Arizona Diamondbacks scouting report - MLB - CBSSports.com Live Scores, Stats, Schedules

We asked four veteran major-league scouts to break down the eight playoff teams for us during the last week of the regular season. We asked each scout to cover two clubs for us, going over each club's batting order, anticipated playoff rotation and closer, and this is what they said:

Scouting Report

Arizona Diamondbacks

"Because of the injuries to two key guys, Craig Counsell and Luis Gonzalez, (Erubiel) Durazo, (Matt) Williams, (Junior) Spivey and those guys are going to have step up. They're not going to get much out of the bottom of that order. When the two big boys don't pitch, they're going to have to score runs to win. If either (Randy) Johnson or (Curt) Schilling gets beat, I think they're in big trouble."

Tony Womack, SS

"He's a catalyst. He's got to get on base, and especially more now than ever before. And the guy behind him (Spivey). They've got to get on base for Arizona in this series. They might have to steal a run or two with Gonzo and Counsell out in order to win because you don't normally score many runs in the playoffs against teams like Atlanta."

Junior Spivey, 2B

"Spivey is a good player. He covers the plate hitting. He makes all the plays at second. I expect Spivey to have a good playoffs. He's been good all year. He's the kind of guy that was unnoticed until he got to the big leagues. Excellent player -- not a great runner, but probably the best (overall) player they have. This guy can do some things."

Erubiel Durazo, RF

"Good fastball hitter. He can be pitched to -- you've got to throw him off-speed stuff. He's the kind of guy where if he doesn't hit, he's not going to help you at all. Dead fastball hitter. You can get him out."

Matt Williams, 3B

"He's going to have to drive in some runs for Arizona in the playoffs. He's a mistake hitter with power. If the guys up front get on, he'll be the guy in the middle lineup that's going to have to help them score runs. If the guys in front of him get on and they have to pitch to him, he might drive in some runs. If you can fool with Williams to where you don't have to give him fastballs, he's much easier to get out."

Steve Finley, CF

"He's still pretty good. Good fastball hitter. He's a winning-type guy. He pretty much does it all. He's not as good as he used to be, but he can still shag the ball and he can still hit home runs. Finley and Williams are going to have to be big in middle. They're going to have to take up some space."

Quinton McCracken, RF

"I haven't seen much of him because he came on late. He's a run guy who's helped them a lot. He's a high-hop and hard-run guy mostly. He's been getting on base and that's what they need, especially with Schilling's last two or three starts being a little rough."

Greg Colbrunn and Mark Grace (photo), 1B

"Colbrunn is an excellent hitter against left-handed pitchers. When you throw the ball out over the plate to Colbrunn, especially left-handers, he can wear you out. Grace will play against right-handers now, and he's a tough guy, a tough out -- especially if you don't crowd him inside. Grace is to the point where you just keep the ball down and let him maybe get a base hit. He's not gonna hurt you with any power unless you make a big mistake. Keep the ball down and he might hit a flare someplace, but he's not gonna hurt you much. The way he runs, the infield can play deep."

Damian Miller, C

"He's a solid average fastball mistake hitter. Damian Miller is probably a better player than most people give him credit for. He's not going to hit for a big average, but if you make a mistake, this guy can hurt you -- and he can hurt you in the clutch. Catching, he does everything. His arm is good and he catches good pitchers well. Damian Miller is a good bottom-of-the-order player who can knock in some runs."

Curt Schilling, RHP

"Everybody knows this guy is good. He's got the fastball, he can throw the split for a strike, and when he gets ahead, he can throw the split to where it's not a strike and they swing at it. He's always pitching ahead, unless he's tired. If his velocity is up where it normally is, nobody's probably going to do too much with him."

Randy Johnson, LHP

"It's hard to ever get two hits in a row off either one of them (Johnson or Schilling). Good luck. He's still throwing good. The way to beat Johnson, you're probably not going to have a big inning against him. Maybe you can create a big inning and then pitch good. But to think you're going to score three or four runs off of Randy Johnson, that's hard to even dream."

Miguel Batista, RHP

"He's the best of the next for me. His stuff is pretty good. He'll give you an inning where you can score off of him if you stay close. But he's fairly consistent. His record is not as good as he has pitched. After the Big Two, he's the toughest guy with best stuff."

Rick Helling, RHP

"His fastball is below average, but he still pitches up. He's kind of a different-type pitcher. He throws 87-88, but he still tries to throw up in the strike zone. He's going to give up hits and you will score runs, but he's a battler. You score two, three runs, he'll go back out there like he hasn't allowed any yet. Sometimes he makes mistakes, and then it's a two- or three-run mistake. He'll battle better than his stuff is."

Byung-Hyun Kim, closer

"It just depends on what day it is, whether he's going to throw strikes. I don't know why some days he doesn't. But if he's throwing strikes, he's very tough. He's good, but you never know. That's the trouble with Kim. He's a good closer, but that day just might come when he is not going to throw strikes, and then he's in trouble. If he isn't throwing strikes, he cannot sit back and regain his composure, and you might as well get him out of there."