Los Angeles Dodgers: April in review — the good, bad and ugly

One month and some change of the MLB season is in the books and the Los Angeles Dodgers enter May with sole possession of first place in the NL West.

The Los Angeles Dodgers finished off the first month of the season by becoming the first team in baseball to win 20 games. The Dodgers’ .625 win percentage is their best to start the season since 2015 (.619). They lead baseball in run differential (+36) and have a two-game lead in the National League West.

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ success has been due to their balance as a team. The Dodgers are a top-five team in most offensive categories. They are top 10 in pitching ERA as a staff (3.87) and are third in the majors with a .991 fielding percentage.

The reason the Dodgers have gotten off to such a great has been a total team effort as they try to return and perhaps win the World Series. Let’s look at how their April went.

The good (OK, great!)

Thursday afternoon during the Los Angeles Dodgers’ off day, it was announced that Cody Bellinger was named National League Player of the Month. To say Bellinger has gotten off to a good start would be the understatement of the year.

Bellinger leads all of Major League Baseball in the traditional triple crown stats, batting .425 while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 38 RBIs. Bellinger also leads the league in slugging percentage, OBP, OPS and WAR.

With the Dodgers winning and a majority of that due to Bellinger’s hot start, by the end of the season, Bellinger could be in the running for league MVP.

The bad

While the pitching staff collectively has a top ten ERA, there are some chinks in the armor when it comes to Dodger pitching. Most of this is laid at the feet of the bullpen.

So far Dodger relievers have blown five saves, putting them fifth-worst in baseball; their save percentage is also below league average at 67 percent. Some of this is due to the bullpen being influx to start the season.

Players like Ross Stripling and prospect Julio Urias were supposed to shore up the bullpen but had to start the season as starters thanks to injuries to Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill.

Regardless, the area, which was considered a liability, has proven to be one and the bullpen woes must be corrected for the Dodgers to remain successful.

The ugly

The Dodgers’ biggest free agent acquisitions from the off-season have been a complete bust. A.J. Pollock, who was supposed to provide right-handed power and solid center field play, was hitting .233 with just three home runs to start the season.

Then Pollock landed himself on the injured list when the screws from a plate in his elbow caused an infection that required surgery. With no timetable for his return, the Dodgers will need to rely on depth but are now significantly deficient in right-handed power, especially with the slow starts from Justin Turner Chris Taylor and David Freese.

Unfortunately, Pollock isn’t even the biggest Dodgers FA bust, that title belongs to Joe Kelly. Brought in to be the bridge to Kenley Jansen, so far Kelly has been disastrous.

In 12 appearances Kelly has three blown saves while giving up runs in seven of those 12 appearances. Only once has Kelly been able to get through a 1-2-3 inning and he’s carrying an astronomical 8.31 ERA.

Moving on 

The Dodgers should be in the driver’s seat in the West going forward. Their schedule is supposed to be more favorable going forward and they should be able to continue to build on their very good start.