Dodgers: The Three Biggest Surprises of the First Half

The Emergence of Ross Stripling

Raise your hand if you had Ross Stripling making the National League All-Star team as a starting pitcher this season?  Nobody should be raising their hands.  As far as starting pitchers go across the league, Ross Stripling has to be the biggest surprise story in baseball.  Stripling has always been squeezed out of the rotation and in the bullpen as a long reliever but due to an absurd amount of injuries to the Dodgers starting rotation, Ross Stripling was inserted into the starting rotation and hasn’t looked back since.

All Ross Stripling did in the first half was go 8-2 with a 2.08 ERA in fourteen starts.  Using the four-pitch mix of his fastball, slider, changeup, and curve, Stripling has turned into a very good starting pitcher and without him who knows where the starting rotation would have been right now.  Stripling has put up a Kershaw-like strikeout to walk ratio in the first half of the season finishing with 108 strikeouts and only fourteen walks.  Given Stripling made fourteen starts, that’s literally a walk per start he has given up.

With the Dodger rotation having six healthy starters for the second half, one starter will need to go to the bullpen.  Although Ross Stripling has experience as a reliever there is no way the Dodgers will shift him back to the bullpen.  Chicken Strip will continue his run at the National League ERA title which is currently held by Jacob deGrom and his 1.68 ERA.

The resurgence of Matt Kemp

Last winter when the Dodgers acquired Matt Kemp, the common thought was that the Dodgers were going to eat money and trade Kemp away, or outright release him.  After a strong start to spring training, Kemp slumped towards the end of spring training and it appeared he was going to be what everyone expected, an all hit, no field outfielder.

Then the regular season started and Kemp was arguably the best Dodger hitter until Max Muncy arrived and starting his power surge.  Kemp has slowed down a bit over the last few weeks but he still finishes the first half with fifteen home runs and 60 RBI’s.  Matt Kemp also has hit for better average this season and currently carries a .310 batting average with him.  Kemp is also the leading hitter with runners in scoring position, with a .429 average.

The only part of Matt Kemp’s game that is still below average is his defense, but even that has improved in 2018.  Kemp’s weight loss has allowed him to make some spectacular plays in left field and get to plays that he would not have been anywhere close to the last few seasons.

While Kemp carries a -6 DRS rating, he has hit and showed enough in the outfield to be an average outfielder defensively.  In right field, Kemp actually has a positive DRS rating and a UZR/150 rating of 20.0 so Kemp has actually been a good right fielder.  Kemp will look to continue his improbable MVP run in the second half.

The surprising emergence of Max Muncy

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The Dodgers lost Justin Turner back in spring training and figured the club would struggle offensively trying to replace both Turner and Corey Seager in the lineup.  Early on the Dodgers did struggle, things didn’t turn around until late May and that is when Max Muncy started blasting balls out of Dodger Stadium.

Max Muncy had five career big league home runs in just over 200 at-bats with the Oakland A’s.  This season with a little over 200 at-bats, Muncy has 22 home runs and earned himself a spot in the home run derby later on today, despite failing to win the National League’s final all-star vote.  One of the things that has made Muncy so good, is his ability to hit left-handed pitching.  This season, mad Max has a .333 batting average against southpaw pitchers.

Next: Dodgers Quick Hits: Kershaw, Diaz, Ruiz, Standings

Not only is Max Muncy leading the Dodgers in home runs, he has also been a very versatile player, seeing time at third base, second base, and first base.  Muncy is still a work in progress at second base but he has shown signs that he can handle it on numerous occasions.  Having Max Muncy is going to allow the Dodgers to give more rest to guys like Justin Turner who is still bothered by his wrist on occasion.