My positional roster for NLDS

Phil Gurnee ♦ September 26, 2017 ♦ 3 Comments

Andrew Friedman was discussing the twenty-five roster last night on the telecast with Joe and Orel. The Dodgers only have four questions as they finish up the last week of the season.

1. Can they end the season with the best record in baseball?
2. Can they end the season with the best record in the NL and hold home-field advantage throughout the postseason if they advance?
3. Who will be on the 25-man roster?
4. Who will be the fourth starter?

That is about it.

This is the roster I would take into October, not what I expect them to do.  To help with this exercise here at the position players who have had at-bats in Sept.

Player              PA BB SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS
Cody Bellinger      99 12 25 .276 .364 .563 .927
Chris Taylor        99  6 24 .207 .253 .359 .611
Justin Turner       78  7 11 .288 .385 .561 .945
Yasiel Puig         77  4 13 .264 .299 .444 .743
Corey Seager        71  4 18 .172 .239 .250 .489
Curtis Granderson   69  8 16 .150 .261 .267 .528
Logan Forsythe      66  7  9 .241 .333 .448 .782
Yasmani Grandal     66 10 24 .130 .258 .333 .591
Austin Barnes       50  9  8 .231 .400 .436 .836
Chase Utley         42  2  9 .200 .238 .400 .638
Enrique Hernandez   36  4  8 .219 .306 .313 .618
Andre Ethier        29  2  9 .296 .345 .556 .900
Joc Pederson        21  5  5 .125 .333 .125 .458
Alex Verdugo        21  2  4 .158 .238 .316 .554
Adrian Gonzalez     16  1  1 .200 .250 .267 .517
Rob Segedin         12  0  5 .250 .250 .417 .667
Charlie Culberson   11  0  4 .182 .182 .273 .455
OKoyea Dickson       8  2  2 .167 .375 .167 .542

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 9/26/2017.

Besides the obvious eleven players of Bellinger, Forsythe, Utley, Seager, Turner, Barnes, Grandal, Puig, Taylor, Granderson, and Hernandez, this is what I would fill the bench with.

You don’t even see Kyle Farmer on the list above because my cut off was five plate appearances and he didn’t make the cut.  So based on usage it would seem doubtful that Kyle Farmer would make the postseason and even though the Dodgers have yet to let Farmer catch I think he needs to be on the team so that they can utilize the flexibility of having Austin Barnes on the team. Plus Farmer has his own flexibility in that he can play 3rd/1st in a pinch.

Andre Ethier has earned the spot as the key left-handed pinch hitter. Joc simply hasn’t looked like he could hit anything at the major league level right now, much less the elite bullpen arms of the teams in the postseason.

I’m at thirteen position players and I want fourteen but the pickings are slim for that last spot.

I find it hard to believe that Adrian Gonzalez doesn’t have a spot on this roster but I can’t see carrying a one-dimensional player like him right now. He can only play 1st base and the Dodgers have that covered with Cody Bellinger. He can pinch hit, but he can’t pinch run in any capacity. If his bat was worth it, he would still make the roster but it does not appear to be worth it.

Based on the 13 man roster we only have Bellinger as a true 1st baseman, with Farmer being a backup. Forsythe can also play 1st base, as could Chase. I can live with that.

At 2nd it would appear that everyone on the roster can play the position. Forsythe, Chase, Barnes, Hernandez, and even Turner.

Shortstop we have Seager and either Taylor or Hernandez

3rd base has Turner/Forsythe/Hernandez

Catchers would be Grandal / Barnes / Farmer

RF would be Puig/Granderson/Andre/Bellinger

CF would be Taylor/Hernandez/Bellinger/Granderson

LF would be Granderson/Ethier/Hernandez/Taylor

So we have plenty of positional coverage so I would be looking for the best bench player. Someone who can not only pinch hit but pinch run.

The candidates;

Adrian Gonzalez – only plays 1st base, can’t hit LHP, may not be able to hit RHP anymore, turtle speed. Veteran presence.

Rob Segedin – can play 1st/3rd/OF. not a proven major league hitter but has always looked comfortable to be with a bat his hands. Not someone you’d want to pinch run but could do so in a pinch if Grandal was the winning run on 3rd with < than 2 outs.

Alex Verdugo – can play all the outfield spots, can run a little, probably would not use him against LHP.

Joc Pederson – sometimes the fall is hard. He can do everything that Alex Verdugo can do and has a proven track record that is scratched right now.

I think we need another left hand hitter on the bench, but someone who can run a little. I’m going to go with Joc Pederson.

So this is it:

Pos	Player
1st	Cody Belligner
2nd	Logan Forsythe
2nd	Chase Utley
SS	Corey Seager
3rd	Justin Turner
C	Yasmani Grandal
C	Austin Barnes
RF	Yasiel Puig
CF	Chris Taylor
LF	Curtis Granderson
Utility	Kike Hernandez
Utility	Andre Ethier
Utility	Kyle Farmer
Utility	Joc Pederson
Lineup RH Starter:			Lineup LH Starter
1st	Cody Bellinger		1st	Cody Bellinger
2nd	Chase Utley		2nd	Logan Forsythe
SS	Corey Seager		SS	Corey Seager
3rd	Justin Turner		3rd	Justin Turner
C	Yasmani Grandal		C	Austin Barnes
RF	Yasiel Puig		RF	Yasiel Puig
CF	Chris Taylor		CF	Chris Taylor
LF	Curtis Granderson		LF	Kike Hernandez
Bench	Austin Barnes		Bench	Yazmani Grandal
Bench	Andre Ethier		Bench	Andre Ethier
Bench	Kike Hernandez		Bench	Curtis Granderson
Bench	Kyle Farmer		Bench	Kyle Farmer
Bench	Joc Pederson		Bench	Joc Pederson

Depending on the starter I might even let Austin Barnes get a start or two against the right-hand pitching unless Grandal shows his bat is ready for a full-time role.