Dodgers: Going through and grading the pitching staff

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 09: Walker Buehler #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers sits in the dug out before pitching in the seventh inning of game five of the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on October 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

They were one win, even just seven outs, away from the NLCS, but the pitching staff could not hold the lead once again for the Dodgers in the postseason.

The rotation did well this season, 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. Clayton Kershaw seemed to throw a quality start every time out and Walker Buehler racked up plenty of strikeouts.

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. Joe Kelly recovered nicely from his April and May struggles, and Kenley Jansen oscillated between reliable and being a shell of his former self.

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 pitchers, while I went through the offense in the last installment.

CLEVELAND, OHIO – JULY 09: Hyun-Jin Ryu #99 of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the National League pitches during the 2019 MLB All-Star Game, presented by Mastercard at Progressive Field on July 09, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

The Starters

I took a liberal definition of starters here by naming Ross Stripling and Kenta Maeda starters, but really they are only bullpen arms in the postseason.

Walker Buehler– Especially after this postseason’s great pair of starts, his stuff looks as good as ever and he’s obviously got the stamina to last 200 innings… look for him to take the final step into ace hood in 2020. A-

Clayton Kershaw– He certainly declined this season, with another sub-optimal postseason performance and with a season ERA of 3.03, which is basically double his peak. Home runs and walks have started to give him problems, but his stuff still can get the majority of hitters out. He just is no longer the ace, plain and simple. B+

Hyun-Jin Ryu– If he’d been able to maintain the gains he made in the first half all the way through the season, he’d have earned an A+, but he simply was not the same pitcher in the second half, especially in September and in his postseason start even. He was an All-Star though, and this was a career year in a contract year, so we’ll see if he stays in LA. A

Kenta Maeda– Like Ryu, he could have benefitted from a stronger second half as a starter, but unlike Ryu, he sought refuge in the bullpen, and dominated from within the confines of that role once again, as he became the man out of the bullpen for the Dodgers in the NLDS, pitching well in Games One, Three, Four and Five. A-

Ross Stripling– For most pitchers, 90+ innings of a 3.45 ERA would be great, but Stripling’s ceiling is much higher than this. Injuries dragged him down this season, but he should be ready to go as a full-time starter next season, whether for the Dodgers or elsewhere… B-

Tony Gonsolin– A rookie starter took the team by storm this season. It wasn’t Dustin May though, it was the “Catman.” His best stretch helped the Dodgers spread their innings out to avoid taxing the bullpen and lessened the blow of losing Stripling and Hill for most of the season. He deserves a chance to start, but like Stripling that may not come with the Dodgers. B+

Rich Hill– He really did not pitch enough to garner a grade that would accurately reflect either my love for him or his skill or most importantly his determination to be back on the mound for the postseason, even if he was nowhere near 100%. Hopefully, he can stay healthy next year, but the odds certainly are against him. B-

WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 06: Pitcher Joe Kelly #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers gets a visit by manager Dave Roberts and is pulled in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 06, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Out of the ‘Pen

I took a more strict definition here, as I’ll only be going through the relievers listed on the final depth chart, not every single arm who took the mound this season. I’ll also give shorter descriptions for many of these arms, since they had less of an overall impact on the team.

Kenley Jansen– A 3.73 ERA and 33 saves are usually not numbers that are associated with Kenley Jansen. But this season, he just could not stay consistent, with both the cutter and his secondary stuff. He did not seem happy coming into Game Five with nothing on the line either, so we’ll see if he’s back for 2020, and for the record, I really hope he is. B-

Joe Kelly- Not to hate on Joe Kelly, but when he was signed, I did not consider him worth the contract. He pitched well in his first inning of Game Five, but he is not the multi-inning game dominator that Jansen once was and that other top-dollar relievers are. He pitched well during the season though, and maybe he can put it all together in 2020. C+

Pedro Baez– A strikeout per inning, a sub-1.00 WHIP, and a 3.10 ERA, yet he still could not be trusted in the postseason. Pedro Baez is the only reliever in baseball capable of earning that distinction with those numbers. No point dumping him though since he really does have the stuff to back up those regular-season numbers, just don’t cite him as a reason not to deal for bullpen help in July 2020. B

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Yimi Garcia- One of the best WHIPs in baseball, and yet he’s another Dodger reliever you just could not trust to pitch in October. Oh well, what are you going to do? C

Caleb Ferguson– He showed flashes of what excited fans last season and the season before, as he’s a lefty with good stuff and a powerful fastball. He did not have it all together in 2019, but more repetitions and an accelerated path to the late innings could be a recipe for success for him next season. C+

Dylan Floro- He had an awesome stretch of scoreless appearances in April, but a 4.24 ERA and less than a strikeout per inning won’t be enough to stay on the MLB roster for a team looking for revenge in 2020. At least I hope it won’t be enough… D

Julio Urias– More than a punchout per inning and a 2.49 ERA, yeah, this is the Urias we’ve been waiting for. Whether they pair him as a tandem starter with Ross Stripling and/or Tony Gonsolin or if they let him start games himself, he’ll be valuable again in 2020, just hopefully with more innings pitched. B+

Dustin May– With arguably the best stuff in the bullpen, maybe after Kelly, May could probably start and should probably start. But the Dodgers have too many solid starters and can’t afford to sit around and wait while May goes through the growing pains he’s bound to experience. So, he should remain in the bullpen for most of 2020, making spot starts and maybe even opening for Maeda and/or Ryu. B

Casey Sadler- He’s fun. He’s not a strikeout pitcher, but he’s fun. I’d like to see him back in Dodger blue in Spring Training for 2020, maybe armed with a new set of more offspeed pitches that exhibit more break or sink. C

Dodgers lose a veteran leader as David Freese retires. dark. Next

Adam Kolarek– Now he’s interesting. He shut down all the lefties he faced as a Dodger. He’s the perfect specialist for 2019 baseball. But now he’ll need to either face three batters per appearance or end an inning before coming out, putting more pressure on him to beat righties too. But I believe he can do that, mostly because I want him to be able to. A-

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They were one win, even just seven outs, away from the NLCS, but the pitching staff could not hold the lead once again for the Dodgers in the postseason.

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