Los Angeles Dodgers: Starting Rotation

The outlook for the 2009 starting rotation of the Los Angeles Dodgers has more question marks than in recent years past. Over the past several years, the Dodgers have been able to fall back on reliable sources to fill their top end of the rotation. But gone are the likes of Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Hideo Nomo, Kevin Brown, etc.

The onus is clearly now on some of the new guys.

This list is headed up by young Chad Billingsley. Billingsley is a great talent, already showing the ability that made him a first round draft pick. Many experts agree that he shows No. 1 stuff.

However, does he have the mindset to be a true No. 1?

He had a rough time last postseason against Philadelphia, and he broke his leg early in the offseason. Nonetheless, his future sure seems bright. But nobody is sure if he is ready to head a rotation quite yet.

The numbers two, three, and four starters also show promise. I say this even though I believe each one of them is probably one slot ahead of where they should be in the rotation, like Billingsley.

These middle slots will be Hiroki Kuroda, Randy Wolf, and Clayton Kershaw.

All three have shown certain extent of success in the big leagues. Wolf is a former all star, who had a good second half to last season. Kershaw is probably the Dodgers biggest prospect since Fernando or Hershiser. He also showed signs of success, albeit inconsistent last year. Then there is Kuroda. Kuroda might be the key to this team. If he performs the way he did at times last year, including the post season, they have a chance to be a pretty good rotation.

However, if he shows the inconsistency that plagued him for parts of last year, the Dodgers may need to get pitching help at the deadline.

Finally, the fifth spot: Nobody knows at this point who that will be. If healthy, you'd have to expect Jason Schmidt to have every opportunity to win this spot. After all, he's only started a handful of games in the first two years of his 47 million dollar contract.

If Schmidt is unable to answer the call, look for Ramon Troncoso, Jeff Weaver, or Claudio Vargas to fill out the rotation. Remember, the Dodgers have had some pretty good success over the past seven to eight years of picking up a fifth starter from the scrap heap—think Wilson Alvarez, Kevin Tapani, Omar Daal, etc.

The overall outlook of the rotation has many questions.

Can Billingsley capture the moment? Can Kuroda be more consistent? Can Wolf remain healthy? Can Kershaw fulfill his future star status at the tender age of 21? This seems like a lot of questions to be answered. However, there is a ton of talent here, very capable of making it a strong unit.

How does this unit stack up against the NL West rivals?

Probably in the middle.

San Francisco and Arizona have to be looked at as the best of the division, at least on paper. Up next would be the Dodgers, followed by the Rockies, and Padres.

The overall goal is of wins and losses. And with the help of a strong bullpen headed by Jonathan Broxton, Cory Wade, and Hong Chi Kuo, the Dodgers pitching staff should be in the top half of the National League.

As far as they go this year may depend on a certain No. 99 who wears dreadlocks.