Breaking Down the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2024 Starting Rotation Ahead of Opening Day

Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are expected to hold things down for the Los Angeles Dodgers while Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Dustin May are injured.

The 2024 MLB regular season is about to begin, and that means it's time for every club to lock down its top five starting pitchers.

The Los Angeles Dodgers probably have the most stacked roster baseball has seen in years, and their pitching staff is no exception. Even with the mountain of injuries they're facing, plenty of high-level talent remains in their starting rotation, including some major offseason additions and former top prospects.

Here is a quick preview of how Los Angeles' starting pitching will look in 2024:

1. Tyler Glasnow, RHP
2023 Stats: 10-7, 3.53 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 12.2 K/9, 3/2 WAR (TB)
2024 Projections: 11-7, 3.48 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 11.2 K/9, 3.7 WAR

The Dodgers made a huge commitment to Glasnow when they traded for the longtime Tampa Bay Rays ace and immediately signed him to a long-term extension. Outside of the injuries that have plagued him – Glasnow made just 71 starts the last six seasons – the 6-foot-8 30-year-old has all the tools to be an All-Star and rotation lynchpin.

2. Bobby Miller, RHP
2023 Stats: 11-4, 3.76 ERA, 1.10 WHIP 8.6 K/9, 2.8 WAR
2024 Projections: 10-8, 4.02 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 2.5 WAR

Miller had a really solid rookie campaign in 2023, and he looks primed to replicate that production in 2024. He may be higher up in the order than he would be if everyone was healthy, but manager Dave Roberts seems to trust him as a true top-of-the-rotation guy.

3. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP
2023 Stats: 17-6, 1.16 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 9.3 K/9(Japan)
2024 Projections: 12-9, 3.94 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 3.1 WAR

Yamamoto may have had a nightmare MLB debut in Korea last week, but he was the most sought-after pitcher on the free agent market for a reason. The Japanese ace was Nippon Professional Baseball's most dominant pitcher for years on end, which is why he is widely expected to be an ace in America as well.

4. Gavin Stone, RHP
2023 Stats: 1-1, 9.00 ERA, 1.90 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, -0.5 WAR
2024 Projections: 5-4, 4.23 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 8.7 K/9, 0.8 WAR

Unlike Miller, Stone didn't exactly set the world on fire during his limited major league action in 2023. Still, Stone was a top 50 prospect in baseball last year, and now he's getting a real chance to show why while Los Angeles' veterans are dinged up.

5. James Paxton, LHP
2023 Stats: 7-5, 4.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 1.0 WAR (BOS)
2024 Projections: 9-7, 4.14 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 1.8 WAR

Injuries have been a problem for Paxton ever since he left the Seattle Mariners in 2019, which is why there were so many hoops the Dodgers had to jump through before signing him. Still, the veteran looked really solid for long stretches of 2023 with the Boston Red Sox, and now he isn't in a situation where he's being counted on for 100-plus innings.

The group of injured Dodgers pitchers would probably be among the best in baseball all on its own, featuring former All-Stars and future Hall of Famers galore.

Clayton Kershaw isn't expected to return until July or August, while Dustin May likely won't be back until August or September.

Walker Buehler is much closer to his return, now 19 months removed from Tommy John surgery, so he could get started on a minor league rehab assignment pretty early this spring. The same cannot be said for Tony Gonsolin, who had Tommy John surgery in September and won't pitch at all in 2024.

Former top prospect Emmet Sheehan will start the year on the 15-day injured list as well while he deals with forearm inflammation.

Shohei Ohtani, meanwhile, won't pitch in 2024 due to elbow surgery he underwent last fall. The two-way superstar could play in the outfield later this year, but he won't return to the mound until 2025.

All 2024 projections are compiled using FanGraphs' Steamer model.

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