Dodgers: Five best pitchers over the past decade

4) Hyun-Jin Ryu

I always think of Hyun-Jin Ryu as the best Dodger pitcher that everyone forgets about. Normally, when you lose a starter to free agency who led the National League in suppressing runs and finished second in Cy Young Award voting, it’s a pretty big deal. I don’t know if the Mookie Betts trade distracted everyone, or if the presence of Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler makes up for it, but it seemed like Ryu signing with the Blue Jays is an after-thought in thinking about major news from the offseason.

Ryu might not be the sexiest name in baseball, but he has proven to be a top-flight pitcher when he is healthy. The caveat of health obviously a big consideration. The left-hander has pitched for the Dodgers since 2013, but only once reached 30 starts, and only three times started at least 25 games.

Still, when you consider Ryu’s 2013 and 2014 seasons, along with his injury-shortened 2018 campaign and breakout 2019 performance, there’s enough work to put him among the best Dodger pitchers of the past decade.

He is 54-33 with a 2.98 ERA since winning 14 games during his rookie season. His 665 strikeouts rank third among Dodger pitchers over the past decade. His 54 wins rank second to Clayton Kershaw. Had Ryu remained healthy, he would have easily been the second best pitcher on this list. He still belongs fourth.