The Los Angeles Dodgers’ October lineup is terrifying

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending National League Champions for a reason: the team has one of the deepest, talent-filled rosters in baseball.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have managed to stay consistent in getting to the playoffs while constantly reinventing the team on a yearly basis. Every year, there is a new bat, a new arm that steps up and becomes a huge contributor for the Dodgers.

This year, Max Muncy has come out of nowhere to become the team’s best power hitter while Ross Stripling has emerged from the bullpen to be one of the best starting pitchers on the team. Oh yeah, that Walker Buehler kid is pretty good as well.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also recently added the most coveted trade target on the market, Manny Machado. Machado’s start to his Dodger career has not been great, however, he will be a huge piece come October.

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However, the Dodgers have never had the entire group of guys together at one time due to injuries. Heck, the entire reason the team traded for Machado is that Seager is missing the entire season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

That, mixed with Dave Roberts‘ natural tendency to give guys nights off as well as jumble the lineup, has caused the Dodgers to not really have a set nine-man lineup.

Come October, that lineup is going to be set in stone and the Dodgers are going to be in playoff baseball mode. In fact, the team’s starting nine is borderline scary, stacked with talent from top to bottom.

Against right-handed pitching:

1. Joc Pederson — CF
2. Manny Machado — SS
3. Justin Turner — 3B
4. Matt Kemp — LF
5. Max Muncy — 2B
6. Yasmani Grandal — C
7. Cody Bellinger — 1B
8. Yasiel Puig — RF
9. Pitcher

That right there is insane. The order may be a tad different, but if everyone is healthy, that is a starting nine full of great bats that could literally move anywhere else in the order.

Joc Pederson has been nothing short of fantastic and has been one of the best hitting outfielders in baseball. If that keeps up, Pederson undoubtedly deserves the start against righties over Chris Taylor, who is having a down season.

Machado and Turner could be switched, as can Muncy and Kemp. The reason for Kemp at the four hole and Muncy at the five is that Muncy, although he has power, also works a ton of walks. Kemp is a textbook run producer.

Grandal has been out-hitting Cody Bellinger, who gets moved down to seventh. When Bellinger is hot he is dangerous and having the pressure of a cleanup hitter being taken off his shoulders may improve his game.

Finally, there is Yasiel Puig, who for some reason thrives in the eight hole as a hitter. This season. he is hitting .377 while in front of the pitcher.

Conversely, the starting nine against left-handed pitchers is not too different, with only two big changes in the starting nine.

Against left-handed pitching:

1. Chris Taylor — CF
2. Manny Machado — SS
3. Justin Turner — 3B
4. Matt Kemp — LF
5. Max Muncy — 1B
6. Cody Bellinger — RF
7. Yasmani Grandal — C
8. Enrique Hernandez — 2B
9. Pitcher

This lineup shows the flexibility of the Dodgers as Muncy moves to first for Enrique Hernandez to play second. Bellinger is a fine outfielder with his speed and Hernandez is a borderline elite defender in the field.

Hernandez is a much better hitter against southpaws than Puig and was the hero of game five of the NLCS last season. Aside from that, the only other change was flipping Bellinger and Grandal as Bellinger is more proficient against left-handed pitching.

Overall, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ playoff lineup is going to be extremely fun to watch. At its’ best, this lineup could produce plenty of runs against the best pitching staffs in baseball.