Dodgers prepare for a rocky road en route to the 2018 World Series

The Wild West is only going to get wilder, and the Dodgers don’t want to find themselves playing catch-up.

Last season, it was a bit of a surprise, this season, it’s completely real; the Diamondbacks and the Rockies are contenders.

In 2016, the D-Backs ended the season with a 69-93 record. The Rockies ended with an 80-82 record. In 2017, both teams won more than 85 games, and both clinched a wild-card spot. I don’t expect 2018 to be much different.

They may have more competition for the wild card, but the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies are going to be good. Arizona may re-sign J.D Martinez, and the Rockies have rebuilt their bullpen entirely. So much so that it will rival the Dodgers’ pen this summer.

This season, the Dodgers will face both the Rockies and the D-Backs 19 times each, and they can’t afford to lose more than a handful of games to each team.

The Rockies and the D-Backs are both two very offensive teams, the Wild-Card game proved that, and Dodger pitching is going to have to keep up.

I think they can, but the first step to winning the NL pennant is winning the division, and it won’t be easy.