6 MLB teams on the brink of collapse in the 2020 season
By Bill Felber
6 MLB teams on the brink of collapse
Los Angeles Dodgers
The potential for their decline isn’t as severe as is the peril confronting either of the 2019 World Series contestants. But it should not be overlooked, and it begins with their pitching.
The Dodgers lost starters Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill, who gave them a combined 42 starts and 2.35 ERA. They are prepared to enter 2020 with a rotation featuring Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Kenta Maeda, Jose Urias, and either rookie Tony Gonsolin or Ross Stripling. That could work just fine. Still, consider the question marks.
Kershaw’s workload has moderated since his peak seasons, and he’s now basically a 25-start, 170 inning guy. That’s what he’s averaged since 2016.
Maeda has developed a reputation as a better reliever than a starter. In 2019, he made 26 starts and produced an 8-8 record with a 4.14 ERA. As a spot reliever, he went 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA. His WHIP, strikeouts per nine innings and strikeouts per walks all were better pitching in relief. It is, then, a fair question whether he’s reliable in the No. 3 starter role the Dodgers project for him.
Urias and Stripling have been heralded for two seasons now, and it’s possible that 2020 is the year both come into their own. In more lightly used roles, they have both shown flashes, combining in 2019 for an 8-7 record and 3.02 ERA. But that’s just in 23 starts. How will they fare starting 60 games?
As for Gonsolin, there’s really no guarantee at all. Limited to 11 appearances and 40 innings in a 2019 tryout, he produced a 4-2 record and 2.92 ERA.
Buehler is the closest thing one gets in pitching to a sure thing. Beyond him, however, the Dodgers are relying on a pitcher who by age is likely to be entering his decline phase, another whose work as a starter has raised questions and three kids who can only be classified as unproven.