Rookie Joc Pederson has quietly been the team’s most productive outfielder this season. By Owen Main

If you think the Dodgers are going to be a team who rides any one guy anywhere very long during the regular season, you’re probably wrong. It’s true, the Dodgers will need to have some hot players and great play if they are to make noise in the post season. But getting there will take a lot of guys. In fact, it already has.

Just look at this list of Sunday transactions for the Dodgers and it becomes clear that the big league team’s success thus far has had something to do with guys not named Clayton or Yasiel. Puig and Joel Perralta were put on the disabled list, and the Dodgers have players in their system lined-up to fill their roster spots.

Even with two outfielders hurt, hot-hitting Alex Guerrero is having a hard time finding regular playing time. By Owen Main

Two years ago, a blow like this would have had fans, bloggers, and pundits wondering who the team could get in the trade market if guys are injured long-term. This year, everyone is turning inward toward and organization that has spent the near past making move after move to increase depth at all organizational levels.

One area of “problem” depth was the outfield. Former regular Andre Ethier was out of a starting spot on opening day. Dodger fans were clamoring for the team to trade him and get some asset for him.

Along with Ethier, Scott Van Slyke seemed ready to get more playing time, but with Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig firmly entrenched in the corner outfield positions, things seemed to be at an impasse.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and things look very different. Puig and Crawford are both hurt as of last night. Van Slyke and Ethier both finished the game in the outfield. And Alex Guerrero — swinging a hot bat lately — is still on the bench, still available to manager Don Mattingly to fill-in where needed.

What seemed like an uncomfortable level of depth just a few weeks ago is now a strength the Dodgers are flexing. Still in first place. Mashing, and sticking to their game plan.

Whether it’s Carl Crawford, Scott Van Slyke, or Andre Ethier who spends the most time in left field, that person will be better than Gregor Blanco. By Adam_sk (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

I thought it would be fun to, over the next few weeks, go position by position and compare what personnel the two teams have in preparation for the 2015 season. Technically, we’re not done with the infield, but I wanted to talk about Carl Crawford, so we’re going to go out to left field today.

Position by Position: Catcher

Position by Position: First Base

Position by Position: Second Base

Position by Position: Third Base

Carl Crawford and co.

The Dodgers outfield is kind of a ridiculous log-jam. Despite trading away Matt Kemp, there are at least four, and perhaps five players who are good enough to start regularly. The problem is that only one of those five is really a center fielder. All five are probably best served in corner outfield spots.

So when we start to talk about left field, the log-jam is really between four players and two spots.

Carl Crawford is the presumed starting left fielder — as long as his body will hold up. When he’s played over the past two seasons, the 33 year-old Crawford has posted good numbers.

Crawford has played about 110 games per year in his two seasons in Los Angeles. The farther he gets away from his 2012 Tommy John surgery, the closer to his former numbers he seems to get. Last year he hit .300/.339/.429 and was a solid part of the lineup for about 2/3 of the season.

At this point in his career, having Crawford on the roster almost necessitates other readily available and prepared options. To back Crawford up, the Dodgers currently have both Scott Van Slyke and Andre Ethier. If Crawford were to get hurt, a Van Slyke-Ethier platoon could be one of the best platoon situations in baseball.

If Crawford manages to stay healthy enough to play 120-130 games, he will need consistent days off anyway, and this is where Van Slyke can really make an impact this year.

Van Slyke kills left-handed pitching, posting an OPS of 1.045 in 108 at-bats last year. With Adrian Gonzalez and Crawford in their mid-30’s and left-handed, Van Slyke figures to get some playing time against lefties.

Gregor Blanco and Nori Aoki

Looking at stats from players like Gregor Blanco really makes me question just how the Giants did it last season. Blanco racked-up almsot 400 at-bats last season, hitting .260 and slugging just .374. He did walk 41 times, so maybe he’s an ideal number-eight hitter. Blanco is projected by ZiPS to put up just over a single Win Above Replacement (WAR).

Blanco’s presumed backup, Juan Perez, isn’t burning-up the projections either. Juan Perez hit .170 in 100 at-bats for the Giants last season. Overall, the Giants’ left-field group is going to be pretty light-hitting, it seems.

Nori Aoki, also a left-handed hitter, was going to also factor into the comparison in left field. As the season goes on, he actually may, but with Hunter Pence out of the lineup indefinitely, Aoki will be included in the right-field comparison.

The verdict

The question for the Dodgers is whether having so many capable big leaguers is a good thing. Even though guys like Crawford and Andre Ethier are overpaid for what their production is likely to be, the question of this series is not one of value, but rather one of production. If Giants left fielders are more productive than whoever plays there for the Dodgers, it would be maybe the biggest upset of this whole position-by-position comparison.

Left Field Advantage: Dodgers