Do the Dodgers Have MLB’s Most Powerful Lineup?

                                     Last season the Dodgers had the NL West’s most powerful lineup smashing 244 homers and that was with Betts and Muncy having below average seasons. They replaced Conforto’s 12 homers with Tucker, who hit 22 last year. The Dodgers were second to the Yankees who slugged 274. The closest team to LA in the NL was the Mets who hit 224. The Mets lose a major power source with Pete Alonso moving to the Orioles in free agency. 

                                     One through nine, the Dodgers have a very powerful lineup, but depending on who gets the second base job, there is not much power in the eight and nine slots. The Yankees had 10 players hit homers in double figures last season. Ryan McMahon, who played in just 54 games with New York after his trade from the Rockies, hit only 4. But he is another perennial double-digit hitter. Between the two teams he hit 20 for the year. Since the Yankees are returning most of their players, including Goldschmidt, I think their power numbers will be close to what they were last season. 

                                      I believe the Dodgers have the most powerful lineup in the National League. In major league baseball though? I think the Yankees will come very close to matching what they did last season. I also believe that Pages will get better, and Teo will have a bounce back season. Tucker will easily out do what they got from Conforto. Edman hit 13 homers last season. Los Angeles also had 10 players with 10 or more homers. Ohtani 55, Betts 20, Freeman 24, Smith 17, Edman 13, Teo 25, Pages 27, Muncy 19, Kike 10, and Conforto 12. Rojas had 7, Rushing 4 and Kim hit 3. 

                                        The lineup will probably look like this, Ohtani DH, Tucker RF, Betts SS, Freeman 1B, Smith C, Muncy 3B, Teo LF. Pages CF and then Kim or at this point Espinal with Rojas, Rushing, Call, and Kim on the bench. During the course of the season this will change numerous times. Kike is expected back by maybe the All-Star break, and late May to early June for Edman. If healthy, Edman would be the odds-on favorite to start at 2nd base every day. 

                                       As for the other teams, five teams in the NL hit 200 or more homers in 25: Dodgers, D-Backs, Mets, Cubs and the Phillies. Arizona had the most doubles and triples. No team had an OPS higher than the Dodgers .768. The Cubs, D-Backs, Mets and Phillies were all .750 or higher. LA also led the league in total bases with 2415. Looking around the West, the Giants no longer have Yastrzemski, Flores, Dom Smith, from their starting lineup. They have been replaced by Bryce Eldridge, Luis Arraez, and Casey Schmitt. 

                                        Arizona lost 47 homers with the trades of Josh Naylor to the Mariners, and Eugenio Suarez, who is now with the Reds. They have been replaced with Carlos Santana, who is 40 years old and not an everyday player anymore and Nolan Arenado, whose defense is still elite, but he hasn’t had a good year offensively since 2022. Doubtful those two rake like Naylor and Suarez. Considering where they play, it is a little surprising the San Diego did not hit more homers. 

                                       They have some guys with plenty of power, yet they had the third lowest total homers in the National League. Only the Pirates, 117 and Cardinals, 148 hit less homers than the Padres, 152. Conversely, the Padres struck out less than any other team 1161 to the next least, 1247 posted by the Marlins. The Rockies hit just 160 homers even though they play 81 games at high altitude. The Giants, who play in a huge ballpark, hit 173. They do have an infield that has 20 plus homer power at three of the four positions. 

                                  Even though the Phillies hit over 200 homers, they had just two players, Harper and Schwarber slug 20 or more. The Mets had four players with 20 plus, two of them are with new teams, Nimmo to the Rangers in a trade, and Alonso to the Orioles as a free agent. They have added Bo Bichette, who will play 3rd, and Luis Robert Jr, both are capable of 30 plus power. Robert Jr. has a injury history, so it will be interesting to see how he performs in New York. 

                                  The powers in the Central will be the Brewers and the Cubs. The Brewers have two players who had more than 20 homers last year, Yelich and Chourio. Besides those two, Contreras, the catcher, and Andrew Vaughn have some serious power. Their strength is their pitching. In Chicago they have three players, Busch, Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki who hit 30 or more last year. Tucker is now a Dodger, replaced in right by Suzuki. Happ, their left fielder hit 23. Their newest addition is 3rd baseman, Alex Bregman, who hit 18 last year in Boston, but who has hit as many as 41 when he was in Houston. He will love the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. 

                                 Overall, the Dodgers have exceptional power in their lineup. They should be the leader or close to leading the NL in home runs this year. They have hitters like Freeman who are also doubles machines. I have to believe they will come close to matching or surpassing the numbers they put up last year.   ADDED: In checking some facts, the first 8 hitters in the Dodgers’ lineup have all had seasons of 20 or more homers. Kike, who figures to be on the bench at some point, has hit 20 or more twice.