Dodgers: Three key positional battles to keep an eye on going forward

The Dodgers have seemingly hit their stride in the past couple of weeks, playing much better baseball and continuing to close the gap on the Colorado Rockies. This is mainly due to the Dodgers’ offense finally producing with some consistency.

That being said, the Dodgers find themselves in a predicament when filling out the lineup card and selecting a starting pitcher on a nightly basis. This problem is a great one to have, but someone has to sit on the bench and bullpen and probably will not be too happy about it.

The three positional battles that I will analyze are center field, the final spots in the starting rotation, and the role of utility man.

Joc Pederson vs. the Platoon 

The first positional battle is in center field between Joc Pederson and the number of other players that the Dodgers have used at that position. Pederson had a short stint on the disabled list, and that is what opened the door to the platoon being used by manager Dave Roberts.

There is no doubt that Joc Pederson is the best defensive center fielder on the Dodgers’ roster, but his inability to hit left-handed pitching has been his downfall once again. This season he is batting a meager .174 with and OBP of .208 with no home runs, one RBI, and nine strikeouts against southpaws.

The Dodger that has benefited the most from the platoon is Kiké Hernandez, who has started in center field when there is a left-handed starter on the mound. The reason Roberts has penciled in his name is that he is batting .267/.353/.578 with two home runs and seven RBI against lefties.

Pederson’s struggles against left-handed pitching are well known, but I think that he should be given more of an opportunity now that he is back healthy. Defensively, Pederson is an above-average defender, and the Dodgers need him to anchor the outfield.

While he is only batting .178, this is over only 44 plate appearances this season. Couple that with a stint on the disabled list and I think that Pederson has not been able to get comfortable at the plate, especially against left-handed pitching. I would like to see the Dodgers go away from the platoon for starting Pederson every day.

Battle of Final Spots in the Starting Rotation

The Dodgers’ starting pitching depth was something that was very much talked about before the season opening. However, the depth struggled at the outset due to injuries but has now become a good problem for the team. A decision must be made on who gets the last spot in the Dodger rotation.

For me, there are three locks in the Dodgers rotation, and they are Clayton Kershaw, Brandon McCarthy, and Kenta Maeda. These pitchers have a solid, proven track record and are pitchers that cannot be used in relief. This means that two from the likes Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Julio Urias, and Rich Hill will start and two will go to the bullpen or minors.

Of this group of four, I believe that Alex Wood and Ryu should be the ones to get the nod for the last two spots in the rotation, contingent on the health of Hill. This season Alex Wood is 5-0 with a sparkling 1.88 ERA over seven starts and has a superb 52 strikeouts in only 43 innings of work, which equates to 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings. This start earned him NL Player of the Week honors last week.

Ryu, on the other hand, has not gotten out to a great start so far this season, posting a record of 2-5 with an ERA of 4.75 over 36 innings of work. However, Ryu has valuable playoff experience and is still working his way back from an injury that cost him about two seasons. I believe the Dodgers should leave him in the rotation to see what they have in him because he could be a potential X-factor as the season progresses.

This leaves the $48 million offseason signing Rich Hill and young phenom Julio Urias as the odd men out. This will not be an easy decision for Dave Roberts, but it’s the correct one.

Julio Urias is still very young, and the Dodgers are keen on bringing him up slowly by limiting his innings pitches. So far this season, Urias has struggled with his command and release point and has been knocked around a bit his last couple of starts. This has led to being optioned back to Triple-A. A stint back would allow for him to work out his kinks which then might be the perfect thing to boost his confidence.

Rich Hill should not be in the rotation only because he cannot stay healthy. He has been plagued with blisters, which has limited him to only 13 innings pitched this season. A move to the bullpen would mean that his appearances would be more often than every fifth day, but each appearance would also be lesser in duration. This could allow his hands to toughen up to help avoid blisters for a possible return to the rotation come playoff time.

In the end, health will determine who gets the final two spots, but I believe that Alex Wood has at least pitched his way into an almost lock for the starting rotation.