2017 Major League Preview: NL West

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Armed with the deepest pitching staff in baseball and a more balanced, dangerous lineup with the addition of Logan Forsythe, the Dodgers not only win their fifth straight division title but claim their first World Series crown since 1988.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill and Scott Kazmir all struggle with injuries lingering from last season, age begins to catch up to Adrian Gonzalez and Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig proves irredeemable and the Dodgers’ young reinforcements aren’t quite ready for prime time, resulting in an 85-win season.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: 2B Logan Forsythe, RHP Sergio Romo, OF Franklin Gutierrez

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: LF/2B Howie Kendrick, OF Josh Reddick, RHP Joe Blanton

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: LHP Julio Urias

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SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Mark Melancon proves to be the cure for a Giants bullpen that blew 30 saves last season, making the contributions of a deep staff and solid lineup stand up en route to a 90-plus win season and surprise division title.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Melancon becomes the latest cautionary tale of paying big money for a free agent closer while Jeff Samardzjia, Matt Moore and Matt Cain continue their slides and the Giants struggle to stay above .500.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: RHP Mark Melancon, C Nick Hundley, 3B Jae-gyun Hwang

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: RHP Santiago Casilla, RHP Sergio Romo, OF Angel Pagan

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: RHP Derek Law

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ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller and Patrick Corbin bounce back under new manager Torey Lovullo and his coaching staff to lead a surprisingly stout rotation, helping support a prolific offense as the D-backs contend for a wild-card bid.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Miller, Corbin and Taijaun Walker continue to regress, Greinke checks out mentally by midseason and the 9-6-type losses rack up quickly before first-year general manager Mike Hazen tears it all down at the trade deadline.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: RHP Taijuan Walker, C Chris Iannetta, RHP Fernando Rodney

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: 2B Jean Segura, C Welington Castillo, LF Rickie Weeks

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: 3B Jake Lamb

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COLORADO ROCKIES

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: The Rockies’ young pitching staff matures quickly, with Jon Gray and Tyler Anderson posting stellar sophomore seasons to back an explosive offense and improved bullpen, putting Colorado in the thick of the wild-card race.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Free agent relief imports Mike Dunn and Greg Holland do nothing to improve a bullpen that posted an MLB-worst 5.13 ERA last season, resulting in the Rockies’ seventh straight losing season.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: 1B/OF Ian Desmond, LHP Mike Dunn, RHP Greg Holland

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: C Nick Hundley, LHP Jorge de la Rosa, LHP Boone Logan

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: SS Trevor Story

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SAN DIEGO PADRES

BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot and Austin Hedges all perform to give the Padres a promising under-26 core with Wil Myers, Petco Park does wonders for the retread pitching staff, and the Padres flirt with .500 while showing they are closer to contending than originally thought.

WORST-CASE SCENARIO: Myers gets hurt again, Renfroe and Hedges don’t make enough contact to have an impact and the entire rotation posts ERA’s above 5.00 as the Padres finish with the worst record in baseball.

BIGGEST OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS: RHP Jered Weaver, RHP Trevor Cahill, RHP Jhoulys Chacin

BIGGEST OFFSEASON LOSSES: C Derek Norris, OF Jon Jay, RHP Tyson Ross

NEXT FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR: Austin Hedges