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Entering Monday, the Los Angeles Dodgers pace all of baseball with 22 wins thus far in the 2019 season. The club’s fast start has been aided by the lineup, with various players enjoying initial success.
Looking to capture a seventh consecutive National League West title this season, the Dodgers currently find themselves in first place with a slim one-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Let’s review the first six weeks of play and analyze which Dodgers players are trending up with excellent starts, and those who are trending down with disappointing showings.
Trending Down
Kenley Jansen: The Dodgers closer has already notched 12 saves this season, but his struggles with the home run ball have inflated his overall numbers. In 17 appearances to date, Jansen has posted career-highs in both ERA (4.76) and FIP (4.07). A silver lining is that he is continuing to strike out batters at an impressive rate (12.5 per nine).
Joe Kelly: His first season with the Dodgers has not gotten off to a promising start. The right-hander has posted a disastrous 10.13 ERA in 13.1 innings of work, yielding at least one run in eight of his first 13 appearances.
Kenta Maeda: In his first seven starts of the regular season, Maeda has pitched to a 4.66 ERA, 4.80 FIP and 1.42 WHIP over 38.2 innings pitched. His struggles can be attributed to a decline in strikeouts (7.9 per nine) and an uptick in opposing home runs (1.4 per nine).
A.J. Pollock: A disappointing start at the plate has been the least of Pollock’s worries thus far, who was just placed on the 10-day injured list following a third procedure on his right elbow dating back to 2010. Having accumulated 115 plate appearances, the 31-year-old is batting only .223/.287/.330 with two home runs and 14 RBI.
Chris Taylor: Taylor has vastly struggled at the plate thus far, hitting just .218/.289/.368 in 97 plate appearances. However, he has seemingly turned a corner over the past week, making better contact and slugging two home runs against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has seen improvement and believes Taylor is on the verge of snapping out of his slump.
CONTINUE READING: Players who are trending up
Trending Up
Cody Bellinger: After enduring somewhat of a sophomore slump in 2018, Bellinger vowed to bounce back in a big way. The 2017 NL Rookie of the Year has responded in historic fashion and currently leads the Majors in runs (32), hits (49), RBI (38), batting average (.412), on-base percentage (.486), slugging percentage (.840) and FanGraphs’ WAR (3.2). Bellinger earned NL Player of the Month honors for April following his video game-like showing
Dylan Floro: Floro is the lone remaining qualified Dodgers pitcher to not allow a run this season. In addition to his 15 innings of scoreless work, he has already accumulated 0.4 WAR (FanGraphs) on the year.
Clayton Kershaw: Though he began the regular season on the 10-day IL, the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner has found success in his short time back with the Dodgers. In four starts, he is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA, 3.65 FIP and 0.85 WHIP across 26 innings, holding the opposition to a .185 batting average.
Joc Pederson: Earning the bulk of his playing time against right-handed pitchers, Pederson is batting .235/.345/.592 with 10 home runs and 18 RBI in 116 plate appearances. The 27-year-old is one of only two Dodgers players to surpass the double-digit mark in home runs, joining Bellinger.
Hyun-Jin Ryu: Coming off a breakout 2018 campaign, Ryu has built on that success with an excellent start to his 2019 season. He is currently 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA, 3.32 FIP and 0.91 WHIP in 35.1 innings of work (six starts). Though he has already yielded six home runs on the year, the left-hander has made up for it with one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios in all of baseball: 39-2.
Alex Verdugo: Receiving more opportunities as of late with Pollock being placed on the 10-day injured list, Verdugo is hitting an impressive .329/.360/.576 with four home runs and 17 RBI in 89 plate appearances.
Honorable Mentions
Scott Alexander: The left-handed specialist has thrived in the early going of the 2019 season, pitching to a solid 2.94 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched (18 appearances). Living up to his reputation, he has retired 67.6% of opposing batters via the ground ball — the highest mark on the team.
Russell Martin: Though he has only received 36 plate appearances to date, Martin is reaching base at an excellent clip (.417) and has provided additional value behind home plate with his game-calling. The 36-year-old even has a scoreless inning of relief to his name.
Max Muncy: While he has experienced declines in both batting average and on-base percentage, Muncy is proving that his impressive power display from a season ago wasn’t a fluke. He has already totaled seven home runs on the year behind a .245 ISO and .491 slugging percentage.
Ross Stripling: Again receiving opportunities as both a starting pitcher and reliever, Stripling has embraced his versatile role with the Dodgers. In nine games (six starts), he has compiled a 2-2 record with a 3.22 ERA, 3.59 FIP and 1.10 WHIP over 36.1 innings.