NL West Notes: Bonds rises in HOF voting, Dodgers' Dickson conquers Mexican League

After a career tarnished by the use of performance-enhancing drugs, Barry Bonds was never considered a likely Hall of Fame inductee. After all, 75% of the voters must vote a player in, and Bonds has been lucky to even hover around the 50% mark.

However, Bonds managed to make some gains in the voting department this year. Bonds shot up almost 10% from where he was in 2015--from 44.3 to 53.8 in just one year. The trend comes at a time when baseball writers seem to be changing the steroid mentality, as we've seen with the rising polling numbers of Roger Clemens, another controversial candidate.

Bonds will remain on the Hall of Fame ballot until 2023.

Here's what else is happening around the National League West:

The Dodgers' O'Koyea Dickson is making strides in his Mexican League stint. The 27-year-old utility man has hit four home runs in the last three games, and strongly making his case for a potential invite to big league camp just weeks from now. Dickson remains the property of Los Angeles after being subject to the Rule 5 draft, where no other MLB clubs showed any interest.

Legendary closer Trevor Hoffman has, once again, been robbed by the BBWAA. Hoffman still has eight years of eligibility remaining, but you have to wonder how seriously the writers take closers. Hoffman is far-and-away the all-time saves leader, but some reporters feel a 61-75 career record is hardly Hall of Fame material. As steroid users continue to garner more Hall of Fame noise, it will be interesting to see what happens with Hoffman's chances, before he comes off the ballot in 2025.

The Diamondbacks have added depth by signing a well-known name. Former Giant Gregor Blanco agreed to a minor-league deal, but will recieve $1 million from the D-Backs if he is able to reach the majors this season. Blanco hit .224 for the Giants in 2016, and spent the previous four years in San Francisco as well. Blanco figures to provide another outfielder for Arizona, and hey, he's a former Giant, so there could be a clutch gene somewhere in there.

Colorado seems to be pulling a stunt similar to that of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, using young minor league talent to provide hope for the years to come (trust the process, y'all). The plan seems to be paying dividends, as Colorado was recently ranked as having a top-ten farm system by an ESPN report. Keith Law, who made the rankings for ESPN, praised Colorado's ability to scout young pitchers that will eventually help to compliment Jon Gray in the starting rotation. Colorado's never really had a bona fide superstar pitcher, but with this young corps that we hear so much about, maybe that's about to change.