The Dodgers have essentially announced their starting rotation for the 2020 season. Barring any unforeseen injuries (knock on wood) the rotation should be Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, David Price, with Julio Urias and Alex Wood rounds out the backend of the rotation. Dave Roberts has already announced that Clayton Kershaw will make the opening day start for the hundredth time. That is fine by me. After hearing the announcement of the proposed rotation I was thinking about how the Dodgers are relying heavily on Urias and Wood.
Urias is young and talented and should be fine. However Wood is coming off an injury riddled season in 2019, and if anything happens to Wood, the depth behind him is somewhat thin. Dustin May has been battling nagging injuries all spring and is slated to start the season in Oklahoma City. Tony Gonsolin is good, but the Dodgers view him as more of a reliever than a starter. They are likely to need him in the bullpen anyways. Jimmy Nelson is reportedly nearing pitching in actual games, but has not been healthy in years. After Nelson, the depth drops off considerably and I don’t know who would be able to start if someone got hurt.
#KershawDay @ClaytonKersh22 is your 2020 Opening Day starter. pic.twitter.com/kxICF5XIN1
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 9, 2020
Ross Stripling is a possibility. After Strip, maybe they would look at someone like Josiah Gray? Another possibility is Mitchell White, or Dennis Santana? I don’t know, but let’s pray that Wood stays healthy this year. He’s looked good this spring and tossed 3.1 innings of one-run ball while notching four strikeouts in Monday’s win over the Padres. Apparently he was using driveline (along with Kershaw and Kenley Jansen) in the offseason to improve his pitching mechanics. I don’t know if any of that helped, but health in general is going to be key for the Dodger’s pitching staff this season.
