The Los Angeles Dodgers' 5 Most Important Players for 2015 Success

With spring training just around the corner, the time has finally come to start seriously preparing for the upcoming baseball season. The Los Angeles Dodgers enter 2015 with sky-high expectations, as the team won 94 games last year and crashed out disappointingly in the NLDS.

The new front office did some restructuring this offseason, and the Dodgers will welcome Yasmani Grandal, Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins—in addition to homegrown prospect Joc Pederson—to their lineup.

Because of the structure of the game, each regular player is obviously relatively equally important; after all, a hitter cannot simply defer to Yasiel Puig at the end of the game the way a basketball team can pass the ball to its star player during crunch time. That being said, though, players establish a certain baseline performance, and importance is relative to that level. Clayton Kershaw, for example, is the Dodgers’ best player and will be the most impactful over the course of the year. But we expect that, and their season is not hinging on his performance.

Instead, it is players with higher levels of variance that we are looking to for this category. The players to follow are those who, for whatever reason, are more likely to either significantly underperform or overperform their average expected production.

Brandon McCarthy, SP

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Much of the Dodgers’ rotation depth hinges on McCarthy’s ability to stay healthy. He made 30 starts for the first time in 2015, so the possibility does exist that he has found a way to stay on the field. Prior to last season, he installed a new weight program that was designed to strengthen his shoulder. Given that he made 32 starts, it is possible the program truly did help him. If it did, his likelihood of lasting through the season increases more than one might expect for someone with his innings track record.

The Dodgers are betting a lot that he can shoulder the load. The back half of their rotation is McCarthy and Brett Anderson, who also has durability issues. They now have some rotation depth in the minor leagues—notably Joe Wieland and Zach Lee—but if both McCarthy and Anderson cannot stay healthy, the team could be headed for disaster.

Joc Pederson, CF

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Pederson is unquestionably the most important player on this list. His success or failure will answer most of the question marks currently surrounding the team. He could be good, awful or—most likely—somewhere in between. If he isn’t terrible, the Dodgers will be in good shape. If he struggles, some major restructuring will need to be done.

The lefty is the best defensive outfielder on the 40-man roster. If he is good enough to remain in the starting lineup on a daily basis, that allows the Dodgers to keep Yasiel Puig in right field and enables them to platoon Scott Van Slyke or Chris Heisey with Carl Crawford in left field. If he is a disaster, though, one of Puig, Heisey or Van Slyke will need to play center field, and Don Mattingly will no longer have Matt Kemp to stick in right. The Dodgers won’t ask too much of Pederson; he should be able to hit eighth with little pressure. But he needs to be good enough to justify playing every day.

Yasiel Puig, RF

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We already know Puig is good. He’s posted back-to-back four-win seasons. He has proven to be an above-average hitter (career 152 wRC+), and he has demonstrated improved maturity as he has gained experience. His walk rate increased last year, and Don Mattingly demonstrated his trust in the young Cuban by playing him in center field—a leadership role—for 53 games.

If Puig jumps a level and become an MVP candidate, though, the Dodgers will have a true superstar to plug into the top or middle of their lineup. He’s already quite good, but he appears to have some room to grow. He showed significant improvement last year compared to the year before, and as he gets older, he might grow into his power. After all, his .185 ISO in 2014 ranked just 36th, which is somewhat surprising for a man who hits the ball as hard as he does and who has his physique.

Jimmy Rollins, SS

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Rollins is important not because we have questions about his production, but because of what is not behind him on the depth chart: any quality players. The Dee Gordon trade sent Miguel Rojas to Miami, and Rojas was the primary fill-in for Hanley Ramirez last year. The only other remaining option is Erisbel Arruebarrena, who has not demonstrated an ability to hit at a big league level. Justin Turner, while good last year, does not profile as a full-time shortstop, and Darwin Barney is not a quality hitter either. If Rollins gets hurt, the Dodgers will be forced to choose from one of a series of bad options.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, SP

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Ryu is a very good pitcher—surprisingly good, in fact. He has posted excellent numbers in his two seasons in the majors, but he has yet to throw 200 innings in a season. His ability to stay healthy and durable will be a key to the 2015 season because of the aforementioned McCarthy and Anderson. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are known commodities, but if Ryu, McCarthy and Anderson each miss time, the pitching depth will likely be stretched beyond its capabilities.

If Ryu throws 200 innings, though, the Dodgers will have a contender for the best top of the rotation. He has a career 2.97 FIP, and his 2.62 mark last year was seventh among pitchers with at least 150 innings—better than notables such as Madison Bumgarner and Max Scherzer, among others. If he stays healthy, the Dodgers will be among the league’s most formidable teams come playoff time.