The Good and the Bad for the Dodgers at the end of April

Despite the breakouts of Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero, the hot start of Adrian Gonzalez has been they key to the Dodgers’ hot start. By Owen Main

The Dodgers are 13-8 at the end of the first month of the season — two games ahead in the National League West. The fun thing is, they haven’t got close to hitting their stride.

I thought it would be an OK time to summarize the good and the bad of the first month of the 2015 season.

The Good

First place

No matter what, setting a tone early-on in the season is important. The Dodgers have won five of the seven series they’ve played so far and, while they were swept by the Giants in San Francisco, they also had a seven-game winning streak.

Greinke keeps rolling

While Clayton Kershaw finds his form and the rest of the Dodgers pitching staff struggles to stay afloat, Zack Greinke has been exactly who he has been since he joined the Dodgers — a second ace. Grienke has a .918 WHIP and is 4-0 in his five starts in April.

Howie Kendrick is as-advertised

Howie Kendrick has been really, really good. He sports a .295/.353/.526 slash line and has been everything the Dodgers have needed him to be.

When people in the know said how good Howie Kendrick would be, many Dodger fans, especially those who are fans of the type of game Dee Gordon plays, didn’t want to hear it. All Kendrick has done is start the season in Kendrick-like form, contributing to wins, fighting in at-bat after at-bat. I really like watching replays of Kendrick at-bats.

Joc Pederson

Neat.

Joc Pederson, who owns the MLB's best walk rate, also appears to be hitting the ball quite hard: pic.twitter.com/AnD7QPcjEQ

— August Fagerstrom (@AugustF_MLB) May 1, 2015

Adrian Gonzalez‘ hot start

This has been the real story of the beginning of the season. Gonzalez leads the National League in home runs (8!!), slugging percentage, OPS, and total bases. Dude is lighting it up. I don’t expect him to all season, but I’ll certainly enjoy it while it lasts.

Alex Guerrero

In just 28 at-bats this season, Guerrero has been dominant, bringing much optimism from Dodger fans. Five home runs, 13 RBIs, and a 1.505 OPS is a decent start for the enigmatic Cuban. Especially with the losses of Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford, Guerrero should get a chance to prove that he can hit for real in the major leagues.

The Bad

Injuries

Unfortunately, the list of key injuries to the Dodgers was long in April. Perhaps better that they come now instead of July or August, but here’s a short list:

Yasiel Puig

Carl Crawford

Brandon McCarthy

Joel Peralta

Hyun-jin Ryu

Kenley Jansen

Chis Withrow

Brandon League

Brandon Beachy

In all, nine players are currently on the disabled list, including three pitchers named Brandon. Ryu’s and McCarthy’s injuries are the most concerning for me. The starting rotation for the Dodgers could hinge on the performance of guys from the minor leagues.

Mike Bolsinger, David Huff, and Scott Baker have already made one start each. Zach Lee, Joe Wieland, and Carlos Frias could all be future options as well.

The list of replacements isn’t bad if we’re talking about a spot-start or a fifth starter situation. The problem is that right now Brett Anderson is being depended on as the THIRD starter and the fourth and fifth spots look like they’ll be filled with the list above, at least until Ryu comes back.

Starting pitching depth

This is kind of addressed above. The Dodgers have stockpiled talented hitters who are major-league ready. Despite trading Matt Kemp and injuries to Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford, the team has three or four Major League-capable outfielders to choose from. On top of that, Darwin Barney, Austin Barnes, Chris Heisey, and Enrique Hernandez are all at the ready down on the farm should the Dodgers need them in Los Angeles. Corey Seager could be successful in the big leagues RIGHT NOW if he was needed.

But for all the depth in hitting the Dodgers have amassed, the pitching depth is thinning-out pretty quickly. Kershaw and Greinke are as good as any duo in the majors, but after that things are starting to get rocky. Brett Anderson hasn’t gotten hurt yet, but he was supposed to be the fifth starter. He’s now in the number-three role.

It looks like Carlos Frias will get the start tonight against Arizona. 

The good news is that there are guys who could fill the role (see the list above), but none of them are really proven. Will the Dodgers go outside of what has been their plan so far and reach in a trade for a pitcher like Cole Hamels? Who else could be available as the season goes on?

I guess as long as the team keeps playing like they are and maintains their first-place standings, maybe the questions about starting pitching depth become moot. If they start to skid or fall in the standings, how much patience will the new management team exhibit?

Only 141 more games left, you guys.