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Dodgers Nation Roundtable: Predicting The 2015 NLDS Roster

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand):



Starting Pitchers: Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Brett Anderson, Alex Wood

Relief Pitchers: Kenley Jansen, Chris Hatcher, Luis Avilan, J.P. Howell, Juan Nicasio, Yimi Garcia, Pedro Baez

Position Players: Yasmani Grandal, A.J. Ellis, Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Kiké Hernandez, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Justin Ruggiano

I choose to go with 11 pitchers on the roster and 14 position players for a pretty simple reason — Kershaw and Greinke go deep into games, so there is no need for an extra reliever.

The four starting pitchers were a given, and back of the bullpen pieces like Jansen, Hatcher, Avilan, Nicasio and Howell were also a given. So that left two relief spots that I decided to give to the young guns, Baez and Garcia over Jim Johnson and Joel Peralta.

While Johnson and Peralta have the experience, Baez and Garcia have pitched well down the stretch, and I would rather have hot pitchers than experienced ones. I also believe that Baez will learn from his playoff experience last season.

Picking position players was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Many have been key contributors down the stretch, so that adds to the decision to only have 11 pitchers and 14 position players.

But when looking at the guys that I left off (Alex Guerrero, Scott Schebler, Chris Heisey and Ronald Torreyes), none of them really bring anything to the table that players already on the roster don’t. Scott Van Slyke is injured and most likely won’t be ready for the series, so I subbed in another right-handed outfield bat, Ruggiano for him.

Ruggiano has been a pleasant surprise since coming to the Dodgers, and he has absolutely crushed left-handed pitching. So I could see him being used as a pinch-hitter when the Mets bring in a lefty late in the game to face Ethier or Crawford.

Matt Borelli (@DodgersIn2015):

Starting Pitchers: Brett Anderson, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Alex Wood

Relief Pitchers: Luis Avilan, Pedro Baez, Yimi Garcia, Chris Hatcher, J.P. Howell, Kenley Jansen, Juan Nicasio

Position Players: Carl Crawford, A.J. Ellis, Andre Ethier, Adrian Gonzalez, Yasmani Grandal, Kiké Hernandez, Howie Kendrick, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Jimmy Rollins, Justin Ruggiano, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Chase Utley

The two players that just missed my projected roster are Jose Peraza and Scott Van Slyke because of their respective injuries. Others such as, Jim Johnson and Joel Peralta were left off because of their overall performance from the regular season.

Ideally, Van Slyke’s presence on the roster would’ve allowed Puig to rest his hamstring for another week or two until the NLCS begins (assuming the Dodgers advance), but it isn’t the end of the world either way. It’s a small sample size, but Ruggiano tore the cover off the ball in September while Van Slyke did not, which is another reason why I left him off.

For the rest of the roster, everything is in place perfectly. The entire pitching staff is healthy, along with the catchers and infield (minus Peraza). Though each projected starting pitcher for the Mets is right-handed, the Dodgers have a nice blend of left-and-right-handed bats off the bench and can matchup with any reliever during the late innings.

Stacie Wheeler (@OrganicallyRude):

Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Brett Anderson, Alex Wood

Relief Pitchers: Kenley Jansen, Chris Hatcher, Luis Avilan, J.P. Howell, Pedro Baez, Juan Nicasio, Joel Peralta

Position Players: Adrian Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick, Justin Turner, Corey Seager, A.J. Ellis, Yasmani Grandal, Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig, Jimmy Rollins, Kiké Hernandez, Chase Utley, Justin Ruggiano

Last year the Dodgers brought 12 pitchers and 13 position players to the NLDS, but this year I predict that they will instead bring one less pitcher on the premise that Kershaw and Greinke have been so dominant, the bullpen is much improved from last year, and many of the position players have been battling late season injuries.

Scott Van Slyke’s wrist injury opened up a NLDS roster spot for Puig. Even off the bench, the Cuban native has more upside than Chris Heisey. Ruggiano, who could be an important late inning pinch-hitter against left-handed pitching versus the Mets, also earned himself a spot after a fantastic September.

Although I contemplated leaving off Ruggiano, Puig or Utley in favor of relievers Yimi Garcia or Carlos Frias, in the short best-of-five division series, the Dodgers won’t need a long reliever or fifth starter.

If Kershaw should be asked to pitch on three days’ rest in Game 4, Alex Wood could be available to pitch in long relief if necessary. Peralta’s improvement in September earns him a roster spot, while Alex Guerrero will be left off the list in favor of Utley, who proved to very capable at third base.

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