Dodgers: Top 5 First Half All-Star Performances in the Past 10 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 09: Justin Turner
LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 09: Justin Turner /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – JULY 11: Arizona Diamondbacks mascot D. Baxter The Bobcat talks to Clayton Kershaw /

#2 Clayton Kershaw (2016)

For the sake of this list, I decided to place Clayton Kershaw only once despite the fact that he has started the season off very well on multiple occasions. When it came to Kershaw, I decided to favor the 2016 season over the 2014 season due to his strikeout to walk ratio. However, his 2014 start was just as magical.

In 2016, the southpaw was 11-2 with an ERA of 1.79 with 145 strikeouts with only nine walks! This equates to a strikeout to walk ratio of 16.11 which is incredible for a starting pitcher especially over 121 innings pitched.

At the break, he also had three complete game shutouts while only giving up 79 hits to the 441 batters faced. In addition to only serving up six home runs, he averaged at least seven innings pitched per start.

His ability to go deep into ball games allowed the bullpen to rest, which made it easier for the Dodgers to find success. This was especially important due to the inconsistency of the starting rotation last season.