Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Is Optimistic Despite Depleted Pitching Staff

The strong cast of pitchers fueled the Dodgers to 111 wins. During the regular season, the Dodgers led the league in run differential at +334 which was almost 100 runs more than the second best team.

Of course the Dodgers had to put runs up on the board thanks to their All-Star cast batting order, but the pitching unit played lights out. Tyler Anderson is no longer on the team, but the Dodgers are expected to bring back every other starter for the team.

A starting group that consisted of Cy Young runner-up Julio Urias, All-Stars Tony Gonsolin and Clayton Kershaw and former All-Star Walker Buehler before he underwent Tommy John surgery. Dustin May will also be back to full strength giving Dave Roberts and company plenty to be excited about (via The Athletic Baseball Show).

“Clayton’s back, Julio’s back. We don’t get Walker back until hopefully September. Dustin May will be healthy, he’ll have a healthy offseason — but coming off TJ, you got to manage his innings. Tony Gonsolin was ailing, he’ll be back. We got some other guys that are on the come in the system that are really close, but to have that kind of dependable Major League starter is something that is going to be a priority for us.”

It was a recipe for disaster for the team as all pieces that worked so well during the regular season quickly crumbled during the postseason. A healthy season paired up with a guy like Justin Verlander or Jacob deGrom spells trouble for the rest of the league.