22-year old righty swinging Justin Upton really stepped up last season and the D-Backs hope that is just a glimpse of what he can do. Upton played in 138 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 158 of 526 (.300 avg, .899 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 26 homers, 86 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Upton has the potential to be a .300 hitter, a 30/30 man, and score 100+ runs while knocking in 100+ runs in a season. It will be interesting to see if 2010 is that year or not. Upton made a stunning 12 errors in 136 games in RF for the Diamondbacks last season and that is not acceptable. But, he had 4 assists and showed good range so maybe his defense will improve in 2010.

22-year old lefty swinging Gerardo Parra will likely backup Upton in 2010. He played in 9 games in RF for the Diamondbacks last season and he didn’t make any errors. He showed below average range in RF but he did have one assist there. Parra doesn’t have the power needed to be a full time RF in the majors so the D-Backs hope that Upton stays healthy in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B+

26-year old righty swinging Chris Young had a terrible year for the D-Backs last season. He played in 134 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 92 of 433 (.212 avg, .711 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 15 homers, 42 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Young whiffed 133 times last season which if he keeps whiffing at that pace it would be a miracle if he could hit .250. If Young could hit .250 he would be a huge asset to the D-Backs because he has the talent to be a 30/30 man if he made contact with the ball more often. Young made 2 errors in 124 games in CF last season while showing slightly below average range. Young has a decent throwing arm from CF as he had 3 assists last season.

22-year old lefty swinging Gerardo Parra is Young’s main competition for his starting job in 2010. Parra played in 43 games in CF for the D-Backs last season and he made 3 errors while showing slightly below average range. He, like Young, had 3 assists in CF last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: C

27-year old righty swinging Conor Jackson will battle 22-year old lefty swinging Gerardo Parra for the starting job in LF this spring. Jackson appears to have a slight edge heading into training camp because he has more power than Parra. Jackson played in 30 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 18 for 99 (.182 avg, .516 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Jackson has played in 484 games in his career with the D-Backs and he has a career batting average of .281 with a .792 OPS so they think he will bounce back if healthy. Jackson made 1 error in 23 games in LF for the D-Backs last season but he showed poor range.

Gerardo Parra played in 120 games for the D-Backs as a rookie last season and he was 132 of 455 (.290 avg, .729 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 5 homers, 60 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He is not a prototypical LF as he doesn’t have enough power despite hitting for a good average. Parra made 3 errors in 75 games in LF last season for the Diamondbacks but he showed good range and he had 4 assists as he has a strong throwing arm.

29-year old righty swinging Ryan Roberts can also handle 2B and 3B as well as LF. That versatility will likely help Roberts making the D-Backs opening day roster. Roberts played in 110 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 85 of 305 (.279 avg, .783 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 7 homers, 25 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Roberts played in 16 games in LF last season making 1 error and showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: C-

26-year old righty swinging Mark Reynolds had a monster breakout year in 2010 and the D-Backs hope he can build on it. Reynolds played in 155 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 150 for 578 (.260 avg, .892 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 44 homers, 102 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. However, Reynolds struck out an amazing 223 times so it’s doubtful that he will hit .260 again because he hit an amazing .423 when he didn’t whiff. Reynolds made 19 errors in 130 games at 3B last season while showing average range. Reynolds has the type of power to lead the majors in homers some time down the road and maybe in 2010.

29-year old righty swinging Ryan Roberts will backup Reynolds at the hot corner in 2010. Roberts made 3 errors in 19 games at 3B last season while showing slightly below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: B+

26-year old lefty swinging Stephen Drew is looking to have another solid season in 2010 for the D-Backs. Drew played in 135 games for the Diamondbacks last season and he was 139 for 533 (.261 avg, .748 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 12 homers, 65 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Diamondbacks would probably be satisfied with similar offensive numbers in 2010 from Drew as long as he improves his defense a tad. Drew made 11 errors in 132 games at SS last season for the Diamondbacks and he showed below average range.

35-year old switch hitting Augie Ojeda will likely be Drew’s backup at SS again in 2010. He played in 103 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 65 for 264 (.246 avg, .685 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 1 homer, 16 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. That’s about Ojeda’s offensive ceiling. Ojeda played in 34 games at SS for the D-Backs last season and he made 3 errors while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: B-