It might not come as much of a surprise that the Los Angeles Dodgers are leading the NL West. Most people expect them to win their eighth consecutive NL West title in 2020. There are a couple more surprising facts about the start of this short season. The Colorado Rockies are tied with the Dodgers as of today, though they have only played eight games. We will see where they are after 10. This is surprising because a lot of experts do not even put the Rockies into the conversation in the West. The San Diego Padres are a semi-surprise at one game back. Another surprise is that the Arizona Diamondbacks are currently in last place. This is early in the season, to be sure, but every game counts in this wild year.
NL West According to the Experts
When experts were asked how the NL West would shake out at ESPN, they all agreed the Dodgers would win it. The Padres were named as a potential spoiler, but the Diamondbacks received one more vote for NL wild card. This means that they predicted the West to end up with the Dodgers followed by the Diamondbacks, then the Padres.This scenario puts the San Francisco Giants fighting the Rockies to escape the cellar. The Diamondbacks are actually firmly in the cellar by two games below the Giants. We are at just about the 20% mark of the 2020 season, which would be at about 33 games of a normal season. There are some surprises in the start of this season, but it is still early to sound any alarms.
Dodgers Meeting Expectations
All three of the NL Division Leaders sport seven wins through their first 10 games. The Chicago Cubs have only played nine games and already have their seven wins. Dodger fans were likely a little bit nervous about a slow start after splitting four games with the Giants. They then won five of their next six games—sweeping the Houston Astros in two and taking three of four from Arizona. The Dodgers probably should have won all six, but they blew Friday’s game in the bottom of the eighth. They will be tested by an up-and-coming Padres team seven times in the next 10 days. This will give both teams an idea of where they are at this point in the season.
Batting
The Dodgers are meeting expectations in the batting department. People expect them to hit for power throughout the lineup. Ten different Dodgers have hit home runs so far this season, and they have hit 17 as a team. Corey Seager has started 2020 on fire, slashing .361/.425/.694. The great Vin Scully would likely say that the threes are wild with Seager this year. He has three homers, three doubles, three walks, three strikeouts, and he is batting well over .300. Max Muncy also has three longballs, followed by AJ Pollock, Edwin Rios, and Mookie Betts, who each have two. Cody Bellinger has been working through some tweaks to his approach at the plate in 2020. This has caused a slow start on the year, but he hit the ball hard multiple times Sunday, including his first homer. The Dodgers can hit, and it shows.
Pitching
Clayton Kershaw finally got his first start of 2020 Sunday in which he threw 5 2/3 innings. He was one out away from a Quality Start, but he struck out six with no walks or runs. He gave up only three hits — all singles — in his return from the IL for back stiffness. The pitching staff did very well in his absence, which shows the depth of this team. Not only was Kershaw on the shelf, but David Price opted out of the season, and Alex Wood is also on the IL with shoulder inflammation. That makes three of five Dodgers out of the starting rotation—all three All-Stars, and two Cy Young winners. This is a major blow to any rotation. As was outlined in the 2020 season preview, the Dodgers’ depth displayed dominantly. Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin both picked up starts and pitched very well.
The Dodgers have used a total of 18 pitchers so far this year. They have combined to throw 84 innings of 2.04 ERA baseball. The staff has a total WHIP of 1.048 and 72 strikeouts. This was before Kershaw pitched Sunday, so the stats will actually be a bit better. A once-questionable bullpen has been a strong point so far this year. The Dodgers can pitch and they are deep.
NL West and Beyond
The results have been good for the Dodgers so far this season. Now Kershaw is back and in great form, Bellinger is making hard contact, Mookie is going yard, and Dave Roberts says that the Dodgers are finally hitting their stride. The outlook is good. These next three weeks will be a good measuring stick for the Dodgers. They will play seven against the Padres, three against the Giants, and three against Colorado. They will also play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Seattle Mariners in that stretch. Time will certainly tell, but the Dodgers have to like where they are and can be confident in where they are going. They will likely win the NL West for the eighth time in a row. Look for the Dodgers to be in the last game of the year and win it all this year, as several experts have predicted.
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