Will career years of 2011 be an anomaly or the norm?
One of biggest questions facing the Diamondbacks as they begin defense of their NL West title is how many of their peak performers can do it again.
About one-third of the D-backs' roster had what could be considered a career year in 2011, including right fielder Justin Upton, right-hander Ian Kennedy and catcher Miguel Montero. Upton finished fourth in the NL MVP balloting while piling up 75 extra-base hits and stealing 20 bases and made his second All-Star team. Kennedy's 21-4 record led the NL in winning percentage, and he was fourth in the NL Cy Young race. Montero was among the catching leaders in almost every offensive category while making his first All-Star team.
The D-backs' 29-game improvement also was triggered by strong seasons by veterans J.J. Putz, third baseman Ryan Robert and outfielder Gerardo Parra. Putz had a career-high 45 saves after being signed as a free agent the previous winter, the major reason the D-backs were a major league-best 84-0 in games they led after eight innings. In his first season as a starter, Roberts was one home run and two stolen bases short of a 20-20 season while driving in 59 runs, and Parra won a Gold Glove after winning the left-field job in May.
Skeptics might say Upton's 75 extra-base hits and Kennedy's 21 victories would be difficult to duplicate. At the same time, each player comes with the pedigree of being a first-round draft pick. It might be just as easy to believe that given their age (Upton is 24 and Kennedy is 27), their mean performance has not been established.
D-backs general manager Kevin Towers added free agent left fielder Jason Kubel, traded for No. 3 starter Trevor Cahill and re-signed starter Joe Saunders in an attempt to go further than the first round of the playoffs in 2012.
"To win a division, you have to have guys who have big years for you or unexpected seasons, and sometimes they end up drifting back to the norm. Trying to add to that talent gives you a better opportunity if one of those guys drifts back to the norm," Towers said. "And you might have somebody else who ends up having a big, big year."
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