Dodgers: Going up and down the roster and grading the offense

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 09: The Los Angeles Dodgers look on from the dug out as they lose to the Washington Nationals 7-3 in ten innings of game five and the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on October 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

The Dodgers had a weird year in 2019. They won more games than any other team in team history, and yet they only went as far as Game Five of the NLDS.

On offense, the team finished fourth in the MLB in walks and home runs and fifth in runs. On the mound, the team did even better, finishing first in the league in ERA and WHIP and seventh in strikeouts. With the best offense and defense in the National League, the Dodgers looked set to take another shot at the American League Champion in the World Series for the third year in a row.

For much of the season, the team looked like it had the NL MVP and Cy Young in Hyun-Jin Ryu and Cody Bellinger. Ryu had a 10-2 record with an MLB-leading 1.73 ERA in the first half to go along with a league-leading 0.83 BB/9. Bellinger had 30 home runs and a .329 AVG, both good for second in all of baseball.

Alongside the more established names, a whole new docket of fresh blood entered the active roster, with Will Smith, Tony Gonsolin, and Alex Verdugo taking on the largest roles along with Gavin Lux and Dustin May. Julio Urias came along nicely as well, with Kenta Maeda having a 2.92 ERA through 17 first-half starts before becoming the most reliable reliever in the NLDS bullpen.

In light of this, I set out to grade each segment of the roster, from the starting rotation and the bullpen to the infield and outfield pieces of the lineup using an F to A+ scale. Here’s what I came up with. In this article, I’ll grade the offense, while going through the pitchers in the next installment.

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