Max Muncy is one of the key players who adds depth to the Dodgers’ lineup.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
The Yankees’ lineup is no walk in the park, either.
While the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Yankees have their own big three in Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton.
And this October, there hasn’t been a better trio. Soto and Stanton have had monstrous postseasons, combining for eight home runs and 19 RBIs. Judge rebounded from a slow start, belting a couple of key home runs in the American League Championship Series.
A key question: Whether the Dodgers can replicate their bullpen-heavy pitching plan, or their consistent-enough starting pitching production, from the first two rounds.
“Can you win a World Series basically running multiple bullpen games?” Scout A asked. “That Game 3-4-5 pocket is where it really shows up.”
When it comes to attacking that trio, Scout A put Soto and Judge in a different category of difficulty than Stanton.
“You can spin it away on them, but you have to speed them up inside, you have to make them uncomfortable in the box,” Scout A said. “If you throw too many breaking balls and leave them in the zone, Judge kills in-zone breaking balls. They’re big guys with long arms and want to get extended. If you go fastball away, in-zone breaking balls, it goes right into their swing paths.”
Stanton, on the other hand, can be more susceptible to sweepers, having slugged just .349 against the pitch — a specialty of several key Dodgers relievers — this season.
“No question, he struggles with the sweeper,” Scout A said. “But you need to go hard in to earn that pitch.”
Scout B’s bigger question in regards to Dodgers pitching was the bullpen. The availability of top left-hander Alex Vesia could be crucial, especially against the left-handed-hitting Soto. Scout B also pointed to Michael Kopech as a potentially key piece, noting concerns about his occasional lack of command over the latter parts of the season.
“The ability of that bullpen to continue doing what they’re doing — obviously, injury-wise a big variable is Vesia; but performance-wise, a big variable is Kopech,” Scout B said.
Scout A made another observation, noting that beyond the Yankees’ big bats, the rest of their lineup is “much more pitchable” than the Dodgers.
“People don’t talk about how good [Max] Muncy is, and he hits fifth or sixth,” Scout A said. “[Tommy] Edman versus a left-handed pitcher is really good … As a team, they can handle right/left matchups and they’re balanced, all the way down.”