Dodgers: 5 players that prove LAD already has its next championship team in the works

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the model franchise in Major League Baseball.

They spend money. They make trades. They scout tremendously. They’re always looking to win now while also building for the future.

It helps that the organization is armed with endless resources, but nobody’s come close to knocking it out of the park like they have.

Though we’re only 10 games into the 2021 season, fans can’t help but notice that the current roster is already showing signs of maintaining supremacy across the league for years to come.

Los Angeles does have a collection of some of the game’s best veterans — Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Clayton Kershaw, and others — but what about their young talent taking the league by storm? A number of guys have already made an impression this year, while a few others have been doing so for a little while now.

The most important takeaway from these studs performing when they hear their names called is that it’s helping the Dodgers lay the foundation for their next World Series contending roster — you know, once the veterans you know and love hang up their cleats or leave in free agency.

So who will be part of the Dodgers’ next great core? It really feels like these five guys will be in town for quite a while. You’ll notice one omission here (Cody Bellinger) because he’s obviously the front and center future of the franchise, while all of these other guys have had much more limited experience.

5 Dodgers who will lead the way for LA’s next World Series team.

5. Walker Buehler

Why don’t we start with the obvious and make this short and sweet?

Walker Buehler is this team’s ace. It is no longer Clayton Kershaw, and it won’t be Trevor Bauer until he takes that title from the young right-hander.

And can you believe he still has two years of team control left before free agency? The Dodgers will be quick to make him one of the highest-paid starting pitchers when the time comes. You better believe that.

At just 26 years old, Buehler already has a resume other players dream of. Across 72 games (63 starts), he owns a 3.10 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 428 strikeouts in 377.2 innings of work. And that’s not even the best part! In 11 career postseason starts, he’s 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 83 strikeouts in 61.1 innings. He’s already made two World Series starts and four NLCS starts, and if not for his debut playoff outing against the Braves in Atlanta a few years ago which saw him allow five earned runs in five innings, these numbers would truly be blowing your mind.

Buehler’s got a ton of his prime left and he’ll be leading this staff for quite a while.