These players must step up for the Dodgers heading into the playoffs

The MLB season is winding down, and while the Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t guaranteed to win their division, they do hold a 4.5-game lead at the time of this writing and will be in the playoffs regardless. This isn’t anything new for the Dodgers, and after the offseason they had, despite the injuries that have plagued them this season, it isn’t surprising, either. The organization and its fans aren’t going to be satisfied with just making the playoffs, as disappointing postseasons are all too familiar for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers' MVP trio has been getting things done all season long when they’ve been on the field. But for any team that plans to hang on to the division, make noise in October, and go the distance, everyone needs to step up, and the Dodgers certainly have some players who will need to do so.

Dodgers players who must step up with October baseball approaching

Will Smith

Speaking of the MVP trio, when the season started, Will Smith was expected to hit cleanup behind them all year long. But ever since the All-Star break, Smith just hasn’t had the type of production we’re used to seeing at the plate. On the season, Smith is now slashing just .245/.324/.427 with an OPS of .751. Before the year, he was regarded as one of the, if not the best offensive catchers in baseball, but it would be hard to call him that as of now.

All his numbers are backsliding, but the most painful shift is in his rising strikeout numbers. He currently sits at 100 strikeouts on the year, just one less than he had in all of 2021, and the season is not over yet. When you have players in your lineup like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernández, you need to do what you can to at least put the ball in play.

One upside is that Smith has really improved defensively this year, and is now one of the best catchers at throwing out baserunners who try to steal. However, for the Dodgers to succeed in October, they’ll desperately need his bat to come back to life.

Enrique Hernández

Over the last 30 days, Enrique Hernández has a batting average of .222 and an on-base percentage of .228. That’s not really ideal, to say the least, but his defensive ability and versatility keep him around. Now, unlike Smith, it’s not like anyone is surprised that Hernández isn’t very effective with his bat. However, many still cling to his 2021 postseason with the Boston Red Sox, which was phenomenal, as well as previous October moments in Dodger Blue.

In 49 at bats that postseason, he had five home runs and slashed .408/.423/.837, which gave him an OPS of 1.260. Expecting him to replicate that is just unrealistic; however, I can’t help but dream.

Then, I wake up and ground my expectations.

To end the season and go into the playoffs, Hernández needs to just be serviceable at the dish, because right now, he is far from that. Defensive flexibility is great, especially during the regular season. You can give someone a needed day off or slot him in somewhere if a player goes down with an injury, so for now, it’s great. But that loses a lot of its value in the postseason, so Hernández must spark something offensively and must do it soon.

The Pitching Staff

It feels unfair to put the entire pitching staff on here, due to how badly they’ve been impacted by injuries and how well players like Jack Flaherty, Gavin Stone, and Tyler Glasnow (when healthy) have been. But unfortunately, because of those injuries, it does mean that more players have to step up from further down the depth chart, and that hasn’t been the case. Outside of the injuries, inconsistency has been a story for the Dodgers' arms all season.

Over the last 30 days, Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, and Walher Buehler all have ERAs over 6.00, although it isn’t just those three who have been struggling. The bullpen has had its share of collapses, and there are only a select few who instill any type of confidence in Dodgers fans when they enter the game.

Luckily, the Dodgers have the ability to simply outscore teams; however, come October, they’ll need their arms to be more reliable. Another positive for them is that Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked great in his first start since returning from injury. Even so, they’ll need to get healthy and step up as a whole.