3 Dodgers pitchers who will be most important to postseason success

The Los Angeles Dodgers might be cruising to the best record in MLB, but this isn’t exactly an ironclad postseason roster due to all the injuries and issues endured by the pitching staff. For starters, their postseason ace, Walker Buehler, won’t be back until 2024.

As for the rest of the rotation, Andrew Heaney is regressing, Tony Gonsolin is on the IL with a forearm strain, Dustin May is getting back up to speed after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, and there’s just no trusting Clayton Kershaw’s health at this point in his career unfortunately.

Then there’s the bullpen. Victor Gonzalez and Tommy Kahnle are on the mend, but how useful/effective will they be? Brusdar Graterol recently hit the IL and it doesn’t sound good. David Price just joined him, too. Yency Almonte has been out for a month and only just started throwing bullpen sessions. To think Danny Duffy will contribute in any capacity is delusion.

That leaves the current staff to continue on their current, promising trajectories, bounce back, or get acclimated to game action after long layoffs due to injury. At this present moment, a trio of arms could make or break the Dodgers’ postseason success.

These Dodgers pitchers will be most important to the team’s postseason run

3. Tyler Anderson

Arguably the most surprising performer in MLB this year, Tyler Anderson has been a savior for the Dodgers when he was initially slated for a bullpen role because manager Dave Roberts decided to give the final rotation spot to Andrew Heaney.

But injuries to the roster changed Anderson’s job. He’s responded admirably, going 14-3 with a 2.73 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 1.03 WHIP and 117 strikeouts in 26 games (24 starts), totaling 154.2 innings. Oh yeah, and one big Ian Happ shove into the dirt. He barely surrenders homers or walks. The perfect recipe for a postseason pitcher.

And that’s why he needs to keep performing on this trajectory if the Dodgers want October success. Right now, Anderson and Julio Urías feel like the only “locks” to deliver reliable performances or be healthy enough to take the field. The issues/injuries the aforementioned starters are dealing with offer hardly any security for what’s to come a month from now.

Anderson’s actually thrown the most innings of any Dodgers starter this year (a full nine more than the next most in Urías). That longevity will be crucial in preserving the bullpen for one or two games in a playoff series.

2. Blake Treinen

Blake Treinen has pitched a grand total of five innings in 2022 … but he’s the Dodgers’ most important reliever. After a shoulder issue sidelined him in April, it was unclear if Treinen would return this year. As a result, the Dodgers signed him to an extension through 2023 so they wouldn’t have another contract issue heading into the offseason.

But Treinen avoided surgery and returned to the team on Sept. 3. He’s since pitched two innings in low-leverage situations and has allowed just one walk while striking out one batter. His five-pitch inning against the Padres on Sept. 3 was nice, but his 23-pitch laborious frame against the Giants two days later kept the Dodgers from pitching him for the remainder of that series.

It’s unclear how Treinen will respond to a larger workload, but the Dodgers need him at his peak powers, because he’s pretty much as impactful as a closer, but is used more liberally by manager Dave Roberts. Treinen’s usually the guy who comes in for the seventh or eighth to protect a lead/preserve a tie if the heart of the opposing team’s lineup is coming up. He’s used as Roberts sees fit, because he’s the arm most capable of getting outs against the biggest bats.

Though the Dodgers’ bullpen has mostly gotten the job done this year, it’s been clear Treinen’s absence makes it a less fearsome unit. In the postseason, the Dodgers will be facing all the best lineups in heightened situations. Can the current cast handle such a task? Dodgers fans would just rather have Treinen healthy and ready to go rather than wonder what might happen without him.