The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off back-to-back losses in the World Series to the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox, respectively. No matter what way you look at it, it’s an accomplishment to make it to the World Series. To make it two seasons in a row is even more impressive.
To win at least one would’ve been better, but what’s done is done. It’s now 2019, and the Dodgers are seeking to make a third consecutive trip to the Fall Classic. Let’s see how they’re doing so far:
All stats are accurate as of 4/23/19.
- The Dodgers are currently 15-9 and in first place in the NL West.
- Cody Bellinger is having an MVP-type season, batting .424 (1st in MLB), with 11 home runs (2nd in MLB), 28 RBIs (2nd in MLB) and just 12 strikeouts (t-22nd fewest in MLB).
- Joc Pederson, a career .230 hitter, is batting .270, a 40-point increase over his career average and 22-points higher than his average over the course of last season. Pederson also has 10 home runs (t-3rd most in MLB with Khris Davis).
- The Dodgers have 136 runs on the year, courtesy of 211 hits, 44 home runs, 132 RBIs, and a .264 batting average as a team. Those numbers rank 1st, 2nd, 2nd and t-5th league-wide. In the NL, they rank 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st and 3rd.
- They have the sixth-best team ERA in the NL.
- The Dodgers have made the fifth-fewest errors among all ball clubs (t-fifth fewest with the Atlanta Braves).
Those are some of the positives, but there are also negatives.
- The Dodgers have the 12th-“best” team ERA (4.10) in the MLB.
- Clayton Kershaw has only made two starts this season.
- The Dodgers have four blown saves on the year, t-4th most in the MLB.
- The Dodgers have allowed the ninth-most home runs (33) to opponents this year (tied with the Phillies).
- Dodgers pitchers have given up 107 earned runs this season, fifth-most in the MLB.
Statistics are great, but context is necessary.
The Dodgers being first in many major offensive categories and scoring a lot of runs is a good thing. That’s backed up by their first place standing in the NL West and the third-best record in baseball. Having a potential NL MVP candidate on the team certainly helps, but the Dodgers are getting contributions from (the aforementioned) Pederson and top prospect Alex Verdugo (.333 BA, three HRs, 13 RBIs). Justin Turner, a career .291 hitter, is only hitting .260 so far this season, and A.J. Pollock, a career .290 hitter, is only hitting .238.
It’s hard to pin team ERA (or really, any statistic) on one player, but Clayton Kershaw only making two starts at this point in the season can help explain the team’s somewhat worrying ERA. Despite Kershaw only being 31, he’s pitched 2109.1 innings in his career, not including the 152 he’s pitched in the postseason. The hope is that he doesn’t pitch like he has the past two postseasons, but that’s something that’ll have to wait.
The Dodgers’ pitching staff hasn’t been healthy this season. Rich Hill has goone on and off the IL. Tony Cingrani has yet to make his season debut. Not to mention the shuffling of Julio Urias and Ross Stripling between the bullpen and the rotation. Injuries happen to everyone, so it’s no excuse, but it’s also unfair to judge the Dodgers’ pitching staff until everyone is healthier for longer than a week or two.
The Dodgers are off to a promising start and are well on their way to another postseason berth, but time will tell if it culminates in another trip to the World Series.