Three reasons why the superteam Dodgers are not the best in baseball

In many ways, the Dodgers are right where we all expected them to be two months into the season. 

They’ve led the National League West since April 1. Shohei Ohtani, focusing only on hitting while he recovers from elbow surgery, quickly settled in after the gambling scandal and has the fourth-highest OPS (.988) in MLB. Mookie Betts’ OPS (.927) ranks seventh and Freddie Freeman’s (.876) is 15th. The pitching staff, for all its injuries, has the third-best ERA (3.22) in the sport.

Why, then, don’t the Dodgers (38-23, .623), despite winning five of six, have the best record in baseball?

That title recently belonged to the Phillies (41-19, .683), the NL East division leader starving for a championship and competing like nothing — certainly not the injury-impaired Braves — will stop them. Then there’s the Yankees (42-19, .689), powered by the lethal hitting combination of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge and thriving in spite of ace Gerrit Cole being sidelined since March. Just behind New York is the Guardians (39-20, .661) and the Orioles (37-20, .649), leaving four major-league teams winning at a higher clip than Los Angeles.

Ohtani believes the Dodgers’ offense, which ranks second in MLB behind the Yankees, has perhaps been impacted by the club’s wonky travel slate.

“Sure, right now it’s a little bit challenging in terms of the schedule, the time changes, the time differences,” the Japanese superstar said recently at Citi Field. “But what we can do is make sure that we turn the page and just focus on the next game.” 

The Dodgers did, after all, start their season in Korea. Just this past weekend, Dave Roberts’ California club had a three-game homestand sandwiched in between a pair of six-game road trips played exclusively in the Eastern Time Zone. But, the baseball calendar is out of the Dodgers’ control. What they can address are a few vulnerabilities that are not only holding them back from flashing MLB’s best record, but could even prevent them from winning a championship.

So, let’s examine three key reasons why the superteam Dodgers are falling short of being the best team in baseball.

1. The 6-9 hitters (and outfielders) aren’t pulling their weight

Unfortunately for Dodgers fans, the lack of production from the bottom of the lineup could very well be the reason for their downfall. Here are their current OPS marks listed by the spot in the order, followed by MLB ranking.

1: .916 (2nd)
2: .995 (2nd)
3: .850 (4th)
4: .853 (3rd)
5: .828 (4th)
6: .644 (15th)
7: .559 (26th)
8: .577 (25th)
9: .598 (16th)

While the Dodgers’ Big 4 in Betts, Ohtani, Freeman and Will Smith are among the best hitters in the game, this isn’t the NBA. It’s fair to question whether that quartet can carry the offense on its own. Collectively, the 6-9 hitters in the Dodgers’ batting order have a .206 batting average (27th in MLB), .268 OBP (27th), .346 slugging (24th), .595 OPS (26th), 247 strikeouts (7th-most in MLB) and .223 batting average with runners in scoring position (20th). Rookie Andy Pages stabilized the bottom of the lineup for a while, but he has since cooled off, and now the production is lopsided again.

Los Angeles is seeing firsthand that one of the biggest reasons the team is not competing at the same level as the Phillies and Yankees is because of the huge drop-off in quality bats from the bottom of the lineup. But take an even closer look, and the problem lies in the complete absence of production from Dodgers outfielders. L.A.’s outfield unit has a .216 batting average (27th in MLB), .284 OBP (29th), .371 slugging (17th), .655 OPS (21st), .172 average with two outs (30th), .199 average with runners on base (30th), 143 runs produced (T-26th) and 1.08 strikeouts per game (most in MLB).

Teoscar Hernández (131 wRC+) has been their most consistent outfielder at the plate, and thus holds the highest fWAR (1.4) outside the Big 4. But the Dodgers desperately need better offensive results from players patrolling the grass.

2. They’re inconsistent with RISP

How any given team will perform with runners in scoring position is difficult to forecast. There’s no real way to configure a lineup to be certain it will be effective when there’s traffic on the bases. Nonetheless, being successful with runners on is one of the most important aspects of the game. As history shows, hitting with RISP is typically the mark of a good team. The last nine champions all ranked in the top eight in OPS with RISP. Five of those eight teams ranked in the top two. 

The Dodgers haven’t been outside the top five in OPS with RISP since 2018, but they’re well below that mark one-third into the 2024 season. Los Angeles’ .729 OPS and .252 batting average with RISP ranks 15th and 16th in the majors, respectively. The Dodgers can only begin capitalizing with runners on second and/or third base when the aforementioned bottom half of the lineup starts producing. But their struggles in those clutch situations are scattered and team-wide. Just last weekend, the Dodgers suffered an 0-17 stretch with RISP while being swept by the Reds.

Hitting with RISP isn’t necessarily the end-all in determining a team’s offensive strength. But we know that it makes a difference, particularly for clubs that wind up going to the World Series.

3. They’re average once they fall behind

On top of the issues at the bottom of the lineup, the Dodgers’ bullpen is only helping to widen the gap. L.A.’s relief corps has allowed 25 home runs this season, tied for the third-most in the National League. Having a mercurial bullpen that’s vulnerable to the long ball only puts more pressure on the offense to put up a crooked number, which has proven to be a difficult task with so many below-average bats in the lineup.

The Dodgers are 10-20 (.333) when the opponent scores first, which is tied for 14th in MLB. On the flip side, they’re 28-3 (.903) when they score first, which is the majors’ best winning percentage. But, again, due in part to that volatile bullpen, the club is 1-12 (.077) when it scores two runs or less. So far, the Dodgers have struggled even more when falling behind on the road. They’re 4-10 (.286) when allowing three runs or more away from Chavez Ravine, which ranks 19th. 

With all of that being said, some of these points can be considered nitpicking. The Dodgers are very good in almost every area, and barring a major collapse, they will make the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year. But how deep they can go into October could largely depend on cleaning up some of these weaknesses. The Dodgers, after recording yet another 100-win season and spending over a billion on offseason additions, are facing immense pressure to win a championship. When the stakes are that high, lofty expectations often come with scrutiny. 

The Dodgers must address their sore spots — before it’s, again, too late.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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