2015 Spotlight: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the 2015 as heavy favorites to win the division. Their elite front-end of the rotation and well-rounded lineup make for a team that looks like a lock to make deep postseason push. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that things can’t go wrong from now until October, but many teams envy the position that the Dodgers are currently in.

Outfielder Yasiel Puig headlines the offensive side of the team, with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and newcomers Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick setting the table at the top of the lineup. With a strong veteran presence to get on base and big boppers knocking them in, this lineup could be filthy. 

Get ready for more Puig bat flips in 2015. 

As far as pitching goes, they have some guy named Clayton Kershaw winning MVP and Cy Young awards left and right. He even gave the rest of the league a four-week head start last year and still managed to take home both trophies. Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu (when he comes off of the disabled list) are also above-average strikeout machines at the top of the starting five. If this team puts it all together, it would be tough to bet against them as NL favorites.

Who to watch: Watch Kershaw whenever you can. He is the best pitcher of my generation and seems to improve every season. As the most dominant starter in baseball, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him lead the league in ERA (2.15), strikeouts (255), wins (21) and jaws dropped (too many to count). 

No putting out the fire that is Kershaw.

Let me put it this way, would you pass up an opportunity to watch Pedro Martinez in his prime? How about Randy Johnson? Or what about Tom Glavine? Well Kershaw has a lower ERA than all three of those players when they were his age, and they were voted into the Hall of Fame last year. Don’t miss out, folks.

Sleeper: Top-prospect Joc Pederson has been named the everyday centerfielder by Manager Don Mattingly. Though he may have big shoes to fill after the team traded fan-favorite Matt Kemp over the offseason, Pederson is looking ready for the challenge. 

Pederson: the baby-face of the future.

He had a dominant slash line of .303/.435/.582 at the AAA level in 2014, and has a .367/.397/.750 line so far this spring. Those gaudy numbers indicate a young player on the cusp of stardom.

Bust: The weakest link on this team is the gaping, expensive hole in left field. Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier are pegged to earn a combined $39.4 million in 2015. Not only are they expensive, but neither can seem to stay healthy for the duration of the season. 

California's most expensive high-five.

The Dodgers already boast the highest payroll in baseball, but are willing to eat a substantial portion of that allowance in a trade for either player. Look for that to happen around the trade deadline in July if one or both start showing any sort of worth.

Another addition to the Kershaw's pile of trophies.

Bold prediction: Three different Dodgers bring home an award at the end of this season; Pederson for Rookie of the Year, Kershaw for Cy Young and Puig for MVP. The least likely of these three is Puig, in which case I would bet Kershaw could bring home that accolade on top of his Cy Young. One thing is certain, they should start looking for bigger trophy cases in Los Angeles.