Despite a slow start to the offseason, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been one of the more active teams in baseball over the past few weeks.
After losing Zack Greinke to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers’ starting rotation was reinforced with the signings of Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda.
Organizational depth was also addressed, with the low-risk, high-reward additions of Brandon Beachy and Yaisel Sierra.
Given it’s still mid-January and the Dodgers will surely continue improving the roster over the coming months, blockbuster moves appear unlikely at this point.
With that being said, the current group of players compares favorably to other rosters in the National League West.
Some of that is evident by ESPN and FanGraphs both projecting Los Angeles to win more than 90 games in 2016 and a fourth consecutive NL West title. FanGraphs went more in depth with their look at the Dodgers, recently releasing their annual ZiPS projections that are bullish on the club.
Below are some of the projections and analysis of who may be primed for a breakout season. It’s important to remember they are only projections and not guarantees.
Corey Seager will have a historic rookie campaign
When Seager was promoted to the Majors last September, he immediately demonstrated why he was the best prospect in all of baseball by posting a .986 on-base plus slugging percetnage in 113 plate appearances and eventually becoming the team’s starting shortstop during the postseason.
To no surprise, the ZiPS projections favor the 21 year old quite well in 2016, as he is pegged to post a four-win season (WAR) with 20 home runs and 63 extra-base hits at a premium position. More incredibly, Seager’s No. 1 comp according to FanGraphs is Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr.
The expectations are sky-high, but if last season was any indication, Seager will be the odds-on favorite to win the 2016 NL Rookie of the Year award and perhaps even more hardware.
CONTINUE READING: Joc Pederson And Yasiel Puig Will Bounce Back, And More
Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig will bounce back
It’s almost absurd to consider Pederson a “bounce back” candidate after his amazing first half of the season in 2015 (.851 OPS, 20 home runs), but he looked completely lost at times from mid-July and on.
After starting in center field on most days, Pederson was reduced to a platoon role and didn’t receive many at-bats against left-handed pitching.
On the bright side, his on-base skills and superb defense remained consistent all season long.
Puig, on the other hand, is deemed a bounce back candidate because of his inability to stay on the field due to multiple hamstring injuries last season. Limited to just 79 games, he posted career-lows in nearly every offensive category, including extra-base hits, walks and OPS.
Even though the pair of outfielders ended 2015 on a disappointing note, the ZiPS projections are expecting both to rebound in a big way this coming season.
The two are projected to combine for 6.6 WAR with 42 home runs and 108 extra-base hits. Needless to say if these projections come even close to being accurate, the Dodgers will have a revitalized outfield in 2016.
CONTINUE READING: Starting Rotation Loaded With Depth
The starting rotation is loaded with depth
Yes, you read that right. Even with the departure of Greinke, the Dodgers have an abundance of starting pitching.
Clayton Kershaw will anchor the rotation with Brett Anderson and Alex Wood returning for second seasons in Los Angeles.
New additions Kazmir and Maeda join the mix, injured arms Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu are expected to return at some point, and there’s the potential for top prospects to contribute down the road such as Jose De Leon, Frankie Montas and Julio Urias.
Others that could enter the picture are veterans Beachy and Mike Bolsinger and former top prospect Zach Lee.
As for the ZiPS projections, they unsurprisingly expect Kershaw to post another dominant season, en route to his fourth Cy Young award (7.8 WAR, 2.01 ERA, 2.14 FIP, 265 strikeouts in 215 innings pitched). To no surprise, his No. 1 comp is legendary Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax.
Next up is Japanese import Maeda, who is coming off his second Eiji Sawamura award (Japan’s equivalent to the Cy Young). In his first season stateside, Maeda is projected to post a 3.4 WAR with a 3.20 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 177 innings.
Looking to fill the No. 3 spot in the rotation is newly-signed Kazmir, who is coming off a solid campaign. In his first season with the Dodgers, the southpaw expected to log 168 innings with a 3.37 ERA and 2.9 WAR.
Two familiar lefties returning are Anderson and Wood, with one likely moving to the bullpen as a long relief arm. The pair is projected to post fairly similar numbers; the former with a 1.6 WAR and 3.74 ERA in 111 innings and the latter with a 1.9 WAR and 3.74 ERA in 169 innings.
The wildcard here is Ryu, who is coming off surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He hasn’t pitched in a regular season game since 2014, so the expectations should be tempered.
ZiPS projects Ryu to post a 3.52 ERA in 126 innings — ultimately being worth two wins. If all goes well, he could easily exceed those numbers, and vice versa if his shoulder flares up again.