The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a fifth consecutive National League West division title and the best record in the NL, which has them beginning the postseason in a matchup with the winner of the NL Wild Card Game.
Los Angeles is likely to meet an opponent they’re awfully familiar with in the NL Division Series, as the Arizona Diamondbacks clinched the top Wild Card spot, and the Colorado Rockies are closing in on securing their berth.
With only three games remaining in the regular season, the Dodgers have multiple roster decisions to make. A potential crunch was alleviated on Wednesday when the club announced Adrian Gonzalez was shut down for the year.
Ahead of the Dodgers needing to finalize their 25-man NLDS roster, the DodgerBlue.com staff submitted their predictions. Players in each position group are listed alphabetically.
Jeff Spiegel (@JeffSpiegel):
Starting pitchers (4): Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu
Relief pitchers (8): Luis Avilan, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Kenta Maeda, Brandon Morrow, Tony Watson, Alex Wood,
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Yasmani Grandal, Kyle Farmer
Infielders (4): Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Andre Ethier, Curtis Granderson, Kiké Hernandez, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor
This is an odd bunch, but given positional versatility on offense, I think the Dodgers can mix it up a bit. For the past two playoffs the team has taken 11 pitchers and 14 hitters, but this year I’m predicting 12 and 13, respectively.
Part of that is because Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor all offer the ability to play two or three different positions well.
On the pitching front, the Dodgers are lefty-heavy in the bullpen, so I believe Fields nabs the eighth spot in the to give them four righties to go with four lefties. I’m also aboard the Ryu-to-start wagon, simply because he has been good lately, has had playoff success, and because Wood is a big weapon out of the bullpen.
The final spot for me came down to whether the Dodgers would take another infielder (Logan Forsythe) or outfielder (Granderson). I asked myself who I would trust in a big spot as a pinch-hitter and the decision wasn’t even remotely close — give me Granderson.
He has the ability to hit the ball out of the park (26 homers this season) and he has been better lately (.408 on-base percentage and .633 slugging in the second-half of September. Not to mention he offers a veteran, ‘I’ve been here before’ presence.
Matt Borelli (@MattDodgerBlue):
Starting pitchers (4): Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu
Relief pitchers (8): Luis Avilan, Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Brandon Morrow, Tony Watson, Alex Wood
Catchers (2): Austin Barnes, Yasmani Grandal
Infielders (6): Cody Bellinger, Kyle Farmer, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Andre Ethier, Curtis Granderson, Kiké Hernandez, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor
I originally had Wood in the starting rotation with Maeda as insurance in the bullpen but given that Ryu landed a start in Colorado this weekend, I think the writing is on the wall for this one.
So with Wood in the bullpen, I opted for Buehler over Maeda because of their different arsenals. Buehler offers higher upside with his triple-digit velocity in a five-game series, and the Dodgers don’t necessarily need another starting pitcher to eat innings with Wood on the roster.
I also went with an extra left-handed specialist in Cingrani over Ross Stripling because of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ team wRC+ of 84 against southpaws (fifth-worst in MLB). Should the Rockies advance, their respective wRC+ of 94 (17th) doesn’t fare much better.
Farmer gets the final spot among infielders, as his presence will allow the Dodgers to freely use Barnes in pinch-hit or pinch-run opportunities when Grandal is behind the plate.
Ethier earns the final spot in the outfield over Joc Pederson because of his increased playing time and success at the plate (albeit a small sample size) since returning from the disabled list earlier this month.
Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand):
Starting pitchers (4): Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu
Relief pitchers (8): Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Kenta Maeda, Brandon Morrow, Tony Watson, Alex Wood
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Yasmani Grandal
Infielders (5): Cody Bellinger, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Andre Ether, Curtis Granderson, Kiké Hernandez, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor
For me the toughest decision was moving Wood to the bullpen, but it just makes a lot more sense to utilize him as a reliever in high-leverage situations as opposed to making just one start in a five-game series.
With Wood moving to the bullpen, he takes that third lefty spot, so I went with Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani over Luis Avilan for the other two because of how they have pitched lately. Avilan has been good all season but I still don’t quite trust him in high-leverage situations.
The final right-hander in the bullpen is Buehler over Ross Stripling. Buehler just has stuff that plays better in the postseason, so that was an easy decision for me.
For the final bench spot I decided to go with Farmer over Joc Pederson because having a third catcher allows either Barnes or Grandal, whoever isn’t starting, to be used as a pinch-hitter in big situations. Plus, both Barnes and Farmer could play infield if need be.
Jared Massey (@JarredJMassey):
Starting pitchers (4): Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood
Relief pitchers (8): Luis Avilan, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Kenta Maeda, Brandon Morrow, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tony Watson
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Yasmani Grandal
Infielders (5): Cody Bellinger, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Andre Ethier, Curtis Granderson, Enrique Hernandez, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor
This year’s NLDS roster looks a little different from 2016, when the club carried 11 pitchers and 14 position players. Adding Farmer frees up Barnes and Grandal to come in as a pinch-hitter late in games.
I hesitated to include both Maeda and Ryu as relievers, but both seem worthy of the spots.
Eric Avakian (@AvakEric):
Starting Pitchers (4): Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood
Relief Pitchers (8): Luis Avilan, Walker Buehler, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Kenley Jansen, Brandon Morrow, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tony Watson
Catchers (3): Austin Barnes, Kyle Farmer, Yasmani Grandal,
Infielders (5): Cody Belliner, Logan Forsythe, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley
Outfielders (5): Andre Ethier, Curtis Granderson, Kiké Hernandez, Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor
All in all, I believe that Hernandez and Granderson will split the starts based off of the opposing starting pitcher, with Ethier earning a spot due to his experience and .296/.367/.556 splits against righties thus far.
When it comes to pitching, I believe that Ryu will earn the final pitching spot on the roster. Both he and Wood could have similar scenarios, with one potentially starting Game 4 and the other entering out of the bullpen.
