Dodgers’ Starting Rotation Grade for the Month of April

After the Dodgers’ first full month of the season, let’s take a look at how the starting pitching did as a whole. Our overall grade may surprise you.

All of us at Dodgers Way graded the Dodgers’ starting rotation for the entire month of April, which was also the first month of the season. After this article, you’ll either agree with us or possibly think they deserved a higher grade. Remember, this is based on the starting rotation as a whole, not just one individual player’s performance.

Something that will surprise people is the Dodgers’ rotation combined ERA. According to ESPN.com, the Dodgers rank fifth in all of baseball with an ERA of 3.66. Sure 3.66 for an ERA seems relatively high, but not when you factor in five to six guys making up this number. In fact, they have only given up 59 earned runs which ranks seventh in the MLB.

Besides Kershaw and McCarthy, the rotation has had to rely on the bullpen a little bit more than most fans would have hoped. They ranked seventh in the entire league with 145.0 innings pitched last month. Of course, being ranked eighth isn’t bad at all, but the bullpen was overworked many times due to short outings from the starters on back to back days. However, the rotation does have a solid 11 wins under their belt which has them tied for second.

When you can rely on your starters to get the wins for your team, it means they are giving the bullpen some room to work with. It also shows that they are keeping their earned runs fairly low.

We also have to factor in some of the incredible starts by pitchers when the Dodgers’ offense only gave them one or two runs of support all game.

For example, Hyun-jin Ryu’s start against the Giants last week was phenomenal. He went six innings while giving up five hits and only one run. He still came away with the loss because the Dodgers could only manage one run the entire game. Anytime a pitcher only gives up one run in a game and throws for at least six innings; you hope he’s coming away with the win. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Some more numbers that are quite impressive for the rotation are their numbers in base on balls, strikeouts, and batting average. Base on balls is a huge one as it allows a runner on for free. The rotation only gave up 42 walks in 26 games which ranked them third in all of baseball. In strikeouts they came in at fourth with 146 while their batting average against was also fourth in the league, sitting at an impressive .239.

When you look at these numbers as a whole, they may not blow you away; but then again, most teams don’t have a number five starter who is capable of being a number three starter.

The Dodgers’ number five starter as of now is Alex Wood. He has an impressive stats line, but you also have to remember that he came out of the bullpen for some games. Wood has started three games this season and hasn’t earned a win as a starter yet. But, he did collect a loss when he only gave up one earned run during an outing. Sadly, the offense didn’t give him much help.

On top of that, his best game of the season had nothing to show for. He pitched six scoreless innings against the Giants last week but walked away with a no-decision because the Dodgers managed to blow that game somehow. Wood currently has a 2.29 ERA, and 19 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched. Some teams would love this guy in their rotation.

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As always, Clayton Kershaw was impressive, to say the least. Kershaw was the first pitcher in the NL to win four games, and it came in just five starts. He went 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA, .797 WHIP (just three walks), .192 BAA, and 39 strikeouts in 35.1 innings pitched.

He was 27th from all pitchers in ERA, but he pitched more innings than all of the other guys ahead of him besides Houston’s Dallas Keuchel. It’s still very early, so you’ll see most of the pitchers’ ERAs inflate while Kershaw’s deflates. He looked very impressive even though he didn’t pitch to his normal standards. I’m sure as the season goes on he will begin to lock in even more.

Next: Dodgers on the Verge of a Breakout?

 They have already used seven starting pitchers, including Kershaw (4-1), Maeda (2-2), McCarthy (3-0), Wood (1-0), Ryu (1-4 and currently on DL), Urias (0-0 in one start), and Hill (1-1 and currently on DL). If they can stay healthy, they have a chance of being one of the top starting rotations in the league.