Los Angeles Dodgers 2010 Predictions

Written by Jack Jones

The L.A. Dodgers led the National League with 95 wins last season, and they made it to the NLCS for a second straight year. This is one of the most proud franchises in the big leagues, and they sold more tickets than another other team last season. With ownership in limbo, general manager Ned Colletti wasn’t allowed to spend money over the winter to improve their team. He wasn’t able to offer arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Husdon, and as a result they lost out on a couple draft picks as both chose to sign elsewhere. Still, the Dodgers have plenty of talent left on their roster to be one of the best teams in the NL again in 2010. Futures baseball odds for this team show the Dodgers projected win total at 84.5.

Pitching:

The rotation is in good hands up front with Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley. Kershaw went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA last season while pitching 171 innings, and Billingsley went 12-11 with a 4.03 ERA in 196 innings. Both are strikeout machines, as Kershaw posted a 9.74 K/9 rate and Billingsley recorded an 8.21 K/9 ratio. Billingsley did see a drop in production last season after going 16-10 with a 3.14 ERA and 9.01 K/9 ratio in 2008, but he’s still a solid No. 2. Hiroki Kuroda gets the job done in the No. 3 hole, posting a 3.73 ERA in 2008 and a 3.76 ERA in ‘09 despite battling through injuries. Vicente Padilla was a pleasant surprise after coming over from the Rangers late last season, and he’ll get the No. 4 job. No. 5 will likely go to James McDonald, who went 5-5 with a 4.00 ERA last season but this spot is still up in the air. The Dodgers flaunt one of the best bullpens in the big leagues, posting a 3.14 ERA when the NL average for team’s relievers was 4.00 last season. Jonathan Broxton recorded 36 saves and a 7-2 record with a 2.61 ERA last season. George Sherrill came over from Baltimore and went 1-1 with a 1.70 ERA last season while saving 21 games. Then there’s Hong -Chih Kuo, Ramon Troncosco and Ronald Belisario who are all above-average relievers.

Hitting:

Catcher Russell Martin has steadily declined each of the past three seasons which could be due to a massive workload, because this guy rarely takes a day off. He hit .293 with 19 HR’s, 87 RBI and 21 SB’s in 2007. Compare that to his 2009 line in which he hit .250 with 7 HR’s, 53 RBI’s and 11 SB’s and you can see why there’s a cause for concern. 1B James Loney has hit at least .281 in his last three seasons with the Dodgers, finishing with 90 RBI each of the past two years as a full-time starter. His power numbers are likely still to come, though. 2B Ronnie Belliard came over from the Nationals late last year, and proceeded to his .351 in 24 games with the Dodgers. He’ll retain his starting job at 2B this season. 3B Casey Blake just keeps getting it done, hitting .280 with 18 HR’s, 79 RBI and 84 Runs scored in his first full season with the Dodgers last year. SS Rafael Furcal was once one of the best at his position, but he has been a disappointment in his time with the Dodgers. Furcal hit just .269 with 9 HR’s, 47 RBI and 12 SB’s last season in 613 at-bats. The outfield is the strength of this line-up with Manny Ramirez in left, Matt Kemp in center and Andre Ethier in right. Despite serving a 50-game suspension last year, Ramirez still hit .290 with 19 HR’s and a .949 OPS so he still has some pop left. Kemp had a breakthrough year in ‘09, hitting .297 with 26 HR’s, 101 RBI, 97 Runs and 34 SB’s. Ethier showed his power, hitting 31 HR’s with 106 RBI and 92 Runs scored as well.

Jack’s Prediction: 1st in the NL West and OVER 84.5 Wins – Yes, the Dodgers failed to make any big offseason moves. But why did they really need to? L.A. could have used another starting pitcher, but they still have an above-average rotation and perhaps the best bullpen in the league. Their line-up is filled with proven hitters and one of the best outfields in the business, if not the best. They also have a great manager in Joe Torre who has revived this team, leading the Dodgers to back-to-back NLCS appearances and two straight NL West crowns. After winning 95 games last year, I can’t see this team being 11 games worse and thus I’ll side with the OVER 84.5 wins and another NL West title, though the Rockies will be tough to get by again.

Archived Season Previews:

2008

Individual MLB Team Previews:

American League
AL West	AL Central	AL East
Rangers Predictions	Tigers Predictions	Red Sox Predictions
A’s Predictions	White Sox Predictions	Yankees Predictions
Angels Predictions	Twins Predictions	Rays Predictions
Mariners Predictions	Royals Predictions	Blue Jays Predictions
	Indians Predictions	Orioles Predictions
National League
NL West	NL Central	NL East
Giants Predictions	Brewers Predictions	Phillies Predictions
Rockies Predictions	Cardinals Predictions	Braves Predictions
Dodgers Predictions	Reds Predictions	Marlins Predictions
Padres Predictions	Cubs Predictions	Mets Predictions
Diamondbacks Predictions	Pirates Predictions	Nationals Predictions
	Astros Predictions

Comments

2 Responses to “Los Angeles Dodgers 2010 Predictions”

Sports Scatter on March 25th, 2010 12:29 AM

Umm, I’d say if this was written a month ago the likely fifth starter would have been stults, not mcdonald. Stults is still probably leading the race, but getting stiff competition from Haeger.

Belliard never really had a chance at being the 2B, even though the team has yet to announce a 2B. The job has basically been DeWitt’s to lose. DeWitt is a rare Dodger non-pitcher first round pick. He was a plus defense 3B and average defense SS before converting to 2B where he has struggled. His power ceiling may be higher than any of the other infielders, and he’s already a relatively disciplined hitter.

The club talks tough about Belisario being late for camp, but Sherrill is back to his old form, Troncoso is struggling, and Kuo is the most injury prone MLB player since Darren Dreifort or Eric Davis. The team may end up having most of the 5th starter candidates remaining fill the middle relief core for at least the first few weeks of April, two ortizes, weaver, haeger, stults, and the rule 5er.

The bench should be noted, as the team has a lot of veteran diversity here. It could prove to be the difference maker for the team this year that the bullpen was last year.
Jack Jones on March 28th, 2010 12:49 AM

Great info, looks like you really know your Dodgers. I get my depth chart info from MLB.com which shows Belliard at 2B. It also doesn’t list a 5th starter, because it’s still up in the air, just the top 4 for the Dodgers. So I was taking an educated guess there, which according to a few magazines had a good chance to be McDonald. But certainly could see Stults or Haeger in there to start the season.

Got something to say?