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Los Angeles Dodgers: Pitching depth is being tested early

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 27: Rich Hill #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers wipes his brow in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game Four of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 27: Rich Hill #44 of the Los Angeles Dodgers wipes his brow in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game Four of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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All offseason the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching depth has been praised and now will be put to the test much earlier than any Dodger fan had hoped.

If you read just one article about the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason there is a good chance that it at least mentioned the Dodgers’ insane pitching depth.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have prided great pitching over the last six seasons, which has led to six consecutive National League West titles. This year is no different.

The Dodgers have seven guys that would be, at worst, the third-best pitcher on any other rotation. Those guys include Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda, Ross Stripling and Julio Urias.

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This is being tested heavily to open the year and how the pitching staff responds will indicate how deep this rotation truly is.

Clayton Kershaw will not start Opening Day and will likely start the year on the injured list to ease him into action. The most likely replacement option, Walker Buehler, has been ruled out of Opening Day; although the Dodger fans are hopeful he can pitch by the fourth or fifth game of the season.

What about Rich Hill? D. Mountain has done everything to deserve an Opening Day start in what might be the last season of his journeyman career. It was announced Friday morning that Hill too will most likely be starting the year on the IL with a sprained MCL.

Everyone is hopeful that Hill can miss just one start and be ready for his second start of the year.

Either way, the Dodgers are being tested. Hyun-Jin Ryu is getting the ball on Opening Day while Ross Stripling is set to pitch game two. The Dodgers’ plan past that has not been announced but it is safe to assume that Kenta Maeda will get the third start.

It all depends on if Walker Buehler is ready as well. If Buehler has to start the year on the IL as well then the Dodgers might have to make an emergency decision and start Dennis Santana, Caleb Ferguson or even Dustin May in the first five games.

That still is only four people if Buehler does start. The fifth pitcher in this equation is Julio Urias, who has been absolutely dominant this spring but was set to transition to a bullpen role to limit his innings. Those plans are now squashed.

It all depends on how long these guys are out, but the bottom half of the rotation, which is where the depth is for the Dodgers, is going to be tested. If they can thrive then we might be seeing one of the most talented starting rotations of all-time.

It is not every day that you have an entire rotation and then some that are all well above league average, which is what each of these players are capable of.

Next. Alex Verdugo deserves playing time. dark

However, if it goes up in flames, the Los Angeles Dodgers might be forced to play early catch-up in 2019.

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