Boasting unmatched depth and four legitimate aces, the Los Angeles Dodgers maintain the most formidable staff for the postseason, even with Shohei Ohtani not pitching.
The Los Angeles Dodgers received difficult news against the San Diego Padres on July 3 when Shohei Ohtani left the mound and moved into a designated hitter-only role.
Ohtani’s attempt to continue pitching has not progressed as hoped, and he will not return to the mound this season. When the Dodgers activate him from the Injured List, he will resume his usual role as their designated hitter.
A phenomenal rotation
Los Angeles can withstand Ohtani’s absence because its rotation possesses the talent and depth to dominate without him.
Kiley McDaniel from ESPN ranked the Dodgers’ starting rotation as the best in MLB for the postseason, even without Ohtani. Los Angeles separated itself through the quality of its top starters and the number of capable alternatives behind them.
McDaniel believes the Dodgers remain comfortably ahead of every other team in this category. He noted that Los Angeles could use four starters during a seven-game series who are each better than the leading option on five or six other postseason teams.
“Yep, the Dodgers are still tops in this category -- even with the currently injured Shohei Ohtani likely not pitching again this season -- and by a pretty good margin,” McDaniel wrote.
“They could start four arms over a seven-game series that are all better than any one arm on five or six of the teams listed below.”
The Dodgers possess four pitchers capable of serving as a No. 1 starter elsewhere.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tarik Skubal are the strongest options in the rotation. If Los Angeles can arrange its preferred order, they would likely start Games 1 and 2 of a postseason series.
Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow would follow them. Both possess exceptional ceilings and could lead the rotations of teams such as the Padres, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox.
Those four starters alone provide enough quality to consider the Dodgers’ rotation the best in the postseason. Their depth strengthens the argument further.
Justin Wrobleski gives Los Angeles an excellent fifth starter. Roki Sasaki, Kris Bubic and Emmet Sheehan probably will not start during the postseason, but could function as capable No. 4 starters for most postseason teams.
The Dodgers will likely use Sasaki, Bubic and Sheehan as important bullpen options instead.
Incredible depth
Altogether, the Dodgers have eight pitchers who could reasonably start a postseason game without creating concern. That remarkable depth does not include Ohtani.
The Dodgers’ rotation has the ability to attack opponents with different styles. Hitters must adjust from one game to the next because each starter presents a distinct combination of velocity, movement, command and sequencing.
Los Angeles can also withstand an injury or poor outing without allowing the entire series plan to collapse. Its depth creates alternatives for starting assignments, bulk relief and difficult late-game situations.
Yamamoto and Skubal provide control at the front, while Snell and Glasnow add power and swing-and-miss ability. The pitchers behind them give manager Dave Roberts flexibility that no other postseason team can match.
Ohtani’s absence removes another elite possibility, but it does not change the rotation’s standing. No other team can compare with the Dodgers’ complete collection of starting options.
