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3 Dodgers who are primed to be unlikely postseason heroes
You better believe it!
For the 11th season in a row, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be playing October baseball as the team looks to take home its eighth World Series trophy in franchise history. Unlike the last three years, the Dodgers are not the juggernaut favorites to win it all, even though the team has still been great in 2023.
That title instead goes to the Atlanta Braves. It's actually nice for the Dodgers to be on the other side of that coin, as disappointment typically follows being the team that has the highest expectations in October.
Time and time again a more talented Dodgers team was burned by less-talented playoff foes who had unlikely playoff heroes step up to steal a playoff series. This year, it's the Dodgers' turn to have some unlikely postseason heroes to make a run at the Commissioner's Trophy.
3 Dodgers who are primed to be unlikely postseason heroes
3. Ryan Yarbrough
The Dodgers acquired Ryan Yarbrough at the trade deadline and it quietly could be one of the best moves that any team made midseason. Yarbrough, who has plenty of postseason experience, was struggling up until the deadline but has completely flipped his season around since being traded to LA.
Yarbrough's 3.12 ERA would be a career-high across an entire season and his 1.067 WHIP would be the second-lowest of his career. He hasn't been perfect and has struggled slightly more in recent outings, but that's what makes his potential heroics a surprise in the first place.
Every single year the most successful playoff teams have the heroic pitcher (typically a lefty) that can come out of the bullpen and throw 2-3 innings to get through a turn in the rotation. The Dodgers had it in 2020 and the Washington Nationals had it in 2019. Yarbrough could be that guy for the Dodgers.
With a starting rotation that is inexperienced, having Yarbrough to bring out of the bullpen and pitch the fourth through sixth innings could be a godsend for the Dodgers, not only potentially securing a win in one game, but changing the entire complexion of a playoff series as well.
2. Jason Heyward
Jason Heyward just screams postseason hero. The veteran outfielder has been so good for the Dodgers in the role they have asked him to play and he's the perfect type of veteran bat that will end up having a two-home run game when the Dodgers need it most in the postseason.
The Dodgers have limited Heyward to mostly being a platoon option against right-handed pitching, which will continue to be the case in October. Heyward has thrived in that role to the tune of an .836 OPS in his 360 plate appearances.
Heyward won't be in the starting lineup against left-handed pitching and he'll probably be pulled in a big spot if he's facing southpaw late in the game. But even then, having an impact bat that forces the other team to pitch around him can make a big difference and will get the Dodgers' southpaw mashers in the game to make a difference.
Despite his immense postseason experience, Heyward has struggled in October throughout his career. The slugging outfielder has a .156 average and .467 OPS in 40 career playoff games. That may seem like a bad sign, but it will only make Heyward hungrier as he looks to right that ship, win a ring, and earn his next contract.
The Dodgers are going to play the winner of the third and sixth seed in the NLDS. As it stands right now, that would be the winner of the Milwaukee Brewers (who have clinched the three seed) and the Miami Marlins/Chicago Cubs. All three teams are skewed and have more right-handed pitchers.
1. Enrique Hernandez
Enrique Hernandez might just be the biggest fan-favorite on the Dodgers, so to many this may not seem like a surprise candidate. But in the grand scheme of things, Hernandez is a utility player who has not put together the best regular season. Typically, you don't count on players like this to have big moments.
But if there's anything that Hernandez has shown Dodgers fans, it's that he thrives in the moment. There are players who feed off of the energy of a big moment and turn it into production, and there are players who wither in the spotlight. Hernandez is certainly the former.
Heck, we saw it from him in the regular season. After a horrendous start to the year with Boston, Hernandez came back to LA and lit the team on fire early in his tenure. He eventually cooled off but it was clear that he was feeding off of the energy of being back in LA.
All fans have to do is look at Hernandez's postseason numbers as proof to this hypothesis. Hernandez has been a hero countless times for the Dodgers in the past and was exceptional in his one postseason with the Red Sox.
In 69 playoff games, Hernandez is hitting .269 with a .900 OPS, 13 home runs and 27 RBI. He's particularly elite in the Championship Series round. With the Dodgers, he had a .872 OPS in the NLCS (including a heroic three-home run game in 2017 and a clutch game-tying home run in 2020). With the Red Sox, he had 1.254 OPS in six ALCS games.
Manny Ramirez, Albert Pujols, Nelson Cruz, Mickey Mantle, David Ortiz, Carlos Beltran, Babe Ruth and Enrique Hernandez. Those are the only eight players in MLB history to have at least 13 postseason home runs with an OPS of .900 or higher.
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