Dodgers first lineup without Mookie Betts includes a fun but predictable twist

Sunday was a brutal day for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not only did they place Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the IL, but Mookie Betts broke his hand after getting hit by a pitch and found his way onto the IL as well. Two of the Dodgers' best players are now sidelined for an indefinite period of time.

Replacing Yamamoto is hard, but getting Bobby Miller back from the IL helps a ton. As for Mookie, he's much, much harder to replace. Not only is he an MVP-caliber player, but the Dodgers are a team that lacks position player depth, as evidenced by the ample playing time given to subpar hitters at the bottom of their order.

The Dodgers are set to begin a four-game series at Coors Field on Monday against the Colorado Rockies. Their lineup for that game was obviously going to have a new look, but their first Mookie-less lineup is jarring to look at. It includes an expected, but fun twist.

Dodgers debut first lineup without Mookie Betts, and it starts with Shohei Ohtani

Here's the Dodgers' lineup:

Does it get much better than Shohei Ohtani leading off against a bad Rockies pitching staff at Coors Field? I mean, he might hit five home runs in the four games! This was a predictable change as Dave Roberts hinted at it, but it's still a fun twist to see it in action.

Ohtani is no stranger to hitting first. While he's hit second almost exclusively this season, Ohtani has led off 62 times in his MLB career. He's slashing .265/.365/.517 with 14 home runs in 234 at-bats in that position.

Those numbers are slightly below what we're accustomed to seeing from Ohtani, but he's hitting .305 with a 1.017 OPS as the first batter of a game with six home runs in those 62 plate appearances. With Ohtani batting first at Coors Field, we might see some fireworks early. Ohtani at the top with elite protection could do even better.

For the first time this season, Ohtani will be separated from Freddie Freeman in their lineup. The one time Ohtani led off this season, Freeman was hitting second. Instead, right-handed hitting Will Smith will hit in between the left-handed superstars.

The lineup remains incredibly top-heavy with the top four being scary, and the rest leaving a ton to be desired. It'll be interesting to see if we see guys like Andy Pages and Jason Heyward step up, or if the onus will be entirely on Ohtani and the other stars at the top.