Dodgers: Constructing the ideal rotation for Los Angeles

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Sep 24, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (22) delivers a pitch to Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Welington Castillo (7) at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The Dodgers’ rotation has surprisingly been a strong point for the team so far. There have been hits and misses, but overall the starters have been good. The problem, however, is that there are too many to manage.

The Dodgers have had very good results from their starting pitching to start the season and have benefited from some surprising results. They have used the new 10-day DL to their advantage as they continue to place players on the DL with “injuries.” It is fair to speculate that they are abusing the DL to give rest to all their injury-prone pitchers.

It has allowed them to jumble their surplus of starters and create space, but at some point, they are going to have to settle on a legit starting five as the playoff race approaches.

Today, we will look into the available starting pitchers for the team, and what the ideal starting rotation would be.

Honorable Mentions: Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu

Brandon McCarthy is probably the best option for the Dodgers in the 5^th position but he gets the 6^th spot because of the contract of the fifth guy. Brandon has been pretty good this season but has struggled in his last two starts.

In this deep of a rotation, the Dodgers have to ride the hot hand, and McCarthy simply doesn’t have the hottest hand right now. But check back later, because he will be back in my ideal rotation at some point during the season.

Ryu has been very confusing this season as he either has a very good start or a very bad start but no in between. Ryu is coming off a rough start against Colorado in which he gave up five runs and walked six. I’m not sure if Ryu is nursing an injury or if he just didn’t have his stuff that day, but we can put some of the blame on Coors Field. We will see if he can bounce back his next outing on Thursday vs. the Marlins.

Clayton Kershaw

In what may be the most obvious choice in history, Clayton Kershaw is the only option for the ace role in the rotation.

The Dodgers’ ace has looked great this season and has been a slave to his own expectations. Kershaw currently owns a 2.15 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP, which is great for anyone not named Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw has struggled with location (by his standards) so far this season as he owns a 62:8 strikeout to walk split. It’s ridiculous to think of these as disappointing stats; in fact, they are excellent as they come, but they are certainly not like the usual Kershaw.

Many have attributed Kershaw’s struggles to his slider. In an article from The Ringer, they statistically broke down Kershaw’s slider and his last three innings against the Rockies on Friday. They covered how he seemed to have fixed the issue with his slider and regained his old form.

This may be a small sample size, but it’s a start. It did seem like he was struggling a bit throughout the year, and his increased home run rate does draw my attention. But Kershaw will be fine. To me, I’ve always felt as if Kershaw will find his form; he’s too talented not to.

Nothing is wrong with Clayton Kershaw and Dodgers Nation should not be worried about his ability to lead this club for a second. There is no other pitcher that would even be a discussion to unseat Clayton from the top spot.

Rich Hill

On Tuesday I wrote an article explaining the magnitude of Rich Hill’s comeback start and what options the Dodgers had for him. All went well on Tuesday as Hill came out of the game blister-free so we can push the bullpen talk back for a bit.

Hopefully, Rich Hill is over his blister issues and can continue to stay healthy enough to keep the 2^nd spot in the rotation. When Hill is healthy, he is a top five pitcher in the league and the second best pitcher on this roster. The operative word here is “if” because we all know what a big if Hill can be.

Rich Hill is the most deserving of being the Dodgers 2^nd starter, but it may not be up to his performance if he stays there. Throughout Hill’s career, he has been plagued by injuries and they almost ended his MLB career. Now that Hill has found his elite form, the Dodgers are looking to capitalize on the healthy starts he can make for them.

Hill is going to be the team’s second punch to Kershaw as long as he is healthy. If he can’t stay healthy, the bullpen looks like an option, but then again you don’t want to be paying $48 million to a non-closer reliever. Let’s just all hope his middle finger holds up along with the rest of his body.

Julio Urias

The Dodgers called up Julio Urias from AAA on April 24^th, and have got mixed results from him. While Urias has been able to keep runs off the board with a 3.43 ERA, he has struggled with his location shown by his 11 walks in just 21 innings. Despite the struggles, Urias is the third best talent on this team and the 20-year-old will only get better with seasoning.

The former top prospect has impressed during his short time in the majors. He has shown some great maturity against big league hitters. In his Urias’ previous 18 games (15 starts) last season, he posted a 2.73 ERA and flashed his potential as a future ace. I don’t think we’ve seen anywhere close to the true ceiling Urias has to offer.

In Julio’s last start at Coors Field, he got roughed up for six runs on seven hits and only got through four innings before being pulled. This didn’t seem like a typical “Coors” game, it just seemed as if Urias didn’t have is A stuff that day, which is okay for a pitcher still in development.

Julio Urias has given us a lot of hope for the future and he has done everything he can to earn a spot in the rotation for now. Expect him to move his way up the rotation each year and hopefully form a strong 1-2 punch with Clayton Kershaw for years to come.

Alex Wood

Alex Wood may just be the best story of the season for the Dodgers. Wood was acquired from the Braves two years ago in what was dubbed “one of the worst trades in Dodgers’ history.” Since coming over to LA, Wood has been very streaky, but in 2017 he has been one of, if not the best, pitcher on the Dodgers’ staff. Until he comes down to earth from his recent hot streak, Wood is going to be the 4^th man on this rotation

Coming into the year, Alex Wood was expected to be a bullpen option because there just seemed like there wasn’t any place for him in the rotation. But, Wood has proved himself to be a great asset to the team.

He has posted a 2.27 ERA,1.01 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts in 35.2 innings. Wood did struggle in his first couple of starts of the season but had great bounce back games against the Rockies and the Pirates in which he notched double-digit strikeouts in each.

Wood does not need to continue to pitch like an ace to keep his spot in the rotation, but he does need to keep up his string of good starts. Wood is the kind of pitcher to go through peaks and valleys so we may be having a different discussion in a month from now. It wouldn’t hurt to have a dominant arm like Wood out of the pen, but for now, it is best for all parties if he stays in the rotation

Kenta Maeda

This was no doubt the hardest choice out of the other names on this list. In the end, my decision came down to Maeda’s track record and his contract. In reality, this spot will be rotated in and out as the Dodgers use the new 10-day DL to their advantage. But for the purposes of this article, the nod goes to King Kenta.

Kenta Maeda had us all worried sick when he came into to the new season looking awful. Through his first four games, he gave up 19 runs and 7 home runs. Since then he has had three starts in which he gave up a total of five runs. During this stretch, he almost had his first complete game shutout against the Pirates on May 10^th.

Currently, Kenta is on the disabled list and while his injury is in question, the 29-year-old will want to make as many starts as possible. Kenta Maeda’s incentive-laden contract will make sure he gets as many starts as possible.

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Kenta will make $1 million if he reaches the 15 and 20 start barriers and $1.5 million for each of 25, 30, and 32 starts. He will also earn $250,000 whenever he hits 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, and 190 innings pitched and $750,000 for 200 innings.

By nothing more than respect and integrity for Kenta, the Dodgers will make Kenta their designated 5^th starter.

Like I said, this spot will be full of many different players as the team uses the disabled list, but Kenta gets the nod for this spot until someone else goes down with an “injury” to make room for another starter.

These Dodgers have a very good problem on their hands here and have been handling it very well. By utilizing the disabled list, the Dodgers keep their injury-prone players healthy and keep the hot hands in the rotation.

Next: Joc Pederson is the Weak Link

The rotation today will not be what it is next month, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s more of a sign that the team is full of strong options to take the mound for them every day.

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