The National League West has been run almost exclusively by one team for a long time. The Dodgers won the division in 2013, kicking off a run that has seen them win 12 of the past 13 NL West titles. The one time they didn't win it was 2021, when they won 106 games; the Giants won 107. The Dodgers dispatched the Giants in the NLDS that year. They own this thing.
Is there an end in sight? Not really. It's difficult to see the Dodgers not winning the West in 2026 or 2027 and I'm sure they'll lock it down for 2028. People talk about the Dodgers "ruining baseball" and I don't believe that's the case at all, given how fluky the playoffs. As for ruining the annual NL West race, though, they might have. It feels like a foregone conclusion nearly every year.
Los Angeles Dodgers (-800 to win division)
First off, keep in mind that the Dodgers are playing for the postseason and can cruise in the regular season a bit. That means Smith will catch less than most other stud catchers, despite not having DH at-bats available due to Ohtani's presence. Dalton Rushing swings left-handed, so he'll play plenty versus righties who are especially hard on fellow righties like Smith. Miguel Rojas will see plenty of time, notably at second base. Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández are also back, but recovering from offseason surgery.
Again, the name of the game is conservation for October and it has already started with lefty Blake Snell slow-playing his spring while dealing with shoulder fatigue. River Ryan, Gavin Stone, Landon Knack and Kyle Hurt will also likely see starts.
Closer: RHP Edwin DíazSetup: LHP Tanner Scott, LHP Alex Vesia, RHP Blake Treinen
The bullpen was an issue last season until they were able to throw Sasaki at the back end for the playoffs. Díaz was signed to shore things up and a bounce-back from Scott will also help.
The portmanteau threepeat was coined in Los Angeles when Pat Riley was discussing his "Showtime" Lakers. The most prominent baseball team in L.A. has never done it and the Dodgers have a shot this season, heading in as back-to-back champs. In fact, only the Yankees and A's in MLB history have ever gone for a threepeat. This is how rare it is. These are the only times it has happened:
Can the Dodgers join that group? They are absolutely capable. The only question is will they? We'll find out later this year, likely in mid-October at the earliest. Probably in late October.
As for the regular season, yeah, they likely cruise to the NL West title. Again.
Luis Campusano is the other catcher and Nick Castellanos will get a chance to land regular at-bats either at designated hitter or even first base. Sung-Mun Song is the backup infielder while Bryce Johnson is around in the outfield.
Griffin Canning is recovering from a ruptured Achilles and has a shot to join the rotation at some point. JP Sears and Walker Buehler are also in the mix.
Closer: RHP Mason MillerSetup: LHP Adrian Morejon, RHP Jason Adam, RHP Jeremiah Estrada
Biggest question: Can the depth pieces step up?
There's no question the Padres have the top-shelf talent needed to make the Dodgers sweat and maybe even to win a World Series. Tatis is capable of winning MVP. Hell, Machado still might be. He finished second in 2022 and is still only 33 years old. Merrill and Bogaerts look like All-Stars at their best. The rotation has three pitchers for whom you could say the same. The bullpen could be the strongest in all of baseball, or at least when we narrow it down to the late-inning guys.
The roster depth is the concern. I've said before with some other contenders that they have a bunch of supporting cast players and not enough main characters. The Padres have a litany of main characters, but the problem here might be the supporting cast. The back half of the lineup can't afford to be terrible. The fourth and fifth spots in the rotation can't just be batting practice for opposing teams. They can't rely on just a few arms in the bullpen to pitch every single time they are winning a close game.
The Padres are in one of the better runs in club history. They've made the playoffs in four out of five seasons and had previously only been to the postseason five times in 52 years. There's an NLCS appearance in there, too. But they haven't won the pennant in this five-year stretch and remain one of five MLB clubs with zero World Series titles (the others are the Brewers, Mariners, Rays and Rockies).
New manager Craig Stammen needs his studs to be studs, yeah, but he needs the supporting cast to step up if this season is to be special in San Diego.
Casey Schmitt is the backup infielder with Luis Matos as the backup outfielder. Drew Gilbert could also have an impact.
Hayden Birdsong and Trevor McDonald look like the next two in line for starts.
Closer: RHP Ryan WalkerSetup: LHP Erik Miller, RHP Joel Peguero
Biggest question: How does the Tony Vitello hire work?
Surely there will be some sort of transition phase with the new Giants manager, who was hired straight from the University of Tennessee. This isn't like jumping from college to the pros in football or basketball, and college baseball coaches can be dictatorial. That won't fly in the majors with high-priced talent on this team like Devers, Webb, Adames and Chapman.
Vitello traveled all over the place in the offseason to meet his players, including the Dominican Republic (Adames and Devers) and South Korea (Lee), then gave a speech at the start of camp to the entire organization.
"I thought it was great," said Webb, via MLB.com. "A lot of energy. You can tell there's a lot of competitive spirit in him. He just wants to win. That's pretty much what his message was. He wants us to all feel the way he feels. I think it's a great message."
"I think the college game is probably a lot closer to professional baseball than it was when I was playing in it," Chapman said. "At the end of the day, winning baseball is winning baseball, and I think he understands how to win. Whether you're playing at the highest level in college or major leagues or minor leagues, winning baseball looks the same. It's pitching, defense, knowing how to run the bases and managing personalities and managing guys. I think he has a lot of experience doing that."
"He makes you take a step back and realize that we're all human," said Eldridge. "I think it's the way he naturally connects with players. It took one day for me to feel like, 'Wow, OK, this is my guy. I can go talk to him about anything.' It's exciting."
There are some possible spots for platoon here, notably Pavin Smith in the DH position. James McCann could catch with Moreno taking DH at-bats against lefties. Tim Tawa swings right-handed and could grab at-bats as a DH or platoon with lefty Thomas in left field. Lourdes Guerriel Jr. is recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL and will return at some point.
First off, Kelly is dealing with a back injury in camp and if he's not ready to start the season, Michael Soroka steps in. Ace Corbin Burnes had Tommy John surgery last June, so he's out until late in the season. The D-backs will hope they get nearly all their starting pitching from the seven names already listed. If they need to dip further down the depth chart, Kohl Drake, Cristian Mena and Mitch Bratt are next.
Closer: RHP Kevin GinkelSetup: RHP Paul Sewald, RHP Ryan Thompson
Biggest question: Can that rotation hold up?
There's potential for disaster with this rotation. Gallen was mostly bad last season and signed a one-year deal to try to re-establish his worth before diving back into free agency. Kelly is 37 and already dealing with back issues. Rodriguez's ERA has been over 5 both years in Arizona. Pfaadt got clobbered last season to the tune of a 5.25 ERA and his career mark is now 5.13 across more than 80 career starts. Burnes will miss most of the season. Nelson was good last season, but what's his upside? Ace? Probably not. Soroka hasn't been a good starter for more than a few starts at a time since 2019.
There's certainly upside in this group if you could be guaranteed to get the best versions of Gallen and Kelly while Nelson kept building on last season, Pfaadt put things together and Rodriguez could pitch back to 2023 form. If all these things happen, the Diamondbacks have a good rotation before they even think about getting Burnes and his ace-caliber stuff back in there.
Can all of that really come together, though? Realistically?
The most likely scenario here is the starting pitching is a problem.
Catcher Braxton Fulford, first baseman Blaine Crim and utility players Ryan Ritter and Tyler Freeman make up the bench with third baseman Kyle Karros also having a shot at playing time.
Ryan Feltner and Antonio Senzatela are also options.
Closer: RHP Victor VodnikSetup: RHP Jimmy Herget, RHP Juan Mejia
Biggest question: How many more games can they win?
Look, there's no reason to sugarcoat this. The Rockies are awful and might be the worst team in baseball. They were historically bad last season and came close to the all-time record for losses with 119. They'll improve because it's very, very difficult to be that bad. The White Sox set the modern record with 121 losses in 2024 and were terrible again in 2025, but they ended up 60-102. Does that automatically mean that the Rockies will improve by roughly 20 games? Of course not. They'll win more games, though, mark my words. The question is just how many more.
