The Dodgers’ Perfect Platoon to Beat the Giants

Heading down the stretch of September, the Los Angeles Dodgers present a different formula to win games.

Throughout the 2016 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have struggled tooth and nail to utilize any talent within the organization to win games. Ironically, when the team started getting hurt is when they buckled down and made the push to surpass the Giants atop the NL West. Now, coming into the final weeks of the season, Dave Roberts and company have decisions to make. These match-up dictate the clubs’ success down the line, so the right platoon must be established.

As it stands the Dodgers have a plethora of options to make when creating the lineup. Perhaps the area with the most depth is the coveted outfield. As it Stands, Los Angeles boasts seven outfield players, two of which also contribute to the infield (Kiké Hernandez and Howie Kendrick). Within these seven, three bat right handed, four left handed, and the talent ranges everywhere from speed to strength. Add an unlikely return of Trayce Thompson and occasional outfielder Rob Segedin, and the Dodgers can now field an entire starting nine of outfielders. With this overflow of talent poses an important question: who gives the club the best chance to win?

The obvious answer to that question is “Whichever three players are the best!” However, no one player is better than the rest, due to the nature of baseball matchups. Adding that into account, the answer now becomes “Righties against lefties and vice versa.”  While that is a viable option, that decision still has it holes. Take Hernandez for example, conventional wisdom prefers him as a platoon player over Andrew Toles or Andre Ethier against a left handed pitcher. The problem is, Kiké is batting .190 against lefties, if it’s not Madison Bumgarner, it’s not good. In order to comfortably clinch the division, the Dodgers need to take their two series’ versus San Francisco.

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The Ideal match-ups versus San Francisco:

9/19 vs Madison Bumgarner:

The Dodgers first must face the lefty ace Madison Bumgarner. They could start a trio of righties, Yasiel Puig in right, Kiké in center, Kendrick in left. Kiké is essential in game one, batting .579 against Bumgarner. However, I would not be surprised to see Kiké or Howie at second, adding Toles into the mix. Toles is batting a respectable .333 against left handed pitching.

9/20 vs Johnny Cueto

The boys in blue get the pleasure of facing two of baseball’s best two days in a row. The Dodgers ideally must ride on the hot streak of Josh Reddick. Skipping a start against a lefty ace, Reddick should be able to ride on his .390 September average. The other two spots are hard to assign due to Cueto’s dominance. Ethier has batted an above average .235 against Cueto. Add Joc Pederson along with the two veteran lefties to fill out the outfield. Ethier in left, Pederson in center, Reddick in right.

Next: Will LHP Burn LA in the Postseason?

9/21 vs Matt Moore

Los Angeles gets a break from dominance, however facing the impressive Matt Moore. Moore has thrived in Giant orange, however showing signs of vulnerability. The Dodgers should resort back to Puig and Kendrick in center and left respectively. However keeping Reddick in to build on his hot streak as of late.

If the Giants continue with their current five man rotation, the Dodgers should have the same match-ups to close out the season. In order to prevent a giant upset (pun intended), the Dodgers must utilize their unique situation. Not many playoff teams bolster the depth of platooning that Los Angeles does. Dave Roberts must shy away from any desire to set a concrete starting nine, using all of his talent to his clubs’ advantage.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference.