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The NL West favorites have the game’s top two-way talent (Shohei Ohtani), a batting order able to produce power and average, elite defenders and a deep starting rotation.
Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden, who writes for The Atlantic, rated the Dodgers’ starting five as the league's best.
Headlined by four potential aces, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Ohtani, the Dodgers employ an elite, if not fragile, rotation. Yamamoto enters 2026 as the lone starter to compile at least 95 innings last season.
If only the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals had such problems.
Colorado Rockies remain in trouble
Ranked by Bowden as the league’s lowest-ranked starting rotation, the Rockies likely will open the campaign with one pitcher younger than 32-year-old Kyle Freeland, the projected ace.
Chase Dollander, 24, remains the lone major-league-ready prospect.
The others – Michael Lorenzen, 34, Jose Quintana, 37, and Tomoyuki Sugano, 36 – remain journeymen stopgaps. The Rockies ranked No. 30 with a 5.97 earned run average last season.
With elevated Coors Field as home, don’t expect the team's ERA to drop significantly until the team’s entire pitching staff is revamped.
Washington Nationals need new handles
The most newsworthy aspect of the Nationals’ projected starting rotation this season is not that Cade Cavalli can unleash a 100-mph fastball. It’s his new look, highlighted by a handlebar mustache. The Nationals need Cavelli to maintain command of his pitches and free-agent veterans Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell to bring more than personality to the staff.
The Nationals’ 5.35 ERA ranked second-to-last in 2025.
They could struggle to match that mark in 2026.
The Dodgers seem to have it all. The Rockies and Nationals need more. Much more.
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