Dodgers: Five hitters that have owned them since 2010

Despite a run of excellent pitching, the Los Angeles Dodgers have certain hitters that have owned them over the last decade.

There is an old saying baseball that pitching wins championships, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have been fortunate to feature some of the game’s best pitching since 2010. As such, they have done their best to prove the adage.

From Clayton Kershaw to Hyun-Jin Ryu, from Zack Greinke to Walker Buehler, the Dodgers have ridden their collection of arms to unprecedented success in the team’s history. That includes two World Series appearances and seven-consecutive division titles, making the team perhaps the most successful in baseball despite having not won a World Series.

Since 2010, the Dodgers ranks 1st in cumulative pitching fWAR (201.8), team ERA (3.49), FIP (3.59), and K/9 ratio (8.7), while also placing 2nd in Wins (921), 3rd in BABIP (.286), and 5th in hard-hit rate (29.6%). Because of this, Dodgers pitchers have the highest win probability added during that span, checking in at 71.86 and joining the Yankees as the only other team with a WPA over 62.

However, it hasn’t always been sunshine and daisies for the Dodgers. There are just some hitters that the team has consistently struggled with over that run. Some sticks you just can’t get out. Every team has a few batters that are a nuisance and the Dodgers are no different.

Last week we took a look at pitchers that have owned the Dodgers over the last decade, so we thought we would do a similar study on hitters as well. Like last time, I opted to try and keep things as fair as possible. In order to open the net outside of just the divisional rivals, I set the minimum number of plate appearances to 200. This allowed us to get rid of the small sample sizes, but also keep a wide enough range so that those who played the Dodgers 20-plus times yearly didn’t get a clear advantage.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the hitters that have dominated the Dodgers over the last 10 years.

Honorable Mention – Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies

The man known as “CarGo” to the Rockies faithful has long been a thorn in the side of Dodgers’ pitching. Debuting with the Oakland Athletics in 2008, Gonzalez made his way to Denver via a trade with the A’s as part of the package that brought Matt Holliday to Oakland.

In his 10 years with the Rockies, CarGo hit .290/.349/.516 with 227 home runs, 749 RBI, and had an OPS+ of 112. While that is a solid decade of production, he really dialed it in against Los Angeles. Since 2010, Gonzalez has 125 games and 514 plate appearances against the Dodgers, accumulating a batting line of .292/.364/.521. That included a wRC+ of 120 (7th), a .229 ISO (5th), a wOBA of .371 (7th), 24 home runs (3rd), and 81 RBI (3rd).

Even adjusted for Coors Field, those are incredible numbers for essentially a full season’s worth of games. The Dodgers may get an opportunity to see if he can add to those numbers, with Gonzalez signing with Seattle during the offseason and now lining up with Los Angeles under the proposed scheduling for the 2020 season.

Hitters That Have Owned the Dodgers Since 2010 – A.J. Pollock, Arizona Diamondbacks

When the Dodgers signed A.J. Pollock to a four-year, $55 million deal prior to the 2019 season, it left many scratching their heads. Pollock had a pronounced injury history which had prevented him from capitalizing on his massive potential.

Did the Dodgers know something that other clubs didn’t?

Maybe it was just a case of having an up-close and personal view of Pollock and what he had done to the Dodgers over the years that played a big part in the signing.

Since debuting in 2012 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pollock has appeared in 89 career games against the Dodgers, and while he is a career .279/.337/.467 hitter against the rest of the league, he has owned the Dodgers to the tune of .291/.352/.532. Imagine that production without the injuries that allowed Pollock to play more than 130 games just twice in his career.

To put things into perspective, Pollock ranks 3rd against the Dodgers over the last ten years with a wRC+ of 133, 5th with 17 home runs, 6th in runs (57), 2nd in ISO (.242), and 2nd with a 40.1% hard-hit rate.

The Dodgers obviously saw a player that had killed them over the years and figured if they can’t beat him, sign him. Unfortunately, that led to another injury-marred season, where Pollock hit .266/.327/.468 in Los Angeles, but at least he was no longer taking it out on Dodgers pitchers.

Hitters That Have Owned the Dodgers Since 2010 – Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

If I sat here and asked you to name the best hitters in baseball over the last decade, you would undoubtedly start that list with Mike Trout. Dodgers fans may even be able to identify the number two hitter (in terms of fWAR) off the top of their head, picking division rival Buster Posey. But would you know the third?

Joey Votto has quietly been one of the most consistent hitters in the game since breaking in with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007. After becoming a full-time regular in 2008, Votto has been worth more than 3.5 wins above replacement in all but two seasons (including 2019). He’s done that through a steadily providing exceptional power and control of the strike zone, with a nearly 1:1 BB: K ratio over his career.

But against the Dodgers, he’s been something else altogether.

No other hitter has a better wRC+ or wOBA against Los Angeles since 2010 than Votto’s mark of 161 and .414 respectively. Likewise, he ranks 1st in batting average (.341), 1st in BABIP (.391), 1st in slugging (.561), 4th in ISO (.240), and 7th in hard-hit rate (38.0%).

Of the teams Votto has faced in his career and accrued more than 100 at-bats, only six teams have given up a higher career OPS against Votto. In other words, Votto loves to see the Dodgers on his schedule. Meanwhile, the Dodgers will be happy to not have him on theirs in 2020.

Hitters That Have Owned the Dodgers Since 2010 – Andrew McCutchen, Multiple Teams

From 2012 through 2015, Andrew McCutchen enjoyed a stretch of play that few baseball players ever see. Then a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the center fielder was a perennial All-Star and finished in the top five of the NL MVP voting each of those four seasons, including winning the award in 2013.

A career .286/.378/.480 hitter with 233 home runs and 819 RBI over 11 seasons, McCutcheon was dialed in during that stretch. In those four seasons, he hit a combined .313/.404/.526 with an OPS+ of 157 and 162 game averages of 26 home runs, 90 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.

Like the rest of the league, the Dodgers had their fair share of struggles against the right-handed hitter. From 2010 to 2019, McCutchen his .265/.352/.474 with 13 home runs against Los Angeles pitching. His wRC+ of 127 ranks 4th among players during that time, his .355 wOBA ranks 9th, and his 43.5% hard-hit rate tops all hitters.

Of course, McCutchen is a long way from his heyday in the Pirates outfield. He’s played for the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies since, and he’s no longer on the same trajectory he was during that four-year run in Pittsburgh. Even his magic against the Dodgers has seemingly worn off, as he hit just .167/.167/.417 with a home run and three strikeouts across 12 appearances against Los Angeles in 2019.

But the memory of him will live one, even the bad ones for Dodgers fans.

Hitters That Have Owned the Dodgers Since 2010 – Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies

After losing out to the crosstown Angels in their efforts to sign Anthony Rendon over the winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers were thought to flirt with a potential Nolan Arenado trade with the Rockies. However, when the price soared for Arenado, they quickly pivoted to Mookie Betts and found the slugger for which they were looking.

But in a land of the rich, why would the Dodgers be contemplating a move for the Rockies’ slugger? Maybe it was the front row seat they’ve had over the years and the damage he has done in his time against the Dodgers.

Since 2010, only one other hitter in baseball has more home runs against the Dodgers (we’ll get to him in a minute) than Nolan Arenado. The third baseman has hit .295/.352/.536 with 28 home runs and 82 RBI in 120 games (488 plate appearances) against Los Angeles. That includes a wRC+ of 118 (9th), a .241 ISO, a 23.9 wRAA (2nd), and a wOBA of .373 (4th).

Now before we get to the point of arguing about the Coors Effect, we should note that Arenado has done his fair deal of damage at Dodgers Stadium as well. In 60 games at Chavez Ravine, he is a .263/.327/.504 hitter with 16 home runs and 32 RBI.

It’s safe to say that he enjoys Dodgers pitching regardless of it comes in California or Colorado. With the Dodgers and Rockies set to lock horns extensively in 2020 and beyond, he figures to be a prominent thorn in our side for the foreseeable future.