3 Dodgers starters to worry about limping into playoffs ice cold

The Los Angeles Dodgers are having the greatest regular season in franchise history, but none of it matters if the team cannot complete the job and win the World Series. Los Angeles is in a good spot to do so with home-field advantage through the World Series, even if the team is getting the short end of the stick with the new playoff structure.

While the Dodgers are the best team in the league, the most-talented team doesn’t always win the World Series — the hottest team does. If the most-talented team gets hot in October, that’s when something truly special can happen. That’s what the Dodgers are hoping for.

We have seen this team get ice cold in October — especially offensively — in years past, and there are already some concerning players that are starting that trend. We do not expect the likes of Cody Bellinger or Joey Gallo to be spectacular, but there are some Dodgers starters who are starting to worryingly limp into the postseason.

It simply can’t continue if the Dodgers want to avoid embarrassment.

Here are 3 Dodgers starters who are heading into the playoffs ice cold

3. Gavin Lux

Gavin Lux was a great story for the Dodgers all season as the former Minor League Player of the Year started to show why he was a highly-touted prospect in the first place. He became the most overqualified nine hitter in the sport and was getting on base to score for the top of the order at a fantastic clip.

Lux started to tail off as the year went along and then he suffered a neck injury that kept him out of action. Since coming back from that injury, Lux simply has not been the same and it’ll be a tough situation for Dave Roberts to handle in the playoffs.

Lux returned from a 16-day hiatus on Sept. 17 and has played in 11 games since. In 42 plate appearances through Sunday, he’s slashing .146/.167/.171 with 16 strikeouts. He’s walked only one time and has only one extra-base hit.

2. Trea Turner

The Dodgers made the blockbuster trade for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner last season and the pair of former Nationals did not have the kind of postseason impact the team had hoped for.

Scherzer pitched well in the NLDS but did not pitch well in the NLCS, later blaming his dead arm on the Dodgers for being cautious with his workload. Turner, meanwhile, hit .216 with a .500 OPS in 51 postseason plate appearances. He recorded just two extra-base hits.

With Scherzer gone and potentially matching up against the Dodgers in the NLDS, the team is hoping to get better results from Turner this time around. The only problem is that the star shortstop is starting to show signs of cooling down, which is concerning, to say the least.

In Turner’s last 15 games, he’s hitting just .228 with a .554 OPS. Like last October, the power has diminished as he has two extra-base hits in 62 plate appearances in that span. In fact, Turner has hit just four home runs since the start of August.

The Dodgers do not need Turner to rack up the extra-base hits and home runs for him to have an impact in the postseason, but they certainly need him to reach base at a better rate than .290. If he struggles again, it could impact his free-agent market and the Dodgers’ aggressiveness in pursuing him.