D-backs eye 60-game dash to postseason

The D-backs reported to Spring Training this year filled with more optimism and confidence than usual, believing that some key offseason additions like ace Madison Bumgarner and outfielders Starling Marte and Kole Calhoun had put them in position to challenge the Dodgers in the National League West.

A four-month layoff has done nothing to dampen their spirits. If anything, the 60-game sprint of 2020 rather than usual 162-game marathon is some the D-backs feel plays to their advantage, because it could negate some of the Dodgers' advantage in depth.

“When you look at the starting nine on paper, you feel very good about it,” closer Archie Bradley said. “Everyone looks healthy, everyone looks strong, everyone has been performing well. From top to bottom, I really do think we are ready to play baseball.”

What Needs to Go Right?
The success the club has had in three years under manager Torey Lovullo has been keyed by a strong starting rotation that pitched deep into games and allowed him to keep his bullpen fresh. If the rotation, led now by Bumgarner, can do that again this year, this team has a real chance at doing some damage in the postseason. Newcomers Junior Guerra and Hector Rondón, along with returners Andrew Chafin and Kevin Ginkel, give Lovullo some solid late-inning options to get to Bradley, and the skipper will be able to mix and match to get the most out of them if the starters provide innings.

Big Question: Can they start -- and stay -- hot?
The D-backs have been quick starters over the past three seasons, and that will be important given the nature of the 2020 season. One area of struggle for the team, though, has been its performance in May. Arizona is 19-36 over the past two Mays, and it cannot afford a second-month letdown this year, because that will be roughly half the season.

Prospect to Watch: Daulton Varsho
He may not make the Opening Day roster, but it seems a good bet that catcher Daulton Varsho is going to play a role for the D-backs at some point this year. Varsho, ranked as the team’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has shown his versatility during Summer Camp not only catching, but also playing center field and the corners. The D-backs love Varsho's instincts and his poise -- not to mention his athletic skills -- and he is going to be a key player for the organization at some point soon.

On the Schedule
Dodger Stadium has not been kind to the D-backs, and even with only cardboard cutouts in the stands -- as opposed to the usual 50,000 screaming fans -- this past week they were outscored, 21-3, in a pair of exhibition games there. The good news for the D-backs is that their toughest intra-division foe has to come to Chase Field for seven of their 10 meetings this year.

Team MVP will be ... Ketel Marte
It seemed fair to wonder when Spring Training opened in February whether second baseman Ketel Marte would be able to replicate his amazing 2019 season. Naturally, he homered in his first at-bat of the spring and then again in his first at-bat of an intrasquad game in Summer Camp. Marte is fully recovered from the stress reaction in his back that caused his season to end two weeks early last year, and he appears poised for another big year.

Team Cy Young will be ... Robbie Ray
There’s something different about Robbie Ray this year, and it’s not just the fact that he changed his diet and workout regimen -- dropping weight and adding strength -- it’s the edge that he's had since the first day of Spring Training. Ray has always been extremely competitive and worked hard, but it seems he has taken his physical and mental training to a new level this year.

Bold Prediction: Postseason heroics
The D-backs make it to the postseason, where once again Bumgarner plays the role of hero, helping the D-backs finally vanquish the Dodgers and make it to the World Series.