For the 12th consecutive season, the Dodgers will play October baseball. Los Angeles clinched a playoff spot in late September but this year had its twists and turns for the Dodgers. And, those twists will have a major impact on how the Dodgers lineup for the 2024 MLB Postseason.
The Good
Look, the Dodgers didn’t get Shohei Ohtani for the regular season. Los Angeles (NL) already had a good team to begin with. But, the addition of Ohtani gave LA three former MVPs to stack atop the lineup, in the hopes the Dodgers can maximize their window. Before October, the two-way sensation showed the world he still had tricks up his sleeve.
Ohtani belted a career-high 53 home runs in his first season with the Dodgers. And, Ohtani used his plus speed to his advantage to grab 56 stolen bases to become the first player in MLB history to hit the 50-50 market in a campaign. No batter in the second half produced more home runs (24) or stolen bases (33) than Ohtani, who had himself a record-breaking campaign.
Speaking of offseason acquisitions, outfielder Teoscar Hernandez turned into a spectacular pickup. Hernandez was a solid offensive-minded outfielder with Toronto and Seattle over the last six seasons, as he had five 20+ home run campaigns from 2018-23. He benefitted from the protection around him in Los Angeles, as he cracked 31 home runs for the Dodgers.
On the pitching side of things, it’s hard to ask much better than what the Dodgers got from their big guns when healthy. Tyler Glasnow struck out 168 over 134 innings and was one of the NL’s best starters for much of 2024. High-prized rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.96 ERA, 99 K over 85 IP) was excellent. And midseason acquisition Jack Flaherty (3.58 ERA, 61 K over 55.1 IP) has been fine at home in SoCal.
However, quite possibly the most promising step forward came from Gavin Stone. Stone was heralded as a prospect thanks to his plus changeup but got hammered in his first taste of MLB action. Stone yielded 46 hits over 31 frames with Los Angeles last year.
This season, Stone led the Dodgers in innings pitched (140.1 IP) and mastered a two-seamer with sink to play off with his changeup. Opposing batters hit .178 off the changeup, compared to .240 in 2023. Needless to say, the increased usage of his sinker worked fine.
The Bad
Injuries took a toll on the Dodgers in 2024, as Los Angeles will finish the year with their first non-100-win season in a full 162-game campaign since 2018.
Mookie Betts lost two months to a hand fracture. Max Muncy lost three months to an oblique strain. And pitching-wise, Gavin Stone, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Clayton Kershaw — who made just seven regular season starts — all missed significant time.
Los Angeles navigated their losses on offense, largely thanks to Ohtani and Will Smith. However, the same can’t be said for their pitching staff.
An even more concerning development was the regression of Bobby Miller.
Miller was a hot prospect in the Minors thanks to his plus raw stuff. He showcased it in 2023 when he routinely flirted with 100 MPH with his fastball. Miller’s fastball didn’t have the same pop. He sat in the 95-97 MPH range and routinely lost command and control of the zone. Opposing batters hit .327 off his fastball, which he often couldn’t get up in the zone and instead, middle-middle.
Walker Buehler, who missed all of 2203 thanks to Tommy John surgery, also struggled with command. Buehler’s 8.3 BB% rate in 2024 is two percentage points worse than 2022. Although, his advanced numbers weren’t terrible.
Dodgers starters ranked 21st in the league in FIP (4.29) and 13th in SIERA (4.10).
What to Expect from the Dodgers in October
The good news for the Dodgers is that, right now, their big three — Betts, Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman — are all healthy. The same applies to Max Muncy, Teoscar Hernandez, and Will Smith. Los Angeles structured their offense well for October to avoid what happened last fall. For those who remember, the Dodgers scored six runs total over three games in a nightmare-ish 2023 NLDS against the Diamondbacks.
Los Angeles’ pitching, though, is a much larger concern. Glasnow and Stone are done for 2024, while Clayton Kershaw remains weeks away from a return. Thus, the Dodgers will likely rely on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty, and Landon Knack to handle starting games in the playoffs. Yamamoto, it should be noted, has been limited to three and four-inning outings since his return from the IL in September.
Still, it’s not a bad trio and the good news for the Dodgers is their bullpen, led by Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, and Daniel Hudson, is deep. That depth will certainly be tested.