Chris Johnson and Eric Chavez look to give Arizona an offensive boost in 2013 from the third base position. (US Presswire: Matt Kartozian)

Diamondbacks fans should be excited about the prospects of some solid run production from the third base position in 2013 with the duo of Chris Johnson and Eric Chavez.

The under the radar trade last season that brought Johnson to the desert for two struggling prospects didn’t get a ton of publicity in the baseball circles, but Johnson made a splash immediately for the D’backs hitting a grand slam in his debut with the team against the Dodgers on July 30th. Johnson further excited Diamondback fans hitting five home runs and piling up 15 runs batted in in his first eight games. Johnson has shown his ability to hit for power and drive in runs in the first four years of his major league career amassing 33 home runs and 171 RBI in 1,229 at bats. He hits right-handed pitching considerably better than her does lefties with a .819 OPS against right-handed pitching versus .672 versus left-handed pitching. Johnson plays a capable third base and looks to share time at the hot corner with veteran addition Eric Chavez.

Chavez enjoyed his best season in the majors since 2006 in his 2012 resurgence with the Yankees. He hit .281 with 16 home runs and 37 runs batted in while playing a pivotal role for New York down the stretch. Chavez also sports a dependable glove and can more than hold his own at third base. Most of Chavez’s offensive production in 2012 came against right handed pitching as well hitting .298 versus righties.

Diamondbacks fans can likely expect to see Johnson get most, if not all, of the starts at third against left handed pitching in 2013. Look for Johnson and Chavez to likely split time against right-handed pitching and for manager Kirk Gibson to go with whomever happens to be the hot hand throughout the season. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Arizona to see these two combine to hit for 25-30 home runs, 90-100 runs batted in, and a respectable .280 or better average collectively from both sides of the plate. Whether it’s Johnson or Chavez at third base, expect the D’backs to get some significant run producing from that position in 2013.

Will Chris Owings contribute to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013? (US Presswire: Jennifer Hilderbrand)

In the D’backs organization since 2009, Owings has grown into a shortstop prospect for the team. Known to be an above average shortstop with some pop in his bat, Owings enjoyed a solid 2012 campaign in which he split time between A-Visalia and AA-Mobile. Owings hit a combined .290 between those stops in 538 at bats. Owings showed some solid power numbers hitting 17 home runs, 52 RBI, and 26 doubles in his 128 games in 2012. The season resulted in the organization designated him for the Arizona Fall League, one of the more well known developmental leagues that have featured a number of baseball’s current stars. Owings numbers in the short 21 games weren’t super impressive, including his zero walks in 90 plate appearances, showing that his approach at the plate definitely needs to catch up to his already solid glove work up the middle.

As the team enters the 2013 season, their outlook at shortstop has changed a bit. Pennington was brought over as asolid glove man himself. Gregorious is getting tabbed as the shortstop of the future after coming over in the Bauer deal. Some had questioned why the team went after names like Pennington and Gregorious when it seemed as if they had Owings waiting in the wings. Now, with Gregorious under team control for the forseeable future, some in baseball have mentioned a possible move to second base where he may be able to replace Aaron Hill when his contract is up following the 2013 season.

Whatever the future holds for Owings, it appears that he will be spending 2013 in the D’backs minor league system and the team will likely be looking for him to continue to grow as a hitter and work on plate discipline and pitch selection. Whatever position he ends up in, it appears that the D’backs have some major league talent on their hands that could be a big part of their future.

2013 brings expectations of a run at a NL West Division Championship. (US Presswire: Jennifer Stewart)

Entering Spring Training in 2012, Arizona was coming off a magical 2011 season that made it appear that this club was destined for great things in 2012. There was even preseason talk about the D’backs potentially being the National League representative in the World Series. Those kind of expectations can be suffocating and may have been a bit unfair to the 2012 club.

As we embark on a new year and with Spring Training right around the corner, I agree, expectations should be similar. Sights should be set on a run at a NL West division championship. The team is arguably better than the team from 2011 and I believe they have the pieces to be a dark horse in what will be a tough division. But in 2013, they will not have to deal with talk of a World Series run before an Opening Day pitch is thrown. They may be able to play more of an underdog role as they did in 2011.

The Dodgers and the Giants have improved and will be forces to be reckoned with. However, with a return to some of the ways things went in 2011 and a little luck in the way of injuries, the 2013 D’backs will give those California teams a run in the NL West and maybe even a lengthy postseason run.