The Los Angeles Dodgers finished with the best record in baseball in the regular season. They have Shohei Ohtani and his legendary power/contact/speed combination, they have former MVP winners Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman (if he can overcome an ankle injury) and also have accomplished hitters such as Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman and more.
Their bullpen is also underrated. Their biggest problem, however, is their unpredictable, decimated rotation. Pitchers like Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan, Dustin May, and Gavin Stone have already been ruled out for the postseason, and Tony Gonsolin and Clayton Kershaw are running out of time to get ready.
The rotation is the Dodgers’ weakest unit
The situation has forced the Dodgers to rely on these four starters in the playoffs: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, and Landon Knack.
None of those hurlers are lacking in talent, but it’s certainly not the group that the Dodgers pictured when the season started. Yamamoto was brilliant in the regular season with a 3.00 ERA but was limited to 90 innings due to injury and there is no guarantee how he will react to the pressure associated with starting important playoff games for one of the biggest teams in baseball.
Flaherty has been as good as advertised for the Dodgers. He came over from the Detroit Tigers with big credentials and responded with an excellent 3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings in LA.
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Knack was good in the regular season with a 3.65 ERA in 69 frames, with 69 strikeouts, but he is a rookie and posted a 5.14 ERA in September. And this is clearly not the Buehler of years past, posting a 5.38 ERA in 75.1 innings in a forgettable year.
As you can see, there are many question marks surrounding the Dodgers rotation, and the unit, while certainly capable of helping the team achieve its objectives, could get in the way and affect their chances.
