Although the 2024 MLB regular season begins on March 28 for most teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will get a head start on this year’s campaign under the world microscope with a series in Seoul on March 20 and 21.
This will be an interesting matchup, as the Dodgers went full-in to land Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and others, while the Padres dealt superstar Juan Soto to the Yankees, seemingly to avoid a payroll crunch.
The early Vegas predictions are in full swing already, with the Dodgers once again running away as the early season favorite. Most avid baseball fans know this doesn’t mean much, but as the MLB favorite, the Dodgers always seem to have a tag on their backs regardless of which team they play, often evening the odds against some of the league’s worst clubs.
Of course, the Dodgers always seem to prove that they’re among the top two or three teams in the regular season only to fall flat on their faces in the playoffs. As fans, we can analyze all the preseason and regular season stats we want, but they never give us an idea how a club will perform in October and beyond.
Regardless, it’s still interesting to see how some of the pundits view the 2024 regular season before the first pitch is thrown. SportsLine always has some of the most accurate analysts, and here is how they are lining things up so far:
- Los Angeles Dodgers +320
- Atlanta Braves +450
- Houston Astros +700
- New York Yankees +800
- Texas Rangers +1400
- Philadelphia Phillies +1500
- Baltimore Orioles +1500
And while some may consider these odds a shot in the dark, computer-generated numbers like ZiPS always seem to end up being even more inaccurate. Still, it’s fun to use the ZiPS projections as a sign of what’s to come, based on the logic of each player’s past performances.
Interestingly, ZiPS has a whopping seven players on the Dodgers hitting at least 20 long balls this year.
Here’s how ZiPS has everything stacked up for the most notable sluggers on the Dodgers:
It’s also worth noting that ZiPS has both Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor only playing in a little over 100 games each, logging eight and 13 homers, respectively. Another interesting stat is Ohtani tallying just 80 walks, which might be accurate, depending on how skipper Dave Roberts builds the batting order around him.
Whatever the case may be, we already know that the Dodgers will be among the top run producers in the MLB. The bigger question is whether they’ll be able to do the same in the 2024 postseason.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
It will be fascinating to watch. The pitching staff with Paxton who if healthy is as good as anyone. The last quarter with hopefully Kershaw and May able to contribute. The young arms able to eat innings and be competitive. The offense. Can’t wait
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Kinda looks to me like ZiPS was mistakenly figuring Shohei would hit in the 3 hole behind Mookie and Freddie. They have Freddie who, it seems, will actually be hitting 3rd with the 4th most RBI on the team. That makes no sense to me. I would expect him to have the most RBI with either Mookie or Shohei (or both) on base for a great number of his at bats.
Max has looked great this spring, both at bat and in the field. Hope he can keep that up.
Lux certainly hasn’t forgotten how to hit but we’ll have to see about his ability to play shortstop effectively.
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Lux’s play during the first half will determine whether the Dodgers go after a superstar SS at the trade deadline.
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What superstar shortstop would be available at the deadline?
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Maybe superstar was the wrong word. I was thinking more along the lines of a significant upgrade, depending on how Lux performs.
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If Lux can’t hack it defensively, they might just have enough offense without him to put Rojas back in there every day.
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If you think about Muncy and Lux at their worst defensively, the left side of the infield can be a nightmare.
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I prefer to think of them at their best defensively……………………….which just makes it a bad dream instead of a nightmare. 🙂
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That’s a good assessment.
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The left side could be a defensive nightmare. But Liz was SS in high school and the minors. I would give him the benefit of the doubt and give him several months to get acclimated again. His bat can be a difference maker. Muncy has looked good at 3rd.
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I think Lux will be fine at SS and he certainly can hit. The lineup doesn’t have many weak spots depending on Barnes, Taylor and Rojas. This team could set modern records for wins and next year’s team has the potential tobe better with Ohtani. May and Gonsolin coming back from surgery.
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Lux has played exactly 7 games this spring, 4 of them as a SS. I have watched almost every game and only seen the ball hit to him a couple of times. Other than that, he was the DH. I do not think anyone at this point can make a judgement as to how well or bad he is going to play the position. Giolitto likely out for the year, dodged a bullet there.
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