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State of the Dodgers: Evaluating The Starting Pitching

Jeff Spiegel
7 Min Read
State Of The Dodgers: Evaluating The Starting Pitching
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

PAGES: 1 | 2

In a new series of posts over the next few weeks, we’re going to take a look at each of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ position groups; analyzing which players are gone, which players are returning and which free agents might be on the team’s radar. 

By any stretch of the imagination, the 2015 Dodgers rotation was fantastic. This group, led by Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, finished second in the Majors in ERA, third in batting average against, sixth in innings pitched and seventh in strikeouts.

Of course, all of those statistics are buoyed by the fact that the Dodgers had the best two pitchers in baseball this season, but considering everything the group went through, the back of the rotation deserves more credit than they received.

The Dodgers entered last season hoping to boast a rotation of Kershaw, Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson. Thanks to injuries, however, Ryu didn’t make any starts and McCarthy made just four.

For a team to lose its third and fourth starters for the entire season and to still finish as highly ranked as they did is astonishing. Even more astonishing, they did it while starting 16 different pitchers.

Behind Kershaw and Greinke, the Dodgers got 31 starts from Anderson, 21 from Mike Bolsinger, 13 from Carlos Frias and 12 from Alex Wood.

But that was last season, and of all the position groups on the roster, none figures to have as exciting as an off-season as the starting rotation.

Free agents: Brett Anderson, Zack Greinke

Greinke is the headliner for the entire free agent class, but Anderson isn’t too shabby an option either.

Greinke finished with a 1.66 ERA and 0.84 WHIP on the way to what is expected to be a second Cy Young Award of his career. Based on estimations, Greinke is likely to receive a contract of five to six years with a value of over $150 million.

Anderson, while seemingly unappreciated by Dodgers fans, may have been the unsung hero of the team (if not for Bolsinger). He managed to stay healthy all season and finishing with a 3.69 ERA and 18 quality starts.

As a note, Anderson was extended a one-year qualifying offer by the team, but no player has ever accepted said qualifying offer.

CONTINUE READING: Returning Starters And Potential Signings

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By Jeff Spiegel
Jeff Spiegel was raised in California but currently resides in Portland, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon, he worked in sports before entering journalism full time — first as a Sports Reporter and then as the Associate Editor of a local newspaper. Online, he has been writing about both the Dodgers and Raiders since 2012 — having written for DodgersNation.com and SBNation.com prior to joining both DodgerBlue.com and RaidersNation.com. He left full-time journalism in 2012 to become a pastor. Jeff can be found on Twitter at @JeffSpiegel. Favorite Dodger I'm going past and present (sort of) on this one. Recently, I was a die hard Yasiel Puig guy. The energy he played with was amazing and the hope and expectation he brought every single night was captivating. Whether it was a rifle from the warning track to throw a guy out at second, an aggressive bat flip or licking his bat, I was here for ALL of the Yasiel Puig era. Past tense, I'd go with Eric Gagné. This wasn't so much about Gagné himself as it was the experience of cheering for him. Yes, he was on steroids — but the dude was unlike any pitcher I've ever seen — he was NASTY. I still stand by the claim that if I needed one out and my life depended on it, and could choose any pitcher from any era to get me that out, I'm taking roided up Gagné in a heartbeat. Favorite Dodger Moment A few jump to mind immediately. Being born in November of 1988, I missed the last World Series by weeks — which also meant I didn't get to see the Dodgers win a playoff game until I was nearly 16. They had made the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, but were swept both times. In 2004, though, I got to see them win behind a complete game shutout from Jose Lima, and that was pretty freaking special. The next in-person moment that came to mind was the Manny Ramirez bobblehead night pinch-hit grand slam from 2009. Vin Scully claimed it was the loudest he had heard Dodger Stadium in 20 years, and it's hard to disagree. As far as ones I didn't get to see live, I'll throw one more out there: the back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs that tied a game against the Padres in 2006 (plus the walk-off from Nomar Garciaparra in extra innings) was an all-timer. Obviously, the impending Dodgers World Series will quickly jump to the top of this list...