From a distance, the Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be entering the 2024 MLB playoffs as a potential juggernaut: the best record in baseball, the best run differential, the best offense of any remaining team and stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.
Upon further inspection, though, there's a real weakness on the roster -- one that the team has tried to address all year and still hasn't solved: the starting rotation. L.A. switched up its pitching plans in the days leading up to the National League Division Series opener against the San Diego Padres, swapping ace Jack Flaherty and offseason addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto so that Yamamoto could pitch on ideal rest in Game 5 of the NLDS, if necessary (though he looked shaky in his postseason debut, allowing five runs in 3 innings). But the Dodgers' biggest questions go beyond the two pitchers who would open the series.
When the Dodgers hit the road for Game 3, the real fun will begin. Walker Buehler is the likely Game 3 starter, but no one is really sure what to expect from him -- in 16 starts since he returned from rehabbing a 2022 Tommy John surgery, he has a 5.38 ERA and minus-0.2 WAR this season. And after Buehler? Well, that's where it gets really wild.
If you haven't followed the Dodgers closely this year, you might be wondering whether that decision is so tough because of the pitchers we haven't mentioned yet. But the real problem is because of the list of Dodgers not available to pitch due to injury (deep breath): Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, River Ryan, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Tony Gonsolin, Nick Frasso and (the aptly named) Kyle Hurt. That's two full big league rotations worth of injured starting pitchers.
On top of all of those injuries, last year's breakout rookie star, Bobby Miller (22 starts, 3.76 ERA, 2.8 WAR, 99.1 mph average fastball in 2023) was so bad this year (13 starts, 8.52 ERA, minus-0.9 WAR, 97.8 mph average fastball in 2024) that he was optioned to the minors last month. He didn't make the NLDS roster.
What can the dominant Dodgers expect to get out of their starters the rest of the way? Can they win a World Series with half of their postseason games started by question marks? Let's take a deeper look by breaking down some of the pitchers who could ultimately decide the Dodgers' postseason fate.