2018 ZiPS Projections: Dodgers To Win 85 Games En Route To 6th Consecutive NL West Title
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Despite an underwhelming start to the regular season mired with a plethora of injuries, the Los Angeles Dodgers are were recently forecasted to win 85 games, per ZiPS’ rest of the year projections. That’s sufficient enough for the Dodgers to win their sixth consecutive National League West title, despite falling short of the 90-win threshold.

Should those predictions hold true, Los Angeles would finish with their fewest amount of wins since the 2011 season (82). Furthermore, their 85-win total would be the lowest among fellow NL division winners.

The Chicago Cubs are penciled in for 93 wins out of the NL Central, while the Washington Nationals headline their respective NL East division with 92.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, who finished the month of April with a superb 20-8 record, are projected to win only 83 games en route to a second-place tie with the Colorado Rockies in the NL West.

Moreover, the San Francisco Giants are tabbed for their second consecutive sub-.500 season with a 79-83 showing. This, despite a flurry of offseason transactions that saw the acquisitions of All-Stars Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen.

Finally, the San Diego Padres are expected to finish in last place with 71 wins. That figure would give them the same amount of wins as last season despite adding the likes of Freddy Galvis, Eric Hosmer and Tyson Ross over the winter.

Prior to the start of the regular season, PECOTA projected the Dodgers to not only win the division but also tie with the Houston Astros for the best record in all of baseball.

That doesn’t appear likely at this point, as ZiPS pegs the Astros to win 99 games. That would be the third-most in MLB behind a pair of American League East clubs in the New York Yankees (101) and Boston Red Sox (100).

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