Pitching Staff

As Spring Training nears its end and the Los Angeles Dodgers prepare to begin the season there are a few questions that remain as far as the pitching staff goes. There are 10 pitchers that are a lock to make the staff.

Starters:
Chad Billingsley
Clayton Kershaw*
Hiroki Kuroda
Ted Lilly*
Jon Garland

Relievers:
Jonathan Broxton
Matt Guerrier
Blake Hawksworth
Hong Chih-Kuo*
Vicente Padilla

Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla are probably going to start the season on the Disabled List and if that is the case that means 2 to 4 pitchers a from the current group they have in camp will make the team. The Dodgers most likely will not need a fifth starter until April 12th so they will all be used in a relief role until then.

On the Bubble:
Scott Elbert*
John Ely
Kenley Jansen
Ramon Troncoso
Mike MacDougal
Ron Mahay*
Tim Redding

Scott Elbert and Ron Mahay- Since Kuo is the only left-handed lock on the team, all Elbert had to do was show that he could get the ball over the plate. At the beginning of the camp, he couldn't do that. His first couple of outings, I don't know if he got anybody out while issuing free pass after free pass. He has put in the extra work every day and his last several outings have been fairly impressive while not walking anyone. Ron Mahay has the Major League experience (500+ games) over Elbert but he has been inconsistent and has been hit pretty hard this spring (3 HR's allowed in 7+ innings). I would give the edge to Elbert.

John Ely and Tim Redding- The only two pitchers penciled in as starters in this group have both had pretty good camps. Ely has 0 BB's in 15 innings and Tim Redding has 144 big league starts under his belt and is a former 10 game winner with Houston and Washington. I would give the nod to Ely.

Mike MacDougal, Kenley Jansen, and Ramon Troncoso- MacDougal has the experience over the other two with three 20+ save seasons in the majors and has had a good camp, Jansen has shown some serious promise but he is still learning the art of pitching (not even 100 innings in the minors or majors), and Troncoso is very inconsistent. I would give the edge to MacDougal in this group with Jansen a close second.

I look for the Dodgers to break camp with 11 pitchers and for Garland and Padilla to start the season on the Disabled List. Ely and Redding will start the season in AAA until one of them is recalled on April 12th. I look for the three that start the season with the Dodgers will be Scott Elbert, Mike MacDougal, and Kenley Jansen.

*denotes left-handed