With a healthy roster and Shohei Ohtani’s return looming, the Los Angeles Dodgers deploy a loaded rotation to secure a third consecutive title.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the back-to-back World Series Champions for a reason, but now, it's clear this team could be the frontrunners to a three-peat.
LA has been dealing with a number of injuries to their starting rotation, but here in late August, it's arguably never been better.
With just over one full month before the regular season comes to an end, it seems like everything the Dodgers have envisioned is coming to life.
Shohei Ohtani's status remains up in the air, but reports have surfaced that he could return to the mound as soon as next week.
When looking at this team's projected starting pitchers for their next two series, it's clear this is the team to beat once October rolls around.
Who can stop the Dodgers starting rotation?
Come the postseason, all it takes is four starting pitchers to do some damage. The Dodgers roster is loaded, and that's an understatement; this is a team that's going to have a surplus of starting pitchers come the 2026 postseason.
From August 25-29, the Dodgers will be rolling out Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, and Blake Snell.
On paper, that's one of the most loaded starting pitching rotations the game has ever seen.
According to The Athletic's Katie Woo, Dodgers' president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman believes "this group of starters might be the best he's assembled since joining the organization in 2015."
Knowing that's a real quote from Friedman, despite this team having won the 2024 and 2025 World Series, it's clear the sky is the limit for the Dodgers this season.
Where would Ohtani fit into this rotation?
If Ohtani does indeed return to the mound, the Dodgers might have a tough time finding a spot for him. Remember, this team is also without star Justin Wrobleski, who's on the 15-day Injured List, and they still have Eric Lauer available, should he be needed to start games once again.
Regardless, it's clear the Dodgers are sitting pretty. One could say they have too many starting pitchers, but that's a conversation manager Dave Roberts knows isn't even worth having. As seen with this team time and time again, injuries can happen and derail everything, so there's no reason to take this depth for granted.
Sitting at 80-51, the Dodgers' current six-game winning streak has once again put them one win away from being tied for the best record in all of baseball.
