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-