MLB.com polled 17 anonymous MLB executives on the winner of each division, and all 17 voted the Los Angeles Dodgers as the winners of the NL West.
The Dodgers have had control of the NL West for more than a decade, losing out on first in the division just once in the past 13 seasons, and they still won 106 games in the season which they didn’t claim the division title. The executives expect the Dodgers will maintain their dominance in the NL West despite some recent close calls with the San Diego Padres.
“Do we really need to ask this question?” said an NL executive.
“If you can find something new to say about them, you’re better at this than I am,” an AL executive added.
The Dodgers’ performances so far this season certainly warrant the predictions, as they currently lead the division have the best record in MLB at 20-9. They definitely aren’t home free, though, as 133 games remain in their season and they sit just 0.5 games ahead of the Padres.
MLB executives aren’t the only ones who think the Dodgers will cruise to first in the NL West, as analysts are also taking LA’s side in the matter.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez commented on the matter when discussing the Dodgers’ potential win total this season.
“The Dodgers have become extra careful with their pitchers during the regular season, oftentimes giving them way more time than needed,” Gonzalez wrote. “They don’t deploy their roster to the max — with starters going every five days, relievers used aggressively and position players playing through nagging ailments — until they absolutely have to. No disrespect to the San Diego Padres and their early surge, but I don’t see anyone in the National League West pushing the Dodgers in that way this season.
It’s only natural manager Dave Roberts believes the Dodgers will take the NL West yet again, and he clearly isn’t worried about the rest of the division. The Dodgers briefly fell behind the Padres last week, prompting Roberts to say the following.
“I don’t think anyone’s too concerned about the Padres and what they’re doing,” he said.
“I just don’t think we really concern ourselves with anyone, to be quite honest. And that’s the way we should think about things. It’s no disrespect to any team. It’s just that we’ve got to kind of keep our closet clean and play good baseball and it will take care of itself.”
At the moment, FanGraphs has the Dodgers at a 94.6% chance to win the division, as well as a 99.6% chance to make the postseason—the highest of any team in MLB.
Additionally, they have a 25.5% chance to win the World Series according to the model, which also ranks first among all MLB teams.
The Dodgers may be without some key players in Blake Snell and Edwin Díaz, but are still managing a strong start to the season and will look to lock up the division once more and secure the franchise’s first three-peat. Their next hurdle comes Tuesday against the Miami Marlins, where LA will look to rally behind a Shohei Ohtani start to win the series.
How many games do you think the Dodgers will win the division by this year?