Dodgers Fall in Latest MLB Power Rankings Heading into Week 3
The Dodgers are not off to the usual great start their fans are used to seeing. Through 12 games, the Dodgers are 6-6, and have suffered some pretty bad losses to the division-rival Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.
The bullpen was been shaky, while the starting pitching has tailed off after Julio Urias and Dustin May. Also, Chris Taylor is continuing to struggle, while Max Muncy finally got going in San Francisco, but aside from that has struggled mightily.
In this week's edition of The Athletic's MLB power rankings, the Dodgers fell one spot to No. 5. To be fair, that still may be a bit high, but here's a part of what Zach Buchanan had to say about having them at five.
"Dodgers fans, your team’s run as the presumptive NL West favorite is over. The Padres loaded up over the winter while Los Angeles laid back for a shot at Shohei Ohtani next offseason. San Diego has the star power and has closed the financial gap. Arizona, which just embarrassed the Dodgers in Phoenix this weekend, has an exciting young core. Many were expecting a step back from the squad that won 111 games a year ago, but — dare we say it? — the Dodgers are underdogs now."
It's hard to blame Buchanan for this ranking, which I honestly think is a bit high. The Padres lineup is loaded, and will only get better with Fernando Tatis Jr. coming back. Also, the Diamondbacks completely outplayed the Dodgers in that four-game set in Arizona, exposing a lot of their flaws.
Still, the Dodgers are loaded with talent, and are going to go on a run at some point this season. But for now, I expect them to continue falling down these power rankings, at least a little bit, until they start figuring things out.