Despite not having Randy Johnson and Doug Davis for part of the season I still believe that the D-Backs will have a solid starting rotation. As long as Eric Byrnes doesn’t get hurt running into a wall I think the D-Backs will win more than 86 games. Look for Mark Reynolds and Conor Jackson to have huge seasons to propel an improved D-Backs offense. I would take the over.

The Diamondbacks did a good job of bringing in major league ready arms for the rotation in case some pitchers break down this season, and that was a smart move. 29-year old righty Brandon Webb has never broke down in his major league career so the D-Backs aren’t worried about him. He started 34 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 18-10 with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Look for him to be a big time contender for the Cy Young Award in 2008.

Speaking of potential Cy Young Award winners, 27-year old righty Dan Haren might also make a bid for that award. He started 34 games for the A’s last season and he was 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. His numbers should improve even more with a move to the National League, giving the D-Backs one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball.

44-year old lefty Randy Johnson will begin the season on the D.L. but he showed he can still bring it in spring training. He started 10 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 4-3 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He also whiffed 72 batters in only 56.2 innings last season which shows he still has it.

32-year old lefty Doug Davis has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He will make his first two starts of the season and then he will likely miss at least one month due to surgery. He started 33 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 13-12 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. It’s amazing to watch Davis walk the tighrope every time he pitches because of all of the batters he walks.

25-year old righty Micah Owings will likely be the #3 starter until Johnson is ready to return. He pitched in 29 games (27 starts) for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 8-8 with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Diamondbacks also toyed with the idea of letting Owings play some 1B when he wasn’t pitching but they have had to table that due to Randy Johnson and Doug Davis’ medical conditions.

25-year old righty Edgar Gonzalez will likely take a job in the rotation to replace Johnson and then Davis. He pitched in 32 games (12 starts) for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 8-4 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

23-year old righty Yusmeiro Petit pitched in 14 games (10 starts) for the D-Backs last season. He was 3-4 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He will likely get some starts this season.

24-year old righty Billy Buckner was acquired from the Royals in the off-season and he could pitch in at some point in the season. He pitched in 7 games (5 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He also pitched in 31 games (18 starts) in AA+AAA ball last season and he was 10-10 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.

24-year old righty Juan Gutierrez was acquired from the Astros in the Jose Valverde trade. Gutierrez pitched in 7 games (3 starts) for the Astros last season and he was 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He also pitched in 26 games (25 starts) in the minors last season and he was 5-10 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: A-

The Diamondbacks are hoping that 20-year old righty swinging Justin Upton will be ready to show off his talent for them in RF this season. Upton played in 43 games last season for the D-Backs and he was 31 for 140 (.221 avg, .647 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Upton played in 42 games in RF last season and he made 5 errors while showing below average range. Upton will have to play better defense if he wants to stay in the major leagues, period.

The D-Backs have plenty of options in RF if Upton isn’t ready. 34-year old lefty swinging Trot Nixon appears to be the top dog there. He played in 99 games for the Indians last season and he was 77 for 307 (.251 avg, .678 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 3 homers and 31 RBIs. The D-Backs hope that Nixon will hit more like his career norms of .275 with a .830 OPS. He’s not a good defender as he made 4 errors in 87 games while showing very poor range.

27-year old lefty swinging Jeff Salazar played in 38 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 26 for 94 (.277 avg, .734 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. He played in 108 games in AAA last season and he was 119 for 400 (.298 avg, .880 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 10 homers, 67 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Salazar was superb on defense for the D-Backs last season as he didn’t make an error in 27 games in RF while showing outstanding range.

Chris Burke played in 20 games in RF last season for the Astros and he made 1 error while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: D+

24-year old righty Chris Young started to show what he is all about last season for the D-Backs. He played in 148 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 135 for 569 (.237 avg, .762 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 32 homers, 68 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. He didn’t play as well on defense as he did on offense last season. He played in 146 games in CF last season for the D-Backs and he made 6 errors while showing slightly below average range. Look for even better offensive numbers in 2008 from Young.

28-year old righty swinging Chris Burke will likely be Young’s primary backup in CF. He played in 111 games for the Astros last season and he was 73 for 319 (.229 avg, .661 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers, 28 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He played in 26 games in CF last season and he made 1 error while showing poor range.

If Chris Young gets injured and he has to miss some time, Eric Byrnes would probably slide over to CF from LF. Byrnes played in 23 games in CF last season for the D-Backs and he didn’t make an error while showing average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+

32-year old righty swinging Eric Byrnes will be back in LF for the D-Backs this season. He played in 160 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 179 for 626 (.286 avg, .813 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 21 homers, 83 RBIs and 50 stolen bases. Byrnes played in 123 games in LF last season and he made 4 errors while showing outstanding range. Many think that Byrnes was inspired because he was in his free agent walk year but I disagree because he always leaves everything that he has got on the field. Look for another outstanding season for Mr. Byrnes in 2008.

Jeff Salazar, Chris Burke or possibly Chad Tracy will get limited P.T. in LF if Byrnes needs a break or gets injured.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+