The Diamondbacks have signed 35-year old righty starting pitcher Kris Benson to a minor league deal. Benson pitched in 8 games (2 starts) for the Rangers last season in which he was 1-1 with a 8.46 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. Benson also pitched in 12 games (11 starts) in AA+AAA ball last year in which he was 4-6 with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has now pitched in 203 games (197 starts) in his major league career in which he is 69-74 with a 4.41 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Benson will have a decent chance of getting back to the majors this season with the D-Backs especially with Brandon Webb hurting right now.

The Diamondbacks have a very talented top three in the rotation but the #4 and #5 spots will likely determine if the D-Backs have a solid rotation or not in 2010. 29-year old righty Dan Haren will be the D-Backs’ #1 starter once again in 2010. He started 33 games for the Diamondbacks last season in which he was 14-10 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Haren only walked 38 batters while allowing 192 hits in 229 1/3 innings last season as he is a workhorse. He also whiffed 223 batters for the D-Backs last season. The one thing that the Diamondbacks have hope with Haren is that he pitches well all year long instead of fading in the second half which he has done the last couple years. Regardless, Haren is one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball and he will be exactly that again in 2010.

30-year old righty Brandon Webb was being counted on to be the #2 starter for the Diamondbacks this season but he is likely going to start the season on the D.L. as his shoulder just isn’t right yet. Webb only started 1 game last season for the D-Backs before shutting in down and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. Webb has pitched in 199 games (198 starts) in his career with the D-Backs and he is 87-62 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He won the Cy Young Award in 2006 for the Diamondbacks. The D-Backs need his stay to be short on the D.L. because they don’t have a lot of quality depth in the starting rotation

26-year old righty Edwin Jackson will be the D-Backs’ #3 starter unless Webb can’t go in which case he will move up to #2. Jackson started 33 games for the Tigers last season in which he was 13-9 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. 2009 was by far Jackson’s best year in the majors so you have to wonder if he has finally found himself. No one doubts Jackson’s stuff as it is great. His problems in his career have come above the shoulders but it seems as if he is ready to take his game to the next level. Still, he has pitched in 139 games (110 starts) in his major league career in which he is 38-39 with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

25-year old righty Ian Kennedy will likely be the #4 starter in the rotation for the D-Backs in 2010. Kennedy missed most of last season due to injury. He pitched in 1 game (0 starts) with the Yankees and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He has now pitched in 14 games (12 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-4 with a 6.03 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. I think the pressure cooker in N.Y. was a little too much for him as he walked 37 batters with the Yankees in only 59 2/3 innings despite being a solid control pitcher in the minors. In four years in the minors, Kennedy pitched in 46 games (43 starts) in which he was 19-6 with a 1.95 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. The Diamondbacks have high hopes that Kennedy will excel in the less pressure packed environment in Arizona.

26-year old righty Billy Bucker probably has a slight edge in the competition for the #5 spot in the rotation. Buckner pitched in 16 games (13 starts) for the D-Backs last season in which he was 4-6 with a 6.40 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He definitely has some issues to clear up before he will be a decent starting pitcher in the majors as he gave up 94 hits (12 of which were homers) in only 77 1/3 innings for the Diamondbacks last season.

24-year old righty Kevin Mulvey came over from the Twins in a trade last summer. He pitched in 8 games (4 starts) for the Twins & D-Backs last season in which he was 0-3 with a 8.14 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. But, it wasn’t all bad for him last season as he started 24 games in AAA-ball in which he was 5-8 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Mulvey will have to pitch good this spring to win a spot in the D-Backs’ starting rotation.

34-year old righty Rodrigo Lopez is the wildcard for the D-Backs at the back end of the starting rotation. Lopez pitched in 7 games (5 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 3-1 with a 5.70 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. He also started 18 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 7-5 with a 4.31 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. If Lopez is healthy he could win 10+ games for the D-Backs in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STARTING ROTATION IN 2010: C

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-