Contenders’ Wish Lists: National League

Arizona Diamondbacks (29-24, +1/2)
Just 17 days ago, the Diamondbacks lost their fifth straight, were 15-22, and looked dead. Since then they've gone won 12-14 and woke up this morning, looked in the newspaper, and found themselves in first place. How exactly this happened is a story for another day (or hour, maybe). At the moment, the point is that we have to take them at least somewhat seriously as contenders.

What could they still use? Well, it would really help if the real Kelly Johnson would stand up; immediately following his crazy-good 2009, he's been the one true weak link in the lineup. And if he doesn't get better, who's going to balance the inevitable decline of Ryan Roberts?

In terms of going out and getting help though, whether from within or without, the starting rotation is the place to start. Even with Josh Collmenter replacing Armando Galarraga and Micah Owings replacing Barry Enright, there's still Joe Saunders to worry about. Not to mention that if the D'backs really believed in Collmenter and Owings, they probably wouldn't have opened the season in triple-A. It's possible that four starters is plenty and the current top four are for real. But if I'm Kevin Towers and I'm looking to get better, I'm looking for a starting pitcher.

San Francisco Giants (28-24, -1/2)
The Giants have been outscored by nine runs this season. You can talk about how they won last year with pitching, which they did. They also outscored their opponents by 114 runs. Pitching's great, but it's only great to the extent that it allows a team to outscore its opponents. Otherwise it's just a pretty face.

It'll be great when Pablo Sandoval gets back, but that will still leave the Giants with a value-free Miguel Tejada at shortstop and a punch-less outfield. Sure, Aubrey Huff's probably going to start hitting eventually, and it's possible that Sandoval and Huff (or Brandon Belt) will, in combination with a naturally more productive outfield, will be enough, just as it was a year ago. And it's not like Brian Sabean came up with a bunch of gems when he hit the trade market for hitters last summer. But it looks to me like something should be done to score more runs.

Colorado Rockies (25-27, -3.5)
Ah, the Rockies. Such critical darlings one month ago, when they were 17-9 despite getting almost nothing from stars Ubaldo Jimenez and Carlos Gonzalez. And such also-rans now, having gone 8-18 since. More than anything -- well, more than anything except maybe Jimenez's inability to win even a single game -- the running theme for the Rockies has been their amazingly awful production at third base, with Jose Lopez, Ty Wigginton and Ian Stewart combining for two DL stints, two demotions to Colorado Springs, one DFA, and a 521 OPS that's easily the worst in the National League (bizarrely, the Blue Jays and Mariners are even worse).

The Rockies will still, in all likelihood, be short a starting pitcher or two. The loss of Jorge de la Rosa, while relatively little noted at the time, was a serious blow to the club's chances. With Jimenez struggling, the Rockie's best starters have been Jhoulys Chacin and Jason Hammel, with both pitching better than expected. Esmil Rogers has a 7.66 ERA, and rookie Juan Nicasio has now started exactly one game above Class AA. We might assume that Jimenez will find himself. We might also assume that Chacin and/or Hammel will, without wanting to, find themselves. And like a lot of teams, the Rockies will probably be looking for a reliable starter this summer.

St. Louis Cardinals (32-22, +3.5)
The Cardinals have been devastated by injuries. Albert Pujols has been decided non-Pujolsian. The Cardinals lead Major League Baseball in scoring. Go figure.

If we assume that Chris Carpenter and (especially) Jake Westbrook will lower their ERAs, it's exceptionally difficult to find anything the Cardinals should do, except wait for David Freese to get healthy. This is just a good team, and perhaps the most complete team in the majors.

Milwaukee Brewers (29-24, -2.5)
With the addition of Zack Greinke, the rotation is solid. The bullpen could use a power arm, but then most bullpens could. And the Brewers sport the third-best OPS in the league, so it's hard to complain about the hitting. Still ... shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt and center fielder Carlos Gomez are such out machines that if I'm running the franchise, I'm looking for someone with an on-base percentage north of .300. And given that Gomez is a good fielder and Betancourt isn't, the choice here is pretty obvious: If there is a shortstop to be gotten, the Brewers should get him.

Cincinnati Reds (27-27, -5)
The Reds trail only the Cardinals in scoring, despite Paul Janish's terrible hitting stats. And Janish is a fine defensive shortstop, which makes it more difficult to justify a change there. The bullpen lacks a truly outstanding reliever -- remember when Aroldis Chapman was going to be that guy -- but Dusty Baker's gotten good work out of the material at hand. The problem's been the rotation, with a 4.96 ERA that ranks 15th in the league. Which seems odd, considering the rotation looked like something of a strength entering the season, with (theoretically) six or seven viable candidates for the five available slots. With Edinson Volquez demoted and both Sam LeCure and Homer Bailey disabled, the Reds are suddenly scrambling for a starting pitcher, with Tuesday's game against the Brewers still assigned (at this writing) to someone named "Undecided".

Maybe everyone will get healthy, and maybe Bronson Arroyo and Travis Wood will get their ERAs below 5. But it looks to me like the Reds, like the Diamondbacks and the Rockies, will be looking for another starting pitcher.

Philadelphia Phillies (33-20, +2)
Or maybe the Phillies are the most complete team, rather than the Cardinals. Assuming you trust rookie Vance Worley, or figure Joe Blanton will be a perfectly adequate No. 5 starter upon his return. With Chase Utley back and Raul Ibanez hitting, the Phillies have no weak link in their lineup. The rotation, you know about. And the bullpen's got a 2.64 ERA, even without Brad Lidge. The Phillies' wish list, like the Red Sox's, is just two words: Good Health. If they have that, they can hardly be beat.

Florida Marlins (30-21, -2)
The Marlins need two things to win: the Hanley Ramirez they were expecting but haven't gotten, and a dependable starting pitcher because Javier Vazquez and Chris Volstad just aren't good enough at the back end of the rotation. And the Marlins' best triple-A starter this season, Jay Buente, entered the season as a non-prospect and has already been waived and subsequently lost to the Rays. So we can add the Marlins to the list of contenders that figure to be in the market for a starting pitcher if they're still contending in July.

Atlanta Braves (30-24, -3.5)
The Braves, on the other hand, don't need a starting pitcher. Even with the loss of Brandon Beachy to the disabled list, the Braves are still loaded, thanks to youngsters Mike Minor and Julio Teheran. They don't need a relief pitcher, either.

What they need is some production from their second basemen. But all they can do about that is keep running Dan Uggla out there, given his contract. They also need some production from their outfielders, and there are some options there. If Jordan Schafer isn't the answer in center field -- and I don't know why he would be -- the Braves might need to make a move. So long as they don't go after Rick Ankiel again.