3 Los Angeles Dodgers players who'll be better in 2023 and 2 who won't

Mookie Betts, OF

Mookie Betts was still a certified, all-caps STAR in 2022, but concerns about the longer term began to linger. Was the 5-9 Betts suddenly becoming "injury-prone" as he entered his 30s? Did the Dodgers sign an electric mega-star through his 40s, or did they commit big money to Evolutionary Andrew McCutchen?

It's understandable why fans would freak out at the slightest dip in production from a player they'd been assured was closer to God than man. That said, 2022's Betts season was still pretty excellent across the board; the defensive stud finished with a career-high 35 home runs and a higher OPS than he'd posted in 2021 (.873 to .854).

Proclaiming he'll be "better" in 2023 indicates there's still untapped potential in a top-20 player in baseball, but ... if Betts can just harness the patience he displayed in 2021 (.367 OBP vs .340 last year) and maintain his newfound power (12 more bombs in 20 more games in 2022), his OPS will rise closer to .900.

All the metrics under the hood indicate Betts hasn't lost a step; his all-red Savant page shows a hitter with peaks and no valleys, and who posted an expected wOBA last season in the 80th percentile.

The "shift ban" won't help Betts and his spray chart all that much much, but a combination of the best of his past two seasons in Dodger Blue will create an uptick in production and will cement his superstar status.