Dodgers: Team’s biggest surprises so far this season

Alex Wood

When the Dodgers made the super-deal with the Atlanta Braves two years ago, people were skeptical of Alex Wood’s talent. Anytime you can get a young pitcher who is under team control for multiple years you pull the trigger, and Alex Wood is proving that was the right decision.

Wood was having a dominant season before he found himself on the DL. On the season, Wood is 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and 11.3 K/9 rate. Needless to say, when he is in the rotation he has been the Dodgers’ second-best pitcher behind Clayton Kershaw.

Wood has been such a surprise for the team because he wasn’t originally slated to even be in the starting rotation. Wood started the season out of the bullpen and was the odd-man out of the rotation when Opening Day came around. Since then, he has more than earned his spot and has been a pleasant surprise as Rich Hill and Julio Urias have proceeded to struggle.

At the moment Wood is on the DL, but he is slated to return to the team this weekend and looks to hit the ground running. Wood is a dominant pitcher when he’s on and I would be more than confident with having him as the second man in the rotation.

For a guy who we weren’t even including in rotation talks during April, Wood has more than filled a role on the team. If he can keep his dominant form when he returns from the DL, the team may have found their man to back up Clayton Kershaw.