If Every Team Was Homegrown: NL West

Image credit: Nolan Arenado (Photo by Tom DiPace)

We continue our Homegrown Roster series with the NL West, taking a look at what the Dodgers, D-backs, Giants, Padres and Rockies’ starting lineups in 2019 would look like if they were entirely homegrown.

You can check out our previous installments for the NL East here and NL Central here. 

Any player signed for entry into Major League Baseball is eligible to be listed with the team that signed them. Foreign professionals signed from Japan, Cuba, South Korea or other countries are included in addition to those players drafted and signed, signed as international amateurs or signed as undrafted free agents.

Players must have been active in 2018 and are scheduled to be active in 2019 to be eligible. Teams are listed in alphabetical order.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

C Miguel Montero
1B Paul Goldschmidt
2B Chris Owings
3B Jake Lamb
SS Dansby Swanson
OF Justin Upton
OF A.J. Pollock
OF Adam Eaton

SP Max Scherzer
SP Trevor Bauer
SP Wade Miley
SP Chase Anderson
SP Brad Keller
RP Archie Bradley

Honorable mention: Carlos Gonzalez, Ender Inciarte, Gerardo Parra, Mark Reynolds, Keon Broxton, Brett Anderson, Touki Toussaint, Jorge De La Rosa, Andrew Chafin, Matt Davidson, Daniel Palka.

Analysis: The D-backs have one of the best and most complete homegrown units of any team, with a seven-deep outfield that includes multiple All-Stars (Upton, Pollock, Gonzalez) and other standouts (Inciarte, Eaton), power-hitting infielders that include Goldschmidt, Reynolds, Lamb and Davidson and a seven-deep starting rotation that includes two of baseball’s best pitchers at the top. The problem is the D-backs largely failed to keep this impressive collection of homegrown talent. Scherzer, Bauer, Upton, Eaton, Gonzalez, Swanson, Keller, Toussaint and both Andersons were all traded or let go (in the Rule 5 draft in Keller’s case) before reaching their primes—a talent drain that prevented the D-backs from becoming one of baseball’s strongest teams teams this decade.

COLORADO ROCKIES

C Chris Iannetta
1B Ryan McMahon
2B Garrett Hampson
3B Nolan Arenado
SS Trevor Story
OF Corey Dickerson
OF Charlie Blackmon
OF David Dahl

SP Kyle Freeland
SP Jon Gray
SP Jhoulys Chacin
SP Antonio Senzatela
SP Tyler Anderson
RP Scott Oberg

Honorable mention: Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, Dexter Fowler, Chad Bettis, Eddie Butler, Juan Nicasio, Will Harris, Pedro Strop, Raimel Tapia, Dan Winkler, Eric Young Jr., Jose Briceno, Chaz Roe.

Analysis: Like the D-backs, the Rockies have been a player-development machine in recent years. Unlike the D-backs, the Rockies have kept most of their best homegrown players and as a result are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. The outfield and left side of the infield are full of stars both old and new, while four of the five best homegrown pitchers the Rockies claim are still with the club today. The right side of the infield is a bit green with McMahon and Hampson, but both are talented players who were Top 100 Prospects and are ready for expanded roles in the majors. There’s more coming too, with infielder Brendan Rodgers and righthander Peter Lambert finishing last year in Triple-A.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

C Russell Martin
1B Carlos Santana
2B Dee Gordon
3B Kyle Farmer
SS Corey Seager
OF Joc Pederson
OF Cody Bellinger
OF Yasiel Puig

SP Clayton Kershaw
SP Walker Buehler
SP Nathan Eovaldi
SP Hyun-Jin Ryu
SP Kenta Maeda
RP Kenley Jansen

Honorable mention: Matt Kemp, Scott Schebler, Edwin Jackson, Ross Stripling, Jharel Cotton, Julio Urias, Willie Calhoun, Alex Verdugo, Joakim Soria, Victor Arano, Caleb Ferguson, Pedro Baez.

Analysis: The Dodgers’ homegrown pitching track record certainly looks stronger than it did a year ago with Buehler’s ascension, bounceback seasons from Eovaldi and Jackson, Stripling’s All-Star selection and a return to health from Ryu and Urias. It’s now one of the stronger homegrown pitching groups in baseball. With Adrian Beltre‘s retirement, finding a Dodgers homegrown third baseman is extremely difficult. Farmer, with 59 career major league games, is the best of a non-existent group of options. The Dodgers have had a strong run of homegrown outfielders, with Bellinger’s emergence as a viable outfielder further adding to the club’s impressive depth.

SAN DIEGO PADRES

C Austin Hedges
1B Jake Bauers
2B Jedd Gyorko
3B David Freese
SS Trea Turner
OF Hunter Renfroe
OF Mallex Smith
OF Franmil Reyes

SP Corey Kluber
SP Miles Mikolas
SP Dinelson Lamet
SP Joey Lucchesi
SP Zach Eflin
RP Brad Brach

Honorable mention: Joe Ross, Wade LeBlanc, Max Fried, Matt Andriese, Eric Lauer, Tayron Guerrero, Adam Cimber, Logan Forsythe, Travis Jankowski, Franchy Cordero, Luis Urias, Cory Spangenberg, Brandon Kintzler, Matt Bush, Nick Vincent, Phil Maton, Nick Hundley, Oliver Perez.

Analysis: The Padres’ homegrown group is solid, but like other franchises, the problem is they traded most of them before their primes. Kluber, Turner, Freese, Ross, Eflin, Smith, Bauers, Fried and Andriese were all traded as prospects before every putting on a Padres uniform. Gyorko, Mikolas, Brach and Forsythe were all traded prematurely before they hit their peaks. That talent drain took a major toll on the franchise and is a big reason why the Padres have had eight straight losing seasons. 

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

C Buster Posey
1B Brandon Belt
2B Joe Panik
3B Matt Duffy
SS Brandon Crawford
OF Adam Duvall
OF Steven Duggar
OF Austin Slater

SP Madison Bumgarner
SP Zack Wheeler
SP Luis Castillo
SP Francisco Liriano
SP Jonathan Loaisiga
RP Sergio Romo

Honorable mention: Pablo Sandoval, Charlie Culberson, Ehire Adrianza, Andrew Suarez, Adalberto Mejia, Tommy Joseph, Dan Otero, Heath Hembree, Chris Stratton, Ty Blach, Kelby Tomlinson, Andrew Susac, Reyes Moronta, Kyle Crick, Chris Shaw.

Analysis: The Giants have developed exactly one everyday starting outfielder this decade—Duvall, who was traded to the Reds as a prospect and never actually played a game for the Giants. Prior to him, the last homegrown Giants outfielder to spend even one season as an everyday player was Nate Schierholtz, who was drafted in 2003. The Giants hope that changes with their recent outfield wave of Duggar, Slater and Shaw. Developing infielders and pitching has long been a strength of the Giants. Even with Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong, Jonathan Sanchez and other key pitchers from their World Series teams aging out, the Giants still have a strong homegrown pitching core with depth beyond the starting five.