Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Here we are at the All-Star break. How did that happen so fast? And how crazy is baseball? Arizona is 49-47, 11½ games out of first. The Angels are tied for the worst record in baseball (38-59) and are also 11½ games out of first.
The Dodgers begin the second half of the season with a 61-36 record, leading the NL West by 11½ games over Arizona. Yes, they lost their last three games going into the break, but those things happen. The first few games after the break (at Yankees, at Philadelphia, at Mets) won’t be easy, so we will see where things stand after that.
How does their record compare to years past at the break?
2026
61-36, .629
lead NL West by 11½ games
Record after break: ?
2025
58-39, .598
led NL West by 5½ games
Record after break: 35-30, .538
won NL West by 3 games
2024
56-41, .577
led NL West by 7 games
Record after break: 42-23, .646
won NL West by 5 games
2023
51-38, .573
second in NL West, a half-game behind Arizona
Record after break: 49-24, .671
won NL West by 16 games
2022
60-30, .667
led NL West by 9½ games
Record after break: 51-21, .708
won NL West by 22 games
2021
56-35, .615
second in NL West, two games behind San Francisco
Record after break: 50-21, .704
second in NL West, one game behind Giants
2020
Covid-shortened season
Now let’s look at the main players on the team. We will include their slash numbers (AVG/OB%/SLG%) and their career slash numbers.
We will list them in order of OPS+.
Shohei Ohtani
2026: .293/.403/.549, 162 OPS+
Career: .282/.377/.580, 160 OPS+
The discussion of whether pitching is hurting his hitting has mostly come to a halt. But maybe it is hurting his knee? That’s a huge thing to keep an eye on in the second half.
Tommy Edman
2026: .343/.421/.478, 150 OPS+
Career: .261/.314/.407, 99 OPS+
It’s highly unlikely that Edman hits this well the rest of the season (he’s had only 78 plate appearances), but the Dodgers are certainly better with him on the roster.
Freddie Freeman
2026: .290/.375/.487, 138 OPS+
Career: .299/.386/.510, 142 OPS+
He is still as steady as ever. When was the last time you said “Wow, that was a bad at-bat by Freeman?” It never seems to happen.
Max Muncy
2026: .259/.354/.488, 132 OPS+
Career: .232/.354/.475, 125 OPS+
Unsung star of the first half, even if he did make the All-Star team. He’s quite the steal at only $10 million. And his defense has gotten better too.
Dalton Rushing
2026: .254/.337/.475, 123 OPS+
Career: .232/.303/.409, 97 OPS+
Has has filled in quite well for Will Smith.
Andy Pages
2026: .270/.336/.471, 122 OPS+
Career: .264/.317/.448, 112 OPS+
Remember the Pages who seemed to break wrong on every fly ball his rookie year? That Pages no longer exists.
Miguel Rojas
2026: .290/.335/.420, 109 OPS+
Career: .261/.314/.364, 87 OPS+
He is not playing like a guy who is retiring at the end of the season. You could make a case for this being his best year ever.
Will Smith
2026: .249/.338/.382, 100 OPS+
Career: .263/.357/.470, 126 OPS+
Looking at his numbers, you have to wonder if he had any other nagging injuries before he went on the IL because of a neck problem. Playing catcher is hard, folks.
Kyle Tucker
2026: .244/.341/.375, 100 OPS+
Career: .270/.356/.493, 135 OPS+
You have to figure the Dodgers were hoping for more than a league average hitter for $60 million a season. I always wonder if deep down, a guy such as Rojas says to himself, “That guy is making $60 million and I’m making $6 million?”
Teoscar Hernández
2026: .243/.319/.387, 96 OPS+
Career: .260/.316/.479, 118 OPS+
The consistency just isn’t there anymore. The last two seasons he has been decidedly average as a player.
Mookie Betts
2026: .235/.293/.416, 95 OPS+
Career: .288/.366/.509, 134 OPS+
He may never be the hitter he once was. Then again, he’s hitting .288/.335/.475 since June 9.
Alex Call
2026: .250/.358/.321, 92 OPS+
Career: .243/.343/.365, 100 OPS+
A perfect example of a fourth outfielder.
Hyeseong Kim
2026: .259/.323/.328, 82 OPS+
Career: .271/.318/.361, 90 OPS+
Many fans are still enamored with him, but until he develops a better eye at the plate and a more consistent swing, he’s going to spend a lot of time in the minors.
Alex Freeland
2026: .234/.313/.318, 77 OPS+
Career: .221/.307/.315, 75 OPS+
Another Dodgers top prospect who hasn’t panned out … yet. Remember Miguel Vargas, who looked about as bad as Freeland with the Dodgers and was on the AL All-Star team this year? Perhaps they can use that as a factor at the trade deadline.
Starting rotation
Shohei Ohtani
2026: 8-2, 1.79 ERA, 234 ERA+
Career: 47-22, 2.83 ERA, 151 ERA+
Strangely, the Dodgers have a hitter with the same name. I wonder if they ever get them mixed up.
Justin Wrobleski
2026: 10-2, 2.69 ERA, 155 ERA+
Career: 16-9. 3.76 ERA, 110 ERA+
Get this: He has pitched this well and might not even be in the postseason rotation if Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell return.
Tyler Glasnow
2026: 3-0, 2.72 ERA, 154 ERA+
Career: 46-36, 3.69 ERA, 112 ERA+
Glasnow has been in the majors for 11 seasons and pitched more than 100 innings only three times, and in one of those seasons, he pitched over half of those innings in relief.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
2026: 9-6, 2.85 ERA, 147 ERA+
Career: 28-16, 2.72 ERA, 151 ERA+
It has been a quiet season from him so far, but a very good season. Considering all the arm injuries in baseball, it’s amazing his arm didn’t fall off this year after his usage in the postseason.
Eric Lauer
2026: 3-0, 3.12 ERA, 134 ERA+
Career: 49-44, 4.20 ERA, 99 ERA+
Once again, the Dodgers find a pitcher on the scrap heap, make an adjustment, and he becomes a solid pitcher.
Emmet Sheehan
2026: 4-6, 4.81 ERA, 87 ERA+
Career: 14-10, 4.17 ERA, 101 ERA+
A big disappointment so far. If any of the 12 million starting pitchers on the IL for the Dodgers was healthy, you have to figure they might get a shot.
Roki Sasaki
2026: 3-5, 5.33 ERA, 78 ERA+
Career: 4-6, 5.06 ERA, 82 ERA+
He starred briefly while in the bullpen last postseason, but overall, you have to wonder why the Dodgers don’t let him figure things out in the minors.
Blake Snell
2026: 0-1, 12.00 ERA, 39 ERA+
Career: 81-63, 3.17 ERA, 129 ERA+
Snell is like Bigfoot. You think he might exist, but he’s seen only rarely and pictures of him are blurry. The search continues.
Bullpen
Alex Vesia
2026: 1-1, 2.27 ERA, 3 saves, 185 ERA+
Career: 20-14, 2.85 ERA, 16 saves, 145 ERA+
This is Vesia’s sixth season in the Dodger bullpen, and he has had only one mediocre season, in 2023. He comes in, get the job done, gets the team pumped up and leaves. Every team needs a Vesia.
Edgardo Henriquez
2026: 4-1, 2.29 ERA, 1 save, 183 ERA+
Career: 6-2, 2.34 ERA, 3 saves, 180 ERA+
No one gets too excited when Henriquez comes into a game, but he sure has been effective.
Will Klein
2026: 3-4, 2.41 ERA, 2 saves, 174 ERA+
Career: 5-5, 3.45 ERA, 2 saves, 123 ERA+
Career ERA before joining Dodgers: 11.05. ERA with the Dodgers: 2.39. At the beginning of the season, we mentioned something like what Klein did in Game 3 of last year’s World Series could catapult him into a long, solid major league career. So far, so good.
Tanner Scott
2026: 1-3, 2.56 ERA, 13 saves, 164 ERA+
Career: 33-31, 3.62 ERA, 91 saves, 121 ERA+
Yes, he has had a rough game or two this season, but overall he has been a dependable closer.
Brock Stewart
2026: 0-0, 2.79 ERA, 155 ERA+
Career: 10-5, 4.40 ERA, 2 saves, 97 ERA+
It is hard to draw any conclusions on Stewart since he has pitched only 13.1 innings for the team since it acquired him at last year’s trade deadline for James Outman.
Jack Dreyer
2026: 3-1, 3.03 ERA, 139 ERA+
Career: 6-3, 2.97 ERA, 4 saves, 139 ERA+
Henriquez, Klein, Dreyer. Three guys who draw little notice but have been stalwarts in the bullpen this season.
Blake Treinen
2026: 4-1, 3.52 ERA, 1 save, 120 ERA+
Career: 49-42, 2.93 ERA, 83 saves, 142 ERA+
He had three great seasons with the Dodgers, but it has been hit and miss since then.
Kyle Hurt
2026: 3-1, 4.88 ERA, 1 save, 86 ERA+
Career: 3-2, 4.05 ERA, 1 save, 105 ERA+
On the IL again, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering his name. Kyle hurt? Yes.
Evan Phillips
2026: 0-0. 6.00 ERA, 78 ERA+
Career: 16-12, 3.39 ERA, 46 saves, 126 ERA+
He has pitched only three innings since his return from the IL, so it’s too soon to draw any conclusions on how well he has recovered. He was really, really good before the injury.
And finally …
Of course, this doesn’t include players such as Kiké Hernández and Edwin Díaz, who played very little this season but are expected back after the All-Star break.
Overall, a solid team. There’s no one where you can say “That guy is terrible.” There may be a player or two who is overpaid for their production, but even those guys aren’t terrible. And that’s how you end up with the best record in baseball at the All-Star break.
Leaders
Remember sitting down with the Sunday newspaper and turning to the page that listed all of the hitters and pitchers and their stats? The Times and almost every other paper stopped running that years ago. Let’s do a little of it now by listing the top five in key categories in the NL and where the top Dodger is at the break. Remember, to qualify for rate stats, you have to have 3.1 plate appearances or one inning pitched for each game your team has played.
Batting average
1. Otto Lopez, Miami, .334
2. Luis Arráez, San Francisco, .330
3. Nick Gonzales, Pittsburgh, .308
4. Xavier Edwards, Miami, .303
5. Jung Hoo Lee, San Francisco, .302
12. Shohei Ohtani, .293
On-base%
1. Juan Soto, New York, .412
2. James Wood, Washington, .410
3. Shohei Ohtani, .403
4. Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh, .400
5. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago, .386
10. Freddie Freeman, .375
Slugging %
1. James Wood, Washington, .575
2. Juan Soto, New York, .562
3. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia, .559
4. Luis Garcia Jr., Washington, .554
5. Shohei Ohtani, .549
Runs
1. James Wood, Washington, 89
2. Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh, 68
3. Brice Turang, Milwaukee, 66
4. Shohei Ohtani, 65
5. Matt Olson, Atlanta, 64
Doubles
1. Otto Lopez, Miami, 26
2. Rafael Devers, San Francisco, 25
3. Matt Olson, Atlanta, 24
t4. Six tied with 23, including Freddie Freeman
Home runs
1. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia, 32
2. James Wood, Washington, 28
3. Hunter Goodman, Colorado, 27
4. Matt Olson, Atlanta, 25
t5. Shohei Ohtani, 22
t5. Jordan Walker, St. Louis, 22
RBIs
1. Jordan Walker, St. Louis, 74
2. Luis Garcia Jr., Washington, 68
3. CJ Abrams, Washington, 67
3. Alec Burleson, St. Louis, 67
5. Andy Pages, 66
ERA
1. Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee, 1.62
2. Chris Sale, Atlanta, 2.20
3. Eduardo Rodriguez, Arizona, 2.29
4. Chase Burns, Cincinnati, 2.54
5. Max Meyer, Miami, 2.58
7. Justin Wrobleski, 2.69
9. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 2.85
Strikeouts
1. Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee, 167
2. Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia, 144
3. Jesus Luzardo, Philadelphia, 136
4. Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh, 130
5. Braxton Ashcraft, Pittsburgh, 128
13. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 106
Saves
1. Mason Miller, San Diego, 25
t2. Jhoan Duran, Philadelphia, 24
t2. Riley O’Brien, St. Louis, 24
4. Paul Sewald, Arizona, 22
5. Raisel Iglesias, Atlanta, 19
t7. Tanner Scott, 13
Up next
Friday: Dodgers (Roki Sasaki, 3-5, 5.33 ERA) at New York Yankees (Gerrit Cole, 3-4, 4.04 ERA), 4:05 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: Dodgers (Emmet Sheehan, 4-6, 4.81 ERA) at New York Yankees (*Ryan Weathers, 3-7, 4.15 ERA), 5:08 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 9-6, 2.85 ERA) at New York Yankees (Cam Schlittler, 9-5, 2.05 ERA), 4:20 p.m., NBC, Peacock, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
All times Pacific
*-left-handed
In case you missed it
Plaschke: Who says they don’t need him? Dodgers need to trade for Tarik Skubal
Most pressing question for Dodgers in the second half: Can Shohei Ohtani stay healthy?
Shohei Ohtani wins two ESPYs … and Mike Tyson learns the Dodgers superstar is a guy
Dodgers’ Mookie Betts has six Gold Gloves. And now a baseball glove company
Shaikin: To seize 2028 Olympics spotlight, does MLB really need draconian participation rules?
And finally
Kevin Costner on the legacy of Vin Scully. Watch and listen here.
Until next time …
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.