3 most underrated Los Angeles Dodgers on 2022 roster

2. Phil Bickford

What was in the water in the Dodgers’ bullpen Gatorade container in 2021?

Whatever the secret substance was, keep it coming, because it seemed to turn well-established mortals into kings throughout the season, including one former Giants top prospect whose roster-bouncing days might now be over.

Phil Bickford, who has the distinction of being selected by both the Blue Jays and Giants in the first round of the MLB Draft (2013 and 2015, respectively), seemed to have bottomed out again in Milwaukee last spring, posting a single inning of two-earned-run baseball before losing his roster spot.

The Dodgers were there to scoop him up, and they soon rediscovered the arm talent that had been buried below an erratic surface since Bickford’s earlier days as a flame-throwing starting pitching prospect. In 56 games in Dodger Blue (eight games finished, by the way), Bickford struck out 59 men in 50.1 innings of action. His WHIP sat at just 1.033, barely above Vesia’s rarefied air, and far different than the story his minor-league numbers told.

Hell, he went a whole season in the Carolina League in 2019 with a 1.59 WHIP.

Even if Bickford remains in the bullpen and never becomes the starter the Jays and Giants believed they were getting, he’ll still be an extremely valuable commodity for a Dodgers team that’s on an unending search for high-impact, back-end arms. Though the right-hander is towards the bottom in exit velocity percentiles, he was among the very best at expected batting average against and ERA (83rd percentile xBA, 85th percentile xERA).

Those discounting the Dodgers bullpen with Blake Treinen likely elevated to the closer’s role — us included — should probably think long and hard about what Bickford and Vesia can be with heightened responsibility next year.

1. AJ Pollock

No, not Cody Bellinger. His 2021 was appraised very properly, actually. He was quite bad.

Since AJ Pollock signed a four-year, $55 million deal with the Dodgers prior to the 2019 season, spurning the division-rival D-Backs in the process, most of the conversation has been unified around two themes:

1. He’s too injury-prone.
2. He doesn’t perform well in October, so what’s the point?

The first one is, of course, frustratingly true; Pollock played in just 86 games in 2019 and 117 last season, fighting off a number of maladies.

The second one, though, is a classic example of both modern fan mentality and frustration with small sample sizes. Yes, for quite a while, Pollock did rank among the worst statistical October performers of any player who had met his at-bat thresholds. Not good. Nobody wants that black mark on their ledger. But look what happened in 2021, after the numbers stabilized a bit: .273 in the high-pressure NLDS, .381 in the six-game NLCS with two homers and seven RBI.

Is Pollock David Ortiz now? No. Not what we’re saying. But one more series like that, and the narrative should officially be dead and buried. He’s a very good player who knows how to hit, premium pitching included.

Perhaps most importantly … Pollock’s October struggles haven’t disqualified the Dodgers from winning titles, have they? No, not so much. In his three seasons in LA, they’re 1-for-3 in that department.

So, perhaps it’s time to appreciate Pollock, who’s been something close to a five-tool threat when healthy, posting OPS+ marks of 132 and 137 his past two seasons and accruing 3.1 WAR last year in just 384 at-bats. When he’s available — which, we’ll grant you, is not nearly enough — he’s an All-Star left fielder. And he’s earned a bit of a pat on the back for his services.

3 surprise trades Dodgers can make when MLB Lockout ends

The Los Angeles Dodgers can pull off these surprise trades to thicken out their roster when the MLB Lockout ends. Lots of talent to poach.