The NLDS starts on October 3rd, which is less than a week away! We are still waiting to find out who the Dodgers will be facing off with, which is between the Washington Nationals and the runner-up of the NL Central, which has come down to the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals. There are only 3 games left and we still have a few question marks heading into the postseason.
1. How healthy is Rich Hill?
Rich Hill has arguably been the Dodgers most consistent postseason pitcher since being acquired back in 2016. After being shut down on June 19 with a flexor tendon strain, Hill managed to return on a very tight pitch count against Baltimore. Unfortunately in the first inning, Hill experienced a knee sprain to the same knee that shut him down for approximately 4 weeks early in the season. 12 days later, Rich Hill was back on the mound against the Padres where he went 2 innings, struck out 5 batters, walked 2, and did not allow a hit. He even hit a double and made it standing up to 2nd base. Hill is scheduled to start on the last day of the season against the Giants, where he will likely be limited to no more than 3 innings. This leaves us all wondering if Rich Hill will make the postseason roster, will that knee hold up, and if all is well then what type of pitch count would he be on?
2. Who will start Game 4 if necessary?
Right now we have to figure none of Kershaw, Ryu, or Buehler would pitch on short rest leaving the Dodgers a lot of options but nobody truly ready to pitch deep into a Game 4 situation. It could be Rich Hill, but as mentioned before, we don’t know the exact status of his health or pitch count. Ross Stripling is someone they could lean to. Stripling has made 3 starts in September with a 2.77 ERA this month and only one bad outing against the Padres where he allowed 3 runs. Stripling hasn’t pitched past 3 innings since July 24, which would likely set up a bullpen game. Tony Gonsolin has really been impressive as a rookie by showing off a 3.00 ERA over 39 innings. Gonsolin has only made 1 start in September by pitching 4 innings. He has been coming out of the bullpen recently, which makes us think that that could be his new role. Dustin May is the other candidate; however, it appears the Dodgers are starting to prepare him into becoming a setup man.
3. How hurt is Joe Kelly?
The Dodgers setup man has been a force in the 2nd half, but he has suffered a lower body injury that nobody is quite sure where it is, how bad it is, and how it’ll impact his performance except for Joe Kelly himself. Kelly is set to make one more appearance for the Dodgers in the regular season. He hasn’t made an appearance since September 18 with only 4.1 innings under his belt this entire month. It is a little scary not knowing if your top setup relief option will be himself.
4. Should we worry about Justin Turner?
September has not been a kind month to the Dodgers 3rd baseman. Between the ankle injury and the lower back tightness, Turner has seen really limited action. He’s only appeared in 9 total games this month with 1 Home Run and a .185 batting average. Turner is one of the most important catalysts to this Dodgers lineup. If he’s unable to get it going, it will require other guys to really step up, which is a big ask when you look at how successful Justin Turner has hit in prior postseasons. In 19 NLDS games, Turner has put together a monster .429 batting average with 15 RBIs.
5. Will the rookie hitters get out of their slump?
In all likelihood the Dodgers will be starting 2 rookies in their lineup, one at catcher and one at 2nd base. Arguably their top pinch hitter is a rookie as well. Dave Roberts is determined to make Will Smith the Dodgers starting catcher in the postseason, but Smith is batting .196 over his last 30 games and .137 over his last 15 games. He’s hit 7 Home Runs in that 30-day span, but continues to strikeout at a large clip of 32%. There’s a lot that is asked from the rookie, but will he be able to prove he can hit high caliber pitching once more? The Dodgers were ready to hand the 2nd base job over to Gavin Lux, but the rookie has fallen into a slump by being 3 for his last 23 (.130) and striking out 11 times (48%). The 21 year-old showed us he is the real deal, but hitting playoff pitchers is tougher than AAA pitching. It’ll be interesting to see if the Dodgers hitting staff can help Lux make some adjustments quickly. Finally, a rookie that we thought was a must have on the postseason roster has also fallen into a huge slump. Matt Beaty is 5 for his last 29 (.172). The good news is he’s hardly striking out, but there appears some fierce competition with another rookie who’s been hot recently, Edwin Rios, who has a .320 batting average over his last 15 games with 4 Home Runs. So do the Dodgers, stick with the guy who got called up first and had some clutch hits, or do they roll with the hot bat?
What are your biggest question marks heading into the postseason?
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