27-year old lefty swinging shortstop Stephen Drew is one of the more consistent players around. He played in 151 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 157 of 565 (.278 avg, .810 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 15 homers, 61 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Drew only made 10 errors in 147 games at SS for the D-Backs last season while showing average range. While Drew might never be the star that a lot of “experts” projected him to be, he is still a very consistent and solid all-around baseball player.

33-year old righty swinging Willie Bloomquist will back up Drew and at a lot of other positions this year. Bloomquist played in 83 games for the Reds & Royals last season and he was 50 of 187 (.267 avg, .679 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 3 homers, 17 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Bloomquist only played in 1 error-free game at shortstop but he can handle it defensively. His speed and versatility are going to be assets to the Diamondbacks off the bench in 2011.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DIAMONDBACKS SHORTSTOPS IN 2011: B

28-year old lefty swinging Kelly Johnson had a “career year” last season for the D-Backs and they hope he can repeat that success in 2011. Johnson played in 154 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 166 of 585 (.284 avg, .865 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 26 homers, 71 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. I think that Johnson’s power is legit and I think he will hit around as many homers as he hit last season. Johnson has really improved defensively as he only had 8 errors in 149 games at 2B last season while showing good range. Not too shabby for a converted outfielder.

33-year old righty swinging Willie Bloomquist, 26-year old switch hitting Tony Abreu and 37-year old switch hitting Geoff Blum will be ready whenever Johnson needs a day off or two. Bloomquist had 1 error in six games while showing good range at 2B in 2010. He can play almost anywhere on the field so he will be an asset for the D-Backs in 2011. 2B isn’t Tony Abreu’s best position defensively as had 3 errors in only 12 games there in 2010 while showing terrible range. Blum will probably be platooning at 3B with Melvin Mora, but he can play some 2B if the need arises for the D-Backs in 2011. He played in 8 error-free games at 2B for the Astros last season while showing poor range.

30-year old righty swinging Ryan Roberts is going to have a hard time making the D-Backs out of spring training. Roberts played in 36 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 13 of 66 (.197 avg, .577 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. He played one error-free game at 2B last season and he can play all over the field defensively.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DIAMONDBACKS 2B IN 2011: A-

The Diamondbacks have signed 35-year old lefty swinging 1B Russell Branyan to a minor league deal. He played in 109 games for the Indians & Mariners last season and he was 89 of 376 (.237 avg, .810 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 25 homers, 57 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Branyan has now played in 991 games in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 657 of 2,807 (.234 avg, .820 OPS) with 394 runs scored, 189 homers, 453 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Branyan is a all-or-nothing hitter as he has whiffed an amazing 1,077 times already in this major league career. Branyan is a lot like Mark Reynolds as a hitter as there are not many hitters with more power than him when he connects with the ball. Branyan will battle Juan Miranda and Brandon Allen for the starting 1B job and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he beat both of the youngsters out for the starting job. I really like this signing for the D-Backs.

24-year old lefty swinging Brandon Allen will battle 27-year old lefty swinging Juan Miranda for the D-Backs starting 1B job this spring. Allen played in 107 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 97 of 371 (.261 avg, .933 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 25 homers, 86 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Allen also played in 22 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 12 of 45 (.267 avg, .793 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Allen has big time power potential for the D-Backs. He only played 4 games at 1B for the D-Backs last season and he didn’t make any errors. He is a natural 1B who was forced to play in the outfield last season due to Adam LaRoche starting at 1B.

Juan Miranda played in 80 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 84 of 295 (.285 avg, .866 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 15 homers, 43 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Miranda also played in 33 games for the Yankees last season and he was 14 of 64 (.219 avg, .718 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 10 RBIs. Miranda, like Allen, has a lot of power potential. He didn’t make any errors in 13 games at 1B for the Yankees and he’s an average defender.

32-year old righty swinging Xavier Nady will likely be getting most of his P.T. in LF in 2011 for the D-Backs, but he’s capable of playing 1B if needed. Nady only had 1 error in 52 games at 1B for the Cubs last season so he can handle the position defensively.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DIAMONDBACKS 1B IN 2011: C-

The Diamondbacks have signed 33-year old righty swinging catcher Robby Hammock to a minor league deal. Hammock played in 26 games in Rookie + AAA-ball for the Yankees last season and he was 17 of 73 (.233 avg, .711 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He last played in the majors with the Diamondbacks back in 2008. Hammock has now played in 180 games in his major league career (all five year with the D-Backs) and he is 122 of 479 (.255 avg, .722 OPS) with 62 runs scored, 12 homers, 48 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Hammock will likely start the 2011 season in AAA and get ready in case the D-Backs need him at some point in 2011.