26 year old lefty swinging Chad Tracy was trying to hit too many homers and it hurt his batting average a bit and his OPS.  He had a great year in 2005 for the Diamondbacks, but, he followed it up with an up and down 2006 season.  He played in 154 games last season and he hit .281 with 91 runs scored, 20 homers, 80 RBIs and a .794 OPS.  He is awful on defense at the hot corner.  He made 25 errors in 147 games there and he didn’t show much range.  Look for Tracy to hit for a better average this season and wind up with 20-25 homers.  Look for the D-Backs to replace him on defense late in close games this season as he still looks like a first baseman playing third base.

Look for 24 year old switch hitter Alberto Callaspo to get the job of backing up Chad Tracy.  Callaspo is a natural 2B so he shouldn’t have too much of a problem handling 3B defensively.  He played in 114 games in AAA ball last season and he hit .337 with 93 runs scored, 7 homers, 68 RBIs and a .882 OPS.  He played in 23 games for the D-Backs and hit .238 with a .607 OPS.  Look for Callaspo to be a good reserve infielder for the D-Backs that will hit for a good batting average this year.

24 year old lefty swinging Stephen Drew is looking to follow behind his older brother J.D. Drew and and be a force for the Diamondbacks starting this season.  Drew was a fast riser in the Diamonbacks organization as this is only third year in professional baseball.  He dominated in 167 minor league games as he hit .315 with 116 runs scored, 31 homers and 121 RBIs!  Drew made it to the majors last season and he played 59 games for the D-Backs and hit .316 with 27 runs scored, 5 homers, 23 RBIs and a .874 OPS.  Drew does need to work a little on his defense as he didn’t show much range last season, but he only made 5 errors.  Look for Drew to have a really good season swinging the bat with an average close to .300 with 15-20 homers.  He’s a star in the making for the young D-Backs.

Soon to be 24 year old Alberto Callaspo will likely be Drew’s back up.  Callaspo will also back up at 3B and 2B this season.  He’s a second baseman by nature so he could have some problems on defense at SS.

32 year old switch hitter Augie Ojeda will try to make the D-Backs as a reserve infielder but the odds are against him.  He hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2004 with the Minnesota Twins.  He played 115 games in AAA ball last season and he only hit .248 with 3 homers, 25 RBIs and a .676 OPS.  He has played in 178 major league games in his career and has compiled a .219 batting average and a .598 OPS.

29 year old switch hitting Orlando Hudson won the Gold Glove in his first season for the Diamondbacks!  He also swung a good stick as he hit a career high .287 with 87 runs scored, 15 homers and 67 RBIs.  He also had a .809 OPS which is outstanding for a 2B.  Look for the Hudson to continue swinging a good stick as he’s much better at hitting fastballs than breaking balls, so the N.L. suits his style better.  He made 13 errors last season, but he has fantastic range and he led the majors by turning 115 double plays as a 2B.  He was instrumental in Brandon Webb winning the Cy Young award as he gobbled up a ton of groudballs that other 2B could only dream of getting to.

Young Alberto Callaspo and Augie Ojeda will duel to see who backs up Hudson and the rest of the infielders for the Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks look like they are in good shape at first base for this season.  They gave the starting job to young Conor Jackson and he had a great season.  He hit .291 with a .809 OPS, 15 homers and 79 RBIs in 485 at bats last season.  He should get better with experience because he has a good eye for such a young player.  He did have problems on defense as he made 12 errors last season.  He will need to improve on that or the Diamondbacks will have problems with their infield defense as a whole.

34 year old switch hitter Tony Clark had an awful season last year that was marred by a shoulder injury that required surgery.  He only hit .197 last season with a .643 OPS, 6 homers and 16 RBIs in only 132 at bats.  It’s doubtful that he will regain the magic of 2005 when he hit .304 with 30 homers and 87 RBIs in only 349 at bats.  Clark is the best defensive first baseman on the Diamondbacks roster as he only made 2 errors in 256.1 innings there.

The Diamondbacks traded Johnny Estrada to the Brewers for pitching because they think Miguel Montero and Chris Snyder can handle the catching job.  The D-Backs are likely to use a straight-up platoon this season so Montero should get to play more than Snyder.  Montero is only 23 years old and he’s only 4 for 16 (.250 avg) in his major league career.  Montero is a good hitter as he hit .287 between AA+AAA last season with 17 homers and 75 RBIs.  Look for him to put up solid numbers as a rookie.

26 year old righty swinging Chris Snyder played very well last season and should excel in a platoon set up.  He hit .277 last season with a .773 OPS.  He also hit 6 homers and knocked in 32 runs in only 184 at bats for the Diamondbacks.  Snyder has a gun for an arm as he threw out 38% of the runners that tried to steal on him last season.  Snyder only made 2 errors but he had 6 passed balls and that will need to be improved for this season. 

30 year old Robby Hammock will probably start in AAA this season.  He played their last year and hit .290 with 20 homers, 65 RBIs and a OPS of .857.  It’s also possible that Hammock can make the D-Backs as a utility man as he can handle the corner infield and outfield jobs.  He has major league experience as he’s a career .263 hitter with a OPS of .760!

31 year old lefty swinging Mark Johnson was signed to add depth to the organization.  He played in AAA last season and only hit .203 with 2 homers and 10 RBIs in 143 at bats.  He last played in the majors in 2004 and has a career average of .217 with a .631 OPS.