The Los Angeles Dodgers have faced some terrible luck when it comes to injuries, especially to their pitching staff, and yet, they sit in first place in the NL West, in large part thanks to their starting nine.
The Dodgers have the best player in baseball in Shohei Ohtani, the current best overall hitter in baseball in Freddie Freeman, a perennial MVP candidate in Mookie Betts, and a do-it-all utility man in Tommy Edman.
And yet, in Bleacher Report’s latest “Starting Nine Rankings,” the Dodgers did not take the top spot. That honor was given to the Chicago Cubs.
Chicago Cubs Starting 9 Ranked Above Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers came in 2nd place in B/R’s rankings, just above the New York Yankees and behind the Chicago Cubs in the top spot.
The main reason for putting the Dodgers in the 2-spot seems to be the poor play of Michael Conforto.
Author Kerry Miller writes:
“Dating back to April 6, Conforto has made 154 plate appearances, good for sixth-most among Dodgers. He has one RBI to show for it, and even that came on a groundout. How they can continue penciling him into the lineup while benching two productive bats like Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim, or Enrique Hernández is baffling.”
While Miller is not wrong about the struggles of Conforto, his last sentence is a bit perplexing. Edman has played in just about every game that he has been healthy (spent a stint on the IL), and has 142 at-bats.
Hyeseong Kim began the season in the minors due to batting struggles in spring training. He has improved mightily and was just recently called up, but is still working his way into the lineup.
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Hernandez could get a little more play for Conforto, as he is batting .227 currently, but constant injuries have kind of forced manager Dave Roberts’ lineup card.
The Cubs have started off red-hot, so the love for their starting nine does make sense. They have scored 10 runs in 12 of their 54 games so far.
When it is said and done, my money is still on the Dodgers being the top unit in all of baseball. If all are healthy, there is just too much firepower there. Especially with the recent emergence of both Andy Pages and Max Muncy.
Thoughts, Dodger Nation?