Preseason 2015 MLB Playoff predictions
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70)
2014 finish: 1st in NL West (94-68), out in NLDS.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were thought to be a lock for the World Series the entire year with Clayton Kershaw leading their team, but the St. Louis Cardinals had other plans when they beat the Dodgers in the NLDS. The Dodgers were a solid all around team, placing sixth in pitching and sixth in batting last season.
Pitching was dominated by Clayton Kershaw who won the Cy Young and MVP after a 21-3 season with a 1.77 ERA. His third Cy Young in the last four years. Zach Greinke (17-8, 2.71 ERA) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-7, 3.38 ERA) were also solid starters for the Dodgers.
OF Yasiel Puig led the team in batting average (.296/.382/.480) and 1B Adrian Gonzalez led with 27 homers and 116 RBI’s. 2B Dee Gordon led with 174 hits, but is no longer with the team. The Dodgers also lost OF Matt Kemp, and SS Hanley Ramirez in a wild offseason.
Key additions: RHP Brandon McCarthy, SS Jimmy Rollins, RHP Joel Peralta, LHP Brett Anderson, C Yasmani Grandal, 2B Howie Kendrick.
Key losses: RHP Josh Beckett, 2B Dee Gordon, RHP Dan Haren, OF Matt Kemp, LHP Paul Maholm, RHP Chris Perez, SS Hanley Ramirez.
Losing Dee Gordon really hurts to Dodgers, but they did a great job signing inter-league rival Los Angeles Angels 2B Howie Kendrick who led the Angels in batting average and hits in 2014 (.293, 181), a similar role Dee Gordon filled for the Dodgers. The team lost SS Hanley Ramirez, who will play LF in Boston after he batted .283/.369/.448 in LA with 127 hits in 128 games. But, Jimmy Rollins will fill the empty shortstop hole for the Dodgers after a couple of rough seasons in Philadelphia, but he should be a great glove for the Dodgers.
Los Angeles also made a great signing in pitcher Brandon McCarthy who struggled with Arizona in the first half of his 2014 season, but after being traded to the New York Yankees, McCarthy had a 2.89 ERA in 14 games. He’ll be the fourth starter for LA. The Dodgers also made a good signing in C Yasmani Grandal to fill a catcher need.
Primary questions for the Dodgers are in center field and in the fifth spot for their rotation. Joc Pederson will likely start in center field over Andre Either who will likely not have a spot in the lineup. Pederson is batting .429 with a .467 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage compared to Either’s .192/.231/.250. At 22, Pederson is a young up and comer and he’ll need to fill a big role after Matt Kemp left for San Diego.
The final spot in the rotation is also a question for the Dodgers. The spot seems to currently belong to 27-year-old lefty Brett Anderson who was 1-3 in just 8 starts with a 2.91 ERA last season with Colorado before he had season ending back surgery. Anderson has struggled in spring training, leaving the window open for a competition. Joel Peralta was also a great relief addition for LA, but the veteran struggled to a 4.41 ERA last season in Tampa Bay. Hopefully he can turn that around this year.
2015 team batting MVP: RF Yasiel Puig
2015 team pitching MVP: SP Clayton Kershaw
2015 key under the radar player: 2B Howie Kendrick
The Dodgers will win the NL West again this year ahead of the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres, but to achieve that they will need numbers that can replace Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez. Solid pitching will be required from McCarthy and Ryu and stud pitching will be required from Kershaw and Greinke. Even with that, the Dodgers will once again lose early in the playoffs this October.