The Dodgers are in the midst of a historic run, winning 44 of their last 51 games. What is leading to their success and can it benefit your fantasy team?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the hottest team in baseball, going on since a month before the All-Star break. While that doesn’t translate into fantasy baseball success, there are some things to take away from that. More runs equal more team wins which lead to more wins, holds and saves for pitchers. What, or who, is leading to the team’s long success?
The most important thing is that the team is performing on both sides of the ball. The Dodgers are doing this with almost 10 key players on the disabled list. Luckily, the front office has been able to make some trades and call up some prospects to fill in the gap and continue their stride.
The Dodgers offense is pretty solid from top to bottom. The team has plenty of pieces to mix and match based on the opposing pitcher or if a certain hitter is on a cold streak. Looking at their batting orders, the Dodgers have used 99 different lineups, 109 when including the starting pitcher.
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The starting pitching has been a revolving door as well. Most, if not all, of the starting pitchers have spent at least 10 days on the DL. Somehow, the team had enough pitchers on the roster to put one out every day.
Nine different starting pitchers made at least one start this season. With the addition of Yu Darvish and the two lefty bullpen arms and the return of Clayton Kershaw, this 25-man roster could break records.
In this 51-game span, the offense is hitting .269/.356/.510 with 98 home runs, 269 RBI, 436 strikeouts and 221 walks. The pitching staff has a 2.91 ERA, 1.076 WHIP, 52 home runs allowed, 475 strikeouts and 124 walks.
Now, I’m going to focus on some key pieces in both the offense and pitching staffs. All numbers referenced will be based on this 51-game span.
Offensive Stars
The three players that have stood out so far are the 3 C’s, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor.
Starting with Seager, the young shortstop is hitting .349 with 12 home runs, 31 RBI and a .423 OBP. A power and contact middle infielder is rare and Seager is rising up the ranks.
Bellinger was called up on April 25 and has been on a tear ever since. In “The Year of the Prospects,” Bellinger seems to have been overshadowed by Aaron Judge and others. However, his fantasy owners don’t care, as long as he’s hitting. He has a .275 average with 20 homers, 44 RBI and a .361 OBP.
Taylor has been a surprise this season. With many injuries, he’s carved a role out for himself in this Dodgers outfield. He doesn’t have the same power as his teammates but he is still hitting and scoring runs. Taylor is hitting .311 with eight home runs, 30 RBI, 36 runs and a .357 OBP. He also strikes out more, 55 in 49 games.
Yasiel Puig is also doing well. He is ranked 48th among hitters on the Player Rater for the last month.
Solid Arms
Hyun-Jin Ryu has been the Dodgers best starting pitcher over the last 30 days. He has a 0.95 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 20:4 K:BB ratio and two quality starts. He is owned in 39.0 percent of ESPN leagues. His next start is on Saturday at home against the San Diego Padres, a great matchup.
Kenta Maeda is also pitching well. He has a 1.09 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 13:4 K:BB ratio and four straight wins. The downside is that he doesn’t pitch deep into games to register a quality start, only one over the last month. He is a good source for wins and low ratios, but not much else.
While Tony Watson just joined the bullpen, he is pitching well now that he’s out of the closer role. In two appearances with the Dodgers, he has two strikeouts, one hit and two holds in two innings. He’s been dropped in a lot of leagues, so he’s worth a speculative add.
Next: Matt Chapman: America's sweetheart
If you are looking for a sleeper add for both the offense and pitching, the Dodgers have plenty. For the bullpen, Luis Avilan is quietly doing work. He has a 0.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 10:5 K:BB ratio with four holds in the last 30 days.
Chase Utley isn’t the same hitter as he was earlier, but he does have a .375 OBP with two home runs and six RBI over the last month. With first and second base eligibility, he’s a good bench option, especially in this offense.