The 2024 Dodgers Pitching Staff is a Disaster -

“Is a sweep coming?

Oh there’s a sweep coming and it’s not against Atlanta this week. Last year I called the Dodgers season over around June. So many people told me I was crazy. Or that I was “performing”. My analysis was so simple. “when was the last time any team had won a World Series with no starting pitching”? I asked. Still people argued with me. “But they have no starting pitching” I stated. Going into the playoffs they still had no starting pitching and they were swept.

Nothing has changed. This year the Dodger’s pitching staff is a national disaster, and it’s not due to bad luck. (sorry Bluto).

This time, I will make my case with numbers to back this up. Let’s dive into this.

The Dodgers pitching staff ranks 13th in ERA

The Dodger’s starting pitching ranks 18th in ERA

The Dodgers have just two pitchers log over 100 innings (Glasnow and Stone)

The Dodgers have just two starters make 20 starts or more (Glasnow and Stone)

The pitcher with the third most innings registered is no longer with the club (Paxton 89)

The Dodger’s staff ranks 18th in Strikeouts (1235)

The Dodgers staff walks too many batters (536 third in MLB)

The Dodgers staff gives up too many home runs (205 third in MLB)

Dodgers have the sixth worst BAA (.254)

The starters are 24th in innings pitched.

Dodger relievers have pitched 576.1 innings this year.

Let’s dive deeper.

There are 5 aspects to pitching (IMO)

velocity

spin

location

length

efficiency

We know the Dodgers never have length. And they don’t have efficiency either. Some of the guys throw hard, but spin is seriously lacking this year. According to Baseball Savant the Dodgers have just one pitcher in the top 50 in spin rate on four-seamers (Vesia). They have 3 on the curve (Yamamoto, Ryan, Knack). They have none in the top 50 on sliders. They do have 4 in the top 50 in movement (Vesia, Knack, Kopech, Wrobleski)

So let’s recap. The Dodger pitchers don’t go deep into games. They Don’t pitch efficiently (way too many 3-ball counts), very few have spin or movement on their pitches, and they struggle with location (way too many walks). Even worse, they give up a boatload of runs in the first inning (5.11 ERA).

Does this look like a championship caliber pitching staff? This is the third consecutive season they are heading into the playoffs with almost no starting pitching and a tired bullpen. Is this the way to win a World Series?

The Dodgers just announced Tyler Glasnow is unlikely to return this year, and it’s probably the same for Gavin Stone. I don’t know what the solution is, but they can’t continue acquiring injury riddled pitchers. Health and innings count. The Dodgers doubled down on load management this year and it was a trainwreck. They have almost an entire roster of pitchers on the injured list. There has to be a change in strategy and development. Are you guys ok with this exact same result (early playoff exit, or sweep) again next year?

I’ll say it again, since when has a team with no starting pitching ever won a World Series?