Dodgers Drop Out of Top 5 in Latest MLB Power Rankings
The Dodgers have gotten out of the gates cold in June. After a week that saw them finish 2-5 with series losses to the Reds and Phillies — and fall firmly behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West race — the verdict for LA couldn’t be good.
It wasn’t.
The Dodgers fell to No. 6 in MLB.com’s latest Power Rankings and sit one spot behind the surging Diamondbacks, who jumped Los Angeles to No. 5.
Even though J.D. Martinez and Freddie Freeman continue to produce offensively, bullpen problems continue to be a major concern for the Dodgers, and that could be an area where they could look to upgrade at the trade deadline.
With the combination of the Dodgers’ issues on the mound and Arizona providing what looks to be a true challenge in the division, those should be reasons for Dodger fans to be concerned, right?
Wrong. At least not yet.
Yes, the Dodgers sit 3 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks in the division as of Monday afternoon and don’t look like a team that can comfortably contend for a World Series title at the moment, but it is only mid-June and LA has a rather soft part of the schedule coming up.
Aside from a series against the Astros next weekend, the Dodgers will face a mediocre White Sox team, the inconsistent Giants and Angels, and, most importantly, have six games against against the last place Rockies and Royals.
Both of those latter two series are on the road, and while Coors Field has served as the Dodgers’ kryptonite for a while, the sets in Denver and Kansas City present a golden opportunity for the team to right the ship.
Its not like the Dodgers are that far behind Arizona either.
For all their struggles lately in a key area, a good series or two could vault Los Angeles back atop the division.
And the bullpen as a whole has built a quality track record over the years, so even though the relief group certainly hasn’t performed up to expectations, they do have the ability to turn things around.
All told, there’s no reason for Dodger fans to hit the panic button just yet.
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