Projected DH For NL West Teams

Although teams are still not sure of when spring training will begin, much less the 2022 season, front offices are still making internal decisions on their rosters. A new twist for National League teams this season will be the addition of the Designated Hitter. We previously took a look at who the projected DHs will be for teams in the NL East, and in the NL Central. Today, we check out the NL West:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Seth Beer

Raise a cold one for Seth Beer. The 25-year-old rookie has all of 10 at-bats in the majors, but according to FanGraphs, he's penciled in as their DH for the time being. He is a decent prospect, who had a .909 OPS in the minors in 2021. He had surgery for a dislocated shoulder in the offseason. There's very little else on the D-Backs bench at this point to challenge for DH at-bats. 

Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon

Blackmon's power took a big dip in 2021 with only 13 home runs, a big drop from averaging well over 30 HRs from 2016-2019. He will be turning 36 during the season, so keeping him rested in the DH slot sounds like a good plan. 

It's possible the Rockies may also shuffle some other players through the DH, like any of their other 3 outfielders, Connor Joe, Raimel Tapia and Sam Hilliard. 

Los Angeles Dodgers: Gavin Lux, Max Muncy

Lux has been promoted as a top prospect for the Dodgers for years now, but it hasn't translated to success in the majors as yet. With a .233 career average and .682 OPS over a combined 532 at-bats, Lux just isn't providing the offense that you'd want from your designated hitter. 

Edwin Rios, the 27-year-old with some big minor league seasons in his past, might get another shot after a lost 2021 due to injury. 

Max Muncy would seem to be a prototypical DH, and as he's recovering from a torn UCL, keeping him off the field would certainly be beneficial, whenever he returns. 

San Diego Padres: Jurickson Profar, Wil Myers, Jorge Alfaro

As the ultimate utilityman around the diamond, the Padres will likely use Profar to spell players at different positions, as well as using him at DH. That would free up the spot for others at times, such as Myers and Alfaro. Myers is only an average defender in the outfield, at best, and is looking to come off a down offensive season.

San Francisco Giants: Darin Ruf

With a .904 OPS and 16 HRs in only 262 ABs, Ruf had an outstanding season in 2021. The 35-year-old has been far from a full-time player in the past two seasons with the Giants, but his production when he has played have been solid. Could be interesting to see what he can do in a somewhat full-time role at DH.

Photo Credit:  Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports,   Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports