BUILT NOT BOUGHT

Evan Davis

I have been a Dodger fan my whole life, and watching them beat the life out of some of these teams this season has got me thinking, “How did the Dodgers get so damn good”. Now look, I said I have been a fan my whole life, so I definitely do remember when the team was subpar in the early 10’s and only made the playoffs one time from 2010-2014. But as of right now, the Dodgers are currently 51 GAMES ABOVE .500.

In October of 2014, the Dodgers hired Andrew Friedman as President of Baseball Operations and since then, the Dodgers have won 8 of the last 9 division titles and have the best record in the MLB in that stretch. Prior to Friedman’s arrival, the Dodgers had made the playoffs once in the past four seasons.

Let us assess the talent that Andrew Friedman has brought to the Dodgers via the draft. In 2015, he selected Walker Buehler in the first round out of Vanderbilt. In 2016, he selected Gavin Lux and Will Smith in the first round.

You look at the trades he has made during his tenure with the team; acquiring Brusdar Graterol, Mookie Betts, and David Price at the deadline in 2019. All of these players now play a huge role in the team's success, as they captured a World Series in 2020.

The 2020 trade deadline was a big one for the Dodgers, as they sent top pitching and catching prospects, Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz to the Nationals in exchange for ace Max Scherzer and the best shortstop in baseball, Trea Turner.

Some complain about the “superteam” that the Dodgers created, but those should be commending the work of the Dodgers organization because even with the club being the best team in baseball, they carry the SECOND BEST farm system.

Yes, the team that has the best record in the MLB currently has 7 prospects within the top 100, which includes a top 10 prospect in all of baseball, Diego Cartaya. This allows them to make trades for superstar level players, like Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, and Max Scherzer.

The Dodgers have also done a phenomenal job of retooling players they acquire via sign or trade. Alex Vesia, a prominent piece in the Dodgers bullpen, was acquired from Miami for Dylan Floro. When the Dodgers got Vesia, he had a 18.69 ERA. Since coming to the Dodgers, his ERA hasn’t even come close to 3.00. Another example would be Evan Phillips, who is quietly becoming one of the game's best relievers.

Phillips has found a home in LA, after short stints in Atlanta and Baltimore. Phillips' ERA prior to coming to LA was constantly up in the 6’s, but this season, his ERA is 1.24 and his opponents are batting .141 against him. He also has 58 K’s in 51 innings pitched along with a .71 WHIP. All the success of Dodgers pitching comes down to one man, Mark Prior, who has allowed for this team to continuously compete.

Having money is also a big necessity, and the Dodgers are lucky enough to have owners who don’t mind digging into the luxury tax. That allowed them to go out and sign Freddie Freeman to a 6 year deal this past offseason, after losing Corey Seager to a 10 year deal to Texas.

Even with all the superstar talent, the Dodgers have managed a solid depth core that includes the likes of Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, Cody Bellinger, Joey Gallo, Austin Barnes and Trayce Thompson. Pitching wise, the Dodgers have built an unbelievable rotation/bullpen that has still managed to be 1st in the MLB even with Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, and Andrew Heaney all missing extensive time.

With all that being said, the Dodgers have only managed one World Series victory back in 2020, but I believe this team has the capabilities to win it all this year, even with Walker Buehler out. You need depth to win in this league and I believe that the Dodgers, both on pitching and on offense, carry the best depth heading into October.