NL West Standings

Arizona Diamondbacks (34-25)
The Arizona Diamondbacks made a lot of news during the off-season when they traded one of their best players to the Atlanta Braves, Justin Upton. The Diamondbacks acquired super utility player Martin Prado from the Atlanta Braves for Justin Upton. So far the trade has payed off more for the Braves as Justin Upton has put up MVP caliber numbers to start the season. The Diamondbacks have taken the mentality of their manager Kirk Gibson, which is gritty and a tough minded team which is why they are probably leading the division. They have many veterans but they also have a good rookie player who is in the running for Rookie of the Year in Didi Gregorius.   

Colorado Rockies (32-28)
The Colorado Rockies have been the surprising team in this division so far this season because they have been playing really good baseball lately. Last night Carlos Gonzalez hit three home runs to give the Rockies the win. Troy Tulowitzki is back after being injured last season and he playing at an all star level and that is why he is leading the current standings for the shortstop position for the NL team for the all star game. If the Rockies continue to play as well as they have up until this point they could be contenders come time to make the postseason.

San Francisco Giants (31-28)
The San Francisco Giants have started the season in typical Giants fashion, in that they have been consistent but not fast in wins or losses. The Giants have a great catcher in all star vote leader for the NL team at the catcher position in Buster Posey. They also have many of their players from last year's World Series team back and they continue to get good pitching out of their ace Matt Cain. The Giants also have a local product from Hickory North, Carolina in Madison Bumgarner. Madison Bumgarner is turning out to be a really good pro pitcher.  

San Diego Padres (27-32)
The San Diego Padres are exactly where many experts projected them to be before the season started. They have some good players, they just do not know how to play well on a consistent basis. They have a good third basemen in Chase Headley, but the problem is that one good player can not win games just like any team sport. The Padres have been a different team when playing in front of the home crowd this season but you still have to win on the road to be a good team and that has been the Padres achilles heel this season and they just can not do it.  

Los Angeles Dodgers (25-33)
The Los Angeles Dodgers have the highest payroll in the whole division but yet they are last in the division. They are similar to what the Toronto Blue Jays did this off-season as I talked about yesterday.  The Dodgers had high hopes coming into this season but so far, those hopes have not held up. The Dodgers have great pitching in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, who they signed as a free agent this season. Greinke has been out for awhile because he was injured after getting into a brawl earlier in the season against the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers also have more injury problems as their MVP player, Matt Kemp recently got injured and was placed on disabled list. The Dodgers did get a boost when they promoted talented Cuban player Yasiel Puig. Yasiel Puig has had a big debut for the Dodgers so far this week and he has given a boost the team and if he keeps up this production the Dodgers will have to find a permanent spot for him on the roster.

This is Madison Bumgarner a Starting Pitcher from the San Francisco Giants and he is also from Hickory North, Carolina.