MLB Power Rankings: Will Dodgers’ shaky rotation last until the playoffs? Plus who replaces L.A. at No. 1
After two weeks at the top, the Dodgers have stumbled and myriad questions about the rotation remain
Sep 16, 2024
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8:44 am ET
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1 min read
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Let’s take a walk back to Feb. 12. That was the day my pre-spring training power rankings dropped. Many people believed the Dodgers were an obvious No. 1 to enter the season because of how much money they spent in the offseason to add talent to their already immensely talented ballclub.
I wasn’t overly bold in moving them down, but I had them No. 2. And I explained at great length that the concerns were in the starting rotation. Specifically, the lack of health and all the question marks. How would they ever piece the season together with their starting pitching?
Well, they are doing it, but it’s unfolding pretty similarly to how I’d foreseen it. The Dodgers are in first place in the NL West and are overwhelmingly likely to win the division, having a 3 1/2-game lead with two weeks to play.
They also have seven starting pitchers on the injured list. Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, River Ryan and Emmet Sheehan aren’t coming back this season. We found out over the weekend that Tyler Glasnow is very likely also on that list. Gavin Stone has started a throwing program to work his way back, but it’s a shoulder injury. Those are so tricky. Clayton Kershaw’s timeline is unknown as he looks to hopefully return from a bone spur in his big toe.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto will make his second start since returning from the injured list on Monday. He only lasted four innings in his first start. That was a shoulder injury too.
Walker Buehler is 1-5 with a 5.95 ERA and 1.64 WHIP. Bobby Miller is 2-4 with an 8.17 ERA. Rookie righty Landon Knack hasn’t been bad, but he’s inconsistent.
That leaves trade deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty, who has been good but not great.
The Dodgers will be hoping for things to break right the rest of the way with Yamamoto, Stone, Kershaw, Buehler and Miller. There’s still a chance three of that group, along with Flaherty, will make for a very good playoff rotation. They might even win the World Series.
It’s just that it’s hard to be confident in that playoff rotation coming together in positive fashion in these final two weeks, given the way the entire season to this point has gone.
Basically, all those question marks we discussed in the spring remain question marks.
Biggest Movers
Rk
Teams
Chg
Rcrd
1
Phillies
Once a team gets its magic number lower than the lead in the division (by games), it’s pretty much over. As such, that late comeback Saturday over the Mets very likely sealed the deal.
1
90-59
2
Yankees
The Great Judge Home Run Drought is over!
1
87-63
3
Brewers
Jackson Chourio became the youngest to ever reach the 20-20 plateau this past week, barely beating out Mike Trout and Vada Pinson.
1
86-63
4
Dodgers
It’s certainly possible for them to scrape together a playoff rotation and then win the World Series. It’s not like we’ve necessarily seen staffs full of aces in the Fall Classic these last several seasons.
3
88-61
5
Guardians
It’s gotten lost in the shuffle with monster seasons from others, but José Ramírez has an outside shot at 40-40. He’s one stolen base and five homers away. The only other players to ever even go 30-30 in Cleveland franchise history were Joe Carter (1987) and Grady Sizemore (2008). Ramírez also did it in 2018.
1
86-64
6
Padres
It is very unlikely they can pull off the NL West title, but it remains possible. Zero in on that schedule. This coming weekend, the Padres get the White Sox three times. Sweep that and then they’ll get three chances in Dodger Stadium to take care of business on their own.
2
85-65
7
Diamondbacks
Since they got really hot, it has felt like the Diamondbacks were safely in the playoffs and, if anything, were fighting for seeding. Things are still a little tenuous, though, as they are only two up on both the Mets and Braves. How cruel would it be if the D-backs missed the playoffs with 90ish wins after making a World Series run with 84 last season?
—
83-66
8
Orioles
Fresh off a 2-4 week, at least the Orioles get to head home. I suppose the mantra has to be to keep the AL East margin within three games before next week’s trip to New York City. It’s exactly three right now.
3
84-66
9
Astros
As he continues to re-acclimate himself after a three-plus month absence, Kyle Tucker had two hits Thursday and a home run Saturday.
2
81-68
10
Royals
Remember when Matt Harvey refused to come out of the game and the Royals stormed back, including an excellent baserunning play at third base by Eric Hosmer. Of course the K.C. faithful remember that! It was Game 5 of the 2015 World Series. I bring this up because it was the most recent playoff game that featured the Royals. Barring an epic collapse, that is about to change.
—
82-68
11
Mets
The names do not immediately scream “ace,” but it’s gotten to the point that Sean Manaea and David Peterson have to be considered a pair of frontline starters heading toward the playoffs.
2
81-68
12
Braves
Fascinating free agency coming up for Max Fried. He’ll be 31 next year and has dealt with several injuries the past two seasons. We’ve seen the ace upside, though. I wouldn’t expect a Braves extension, so it should be a fun rumor season.
—
81-68
13
Tigers
Give the Tigers a ton of credit for getting right into this AL wild-card race. They have a huge week in front of them, with three games in Kansas City before three in Baltimore. If they can emerge in good shape, that final week looks to provide a soft landing with the Rays and White Sox visiting Detroit.
1
77-73
14
Mariners
When a team narrowly misses the playoffs — and it looks like things are headed that way again — we can look back at head-to-head matchups and see where wins were left on the table. The Mariners went 5-8 against the Angels and lost two of three to the Marlins. They definitely want some of those 10 losses back.
1
77-73
15
Twins
On Saturday night, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis were all in the Twins lineup together. This is news because it was the first time this happened since July 2. The Twins do have big upside if they could just keep everyone healthy. It just doesn’t feel like they can pull off the health part at this point.
2
79-70
16
Cubs
Late in April, I pointed out that the Cubs had already blown four games that they should have won, pointing out that it could come back to bite them. They are five games out of a playoff spot right now. I make this point not to toot my own horn but to illustrate how much the early-season games can matter, even if it feels by now like they didn’t.
—
76-73
17
Red Sox
Tyler O’Neill has 31 homers and 61 RBI. The lowest RBI total for a 30-plus HR season is 59 (Curtis Granderson in 2016, Jedd Gyorko in 2016, Kyle Schwarber in 2017 and Cedric Mullins in 2021). Before this season, there had only been 19 instances of a player topping 30 homers and not getting to 70 RBI.
1
75-75
18
Cardinals
The Cardinals have gone 2-6 in Erick Fedde starts since acquiring him in front of the trade deadline.
1
74-75
19
Reds
Encouraging stuff from Rhett Lowder so far, giving the Reds a ton of young rotation talent moving into 2025. Now can they get full, healthy, consistent seasons from Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott behind Hunter Greene?
3
73-78
20
Blue Jays
Bowden Francis has now taken a no-hitter into the ninth inning twice. In his last six outings, he has a 1.26 ERA, but perhaps more impressive? He’s only allowed 13 hits in 43 innings.
3
72-78
21
Rays
The Rays last had a losing season in 2017, at 80-82. That means we’re about to see the worst Rays record since 2016.
1
73-77
22
Giants
On Sunday, the Giants scored a run in the sixth inning. That normally wouldn’t be news, but it broke a 32-inning scoreless streak, the fourth-longest in franchise history. That’s a franchise that goes back to 1883.
1
72-78
23
Pirates
In the Wild Card era (1995-present), here’s a list of rookies with at least 150 strikeouts and an ERA below 2.50: Jose Fernandez, Paul Skenes. That’s it, as long as Skenes keeps that 2.10 ERA low enough.
1
71-78
24
Rangers
It was really cool seeing Kumar Rocker and Jacob deGrom start back-to-back nights, both throwing well.
5
71-79
25
Nationals
Youngster James Wood hit two homers on Sunday for the first multi-homer game of his career. He’s shown a lot of great signs here in the second half as a 21 year old and looks like a future star.
—
68-81
26
Athletics
Win a series over the Astros and then lose one to the White Sox. Sure, why not? Our baseball is a fickle game.
—
65-85
27
Angels
The Angels haven’t finished in last place since 1999, if you can believe that. They are headed that way here in 2024.
—
60-89
28
Rockies
Catcher Hunter Goodman had a seven-RBI game on Friday. It was only the second time in history a Rockies catcher pulled off such a feat (Elias Díaz did so in 2022).
1
57-93
29
Marlins
Xavier Edwards is showing some promise. Through 59 games this season, the diminutive switch hitter has a .324 average, .395 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases. He’s only 25 and could be a foundational piece.
1
55-95
30
White Sox
The win Saturday night, which the White Sox tried to blow, snapped a 16-game home losing streak. And then they won again on Sunday!
—
35-115
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