 16, (sixteen!), different outfielders in 2014 and unless you’ve been living in the Krubera Cave in the Republic of Georgia, you’ve probably seen there were a few changes made in for 2015. Before the great Padre roster overhaul, their outfield appeared to be comprised of some combination of Will Venable, Abraham Almonte, Cameron Maybin, and Carlos Quentin until his back broke.

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This post continues our Depth Chart Discussions. You can find the Depth Chart Discussion posts gathered here.

The Mariners seem to be doing a variation on a theme here. The theme? One could argue that it’s “Recent Vintage Tampa Bay Rays.” Or, one could argue that it’s “Recent Vintage Seattle Mariners.” They have a lot of moving parts and some potential platoons. One might find it interesting, or one might find it a cause for concern. The difference between the 2015 Mariners and a team like the ~2012-2014 Rays is that the former have some very expensive veteran players—signed as free agents—slated for full-time roles. Again, cause for concern, or optimism?

The Mariners’ big move this offseason was signing Nelson Cruz to a four-year, $58MM deal.* Cruz could play some OF, but he’s likely to be the full-time DH for his stay in Seattle. Rickie Weeks was a late addition and could end up seeing a lot of time against left-handed pitchers, though that might mostly come in the form of a left field platoon with Dustin Ackley. Other than Cruz and Weeks, the names below are familiar, if not exactly household ones.

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It’s time for our Depth Chart Discussions to begin. In an effort to suss out every team, we’ve divided them into four parts (infield, outfield, bullpen, and rotation) and will begin breaking them down for you over the next few weeks. You can find them gathered here.

In recent seasons, the Angels have been plagued by weakness in the bullpen. Failed experiments with Jordan Walden, Scott Downs, and Ernesto Frieri paved the way for their acquisition of Huston Street last season. The bullpen looks to be a strength in 2015 – or at least it probably won’t be a weakness. In addition to solid veteran depth, there are a few high profile youngsters to track.

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