The D-Backs have placed Carlos Quentin and Jeff DaVanon on the 15-day disabled list.  Quentin has a partially torn left labrum and he may miss more than a week as he tries to rest his shoulder.  DaVanon had off-season surgery to his right shoulder and he should be able to return to action in about a week.  Look for Jeff Salazar and Scott Hairston to get some playing time until these two guys return to action.

The D-Backs and Randy Johnson are targeting the date of April 19th vs. the San Diego Padres as Johnson’s first start of the season.  He’s still recovering from off-season back surgery, but he’s been really throwing hard in Spring Training and that’s a great sign.  Look for him to pitch very well this season.

The D-Backs have claimed Jeff Salazar off of waivers from the Rockies and he’s having a good Spring.  He is 6 for 20 (.300 avg) with 2 homers and 11 RBIs.  He will likely make the team and get a chance to show what he’s got because of the many injuries the D-Backs outfielders have suffered.  Salazar will probably prove to be a nice acquisition by the D-Backs.

The D-Backs have a lot of pitchers that throw really hard but will they get good results in 2007?  Only time will tell.  27 year old righty Jose Valverde will enter the season as the closer, but will he keep the job?  Not if he pitches like he did in 2006!  He was 2-3 with 1 hold, 18 saves, a 5.84 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 44 games for the Diamondbacks in 2006.  Batters hit .256 against him last season (righties .192, lefties .323) but he whiffed 69 batters in only 49.1 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has.  Look for Valverde to pitch good enough in 2007 to keep the closers job all season long.

27 year old righty Brandon Lyon will be the top set-up man for the D-Backs this season.  He was 2-4 with 23 holds, a 3.89 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in 68 games for the D-Backs in 2006.  Look for Lyon to have a good season and be first in line for saves if Velverde falters.

27 year old righty Brandon Medders had a decent season for the Diamondbacks last year.  He was 5-3 with 10 holds, a 3.64 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP in 60 games for the D-Backs in 2007.  Batters hit .270 (righties .196, lefties .348) against him last season.  Look for Medders to have a decent season as long as the D-Backs limit his use against lefty hitters.

28 year old Juan Cruz will try to win a job in the Diamondback’s bullpen in 2007.  He was 5-6 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 31 games (15 starts) for the D-Backs in 2006.  Cruz held batters to a .230 (righties .199) batting average against him and he whiffed 88 batters in 94.2 innings, but, he walked 47 batters and that’s way too many!  Cruz always has had good stuff, but he’s never learned how to pitch as he just tries to blow fastballs by hitters.

25 year old righty Tony Pena had a rough go in his first experience against major league hitters in 2006.  He was 3-4 with 2 holds, 1 save, a 5.58 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 25 games for the D-Backs.  Batters hit .290 against him (lefties .382, righties .179) and they cranked 6 homers in 30.2 innings against him.  Still, Pena has a lot of talent as he was 5-1 with 13 saves, a 1.35 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP in 41 games in AA+AAA ball last season. 

27 year old lefty Doug Slaten looks ready to explode on the scene in 2007.  He pitched in 9 games for the D-Backs and he was 0-0 with 2 holds, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Lefties went 1 for 9 (.111 avg) against him in the majors.  He was awesome in AA+AAA ball last year as he was 4-4 with 10 holds, 10 saves, a 1.43 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP in 58 games.  He also whiffed an amazing 80 batters in 63 innings.  Look out for this guy this season.

23 year old lefty Dana Eveland was brought to the D-Backs in their huge trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.  Eveland got whipped by major leaguers in 2006 as he was 0-3 with a 8.13 ERA and a 1.99 WHIP in 9 games (5 starts) for the Brewers.  He whiffed 32 batters in 27.1 innings, but, batters hit .331 (lefties .421) and he walked 16 batters and gave up 4 homers and that’s way too many.  He will have to really improve to be even an average major league pitcher.

The Diamondbacks felt that this trade was too good to pass up.  The 22 year old Petit is a highly thought of prospect despite the severe beating that major league hitters applied to him last summer.  He pitched in 15 games for the Marlins (1 start) and he was 1-1 with a 9.57 ERA and a 2.09 WHIP!  Batters hit an amazing .390 against him with 7 homers in only 26.1 innings.  Look for the Diamondbacks to start Petit out in AAA ball to try to get his confidence back before they give him another shot at the majors.