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While most Los Angeles sports fans are still frustrated at the Lakers’ fortunes in last week’s NBA draft lottery, the hometown baseball team has its own draft coming up in less than two weeks.

The 2014 MLB draft is set to begin on June 5, with the Los Angeles Dodgers slated to make a selection at No. 22.

Last year, the team chose right-handed pitcher Chris Anderson out of Jacksonville University with the 18th pick. 

Los Angeles has always been a team that prides itself on pitching. Fifteen of the Dodgers’ last 20 first-round picks have been pitchers, so it would not be surprising to see the trend continue.

Still, that doesn’t mean the Dodgers will have a problem drafting a position player if the right opportunity presents itself.

Based on expert projections and various mock drafts, the following slides take a look at some players the Dodgers are likely to target come next week.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers recently recorded 17 consecutive innings of hitless pitching, setting a team record since the franchise moved to Los Angeles, per the team’s official Twitter account.

Dodgers hurler Hyun-Jin Ryu followed up Sunday’s no-hitter from Josh Beckett by tossing seven perfect innings to begin Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds. The streak actually began Saturday night when Paul Maholm held the Philadelphia Phillies without a hit in the bottom of the eighth inning in an eventual 5-3 Phillies victory.

Ryu had a perfect game going through the first seven innings of Monday’s contest until Reds third baseman Todd Frazier led off the top of the eighth with a double down the third base line. Cincinnati went on to score three runs in the inning, all of which were charged to Ryu.

Reds outfielder Chris Heisey hit a sacrifice fly off of the South Korean pitcher, then reliever Brian Wilson allowed both of Ryu‘s inherited runners to score. Closer Kenley Jansen ended the threat with a four-out save in the 4-3 victory.

Prior to Frazier’s double, Maholm had allowed the last hit to a Dodgers opponent, a two-out single by Phillies outfielder Ben Revere in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game.

According to Elias Sports Bureau via ESPN, the 17 innings of hitless pitching matched the longest such streak in Major League Baseball since the Dodgers’ crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, accomplished the same feat on May 1-3, 2012. As one might expect, the Angels’ 17-inning run also included a no-hitter, one courtesy of long-time staff ace Jered Weaver.

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In years past, we haven’t gotten many excuses to ask what’s wrong with Clayton Kershaw. That’s a question that you ask when a pitcher is either hurt or ineffective, and Kershaw has rarely been either.

But on one occasion apiece, the Los Angeles Dodgers lefty ace has been both in 2014. He gave us an excuse to ask what was wrong when he went down with an injury around Opening Day, and again when he got annihilated by the Arizona Diamondbacks his last time out.

The answer the first time around turned out to be nothing major.

And after what happened Friday night, the answer the second time around appears to be nothing at all.

Making his fifth start of the season against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, Kershaw allowed only two hits, walked three and struck out nine in six scoreless innings. He also made it to the 100-pitch plateau despite having to sit through a roughly 45-minute rain delay in the fourth inning.

In the end, the Dodgers rode Kershaw‘s six scoreless innings, an RBI single by Yasiel Puig and a solo home run by Carl Crawford to a 2-0 victory. Kershaw dropped his ERA from 4.43 to 3.49, and the Dodgers ran their record to 26-23.

All told, not a bad way for Kershaw to follow up his brutal outing against the Diamondbacks on May 17.

You’ll recall, perhaps against your will, that he lasted only one and two-thirds innings in that one, giving up seven runs on six hits and a pair of walks. According to Bill James’ Game Score statistic, Baseball-Reference.com says it was the second-worst outing of Kershaw‘s career.

Maybe we should have seen Friday’s bounceback coming, though, with one reason being that bouncing back strong from terrible outings is one of many tricks up Kershaw‘s sleeve.

Here’s Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register with some knowledge:

That’s…Um…Well, all you can really say is “wow.”

But while this is cool and all, it’s not the only reason a bounceback start was in the cards for Kershaw. As poorly as he performed, the under-the-radar silver lining is that there wasn’t really anything wrong with him against the Diamondbacks.

It was hard not to at least consider the possibility, of course. It was only Kershaw‘s third start after coming off his month-long stint on the DL with that weird upper back/shoulder injury he came down with in late March. In watching him get lit up, you couldn’t help but fear the worst.

But Kershaw didn’t say anything about feeling any discomfort, telling Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he just plain “got hit hard tonight.” For his part, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he didn’t spot any red flags. 

And judging from the velocity Kershaw displayed against the Diamondbacks, it certainly doesn’t look like he was at less than 100-percent physically. Via Brooks Baseball:

Note: Kershaw also had a start in Sydney, Australia, but there was no pitch-tracking tech to take it all in.

You start worrying that a pitcher is injured when velocity goes down, not when it goes up.

If anything, Kershaw was actually throwing too hard against the Diamondbacks. His fastball command looked all over the place to the naked eye, and the numbers bear that out. Per Brooks Baseball, only 19 of the 33 heaters he threw against Arizona went for strikes. That’s 57.6 percent.

Here’s where we find one instance of Kershaw penning a different story against Philadelphia.

The raw data at Brooks Baseball says Kershaw averaged 94.0 miles per hour with his heater. That’s not 95, but 94 is still pretty good by Kershaw‘s standards, and better than pretty good if he’s controlling it. Which he was on Friday night, throwing 38 of his 55 heaters (about 70 percent) for strikes.

Another thing Kershaw couldn’t do against Arizona was fool anybody with his breaking stuff. He did get four whiffs on the 10 sliders and six curveballs he threw, but also yielded three hits. That’s very unusual, as both Kershaw‘s slider and Uncle Charles tend to be pretty far on the “unhittable” side of the breaking-ball scale.

This is another area where the extra velocity might not have been doing Kershaw any favors, but it could have been a night when he simply didn’t have a feel for his stuff.

That was the opinion of L.A. sports radio host David Vassegh, anyway.

You can probably guess where we’re going from here.

…Yup, Kershaw‘s slider and curve made a comeback against the Phillies.

The raw data says Kershaw threw 30 sliders. On those, he got 13 whiffs and allowed only one hit. And while the raw data says he threw only seven curves, he didn’t allow any hits on those and picked up one of his strikeouts on a wicked one to opposing pitcher Roberto Hernandez in the fifth inning.

That’s Kershaw‘s Friday start in a nutshell: good fastball velocity and command, and two wicked breaking balls.

Which is encouraging, because that’s also Kershaw himself in a nutshell. A good heater and two good breaking balls may not be a complicated recipe for success, but it works for him a lot more often than not.

His go-to pitches weren’t working for him when he got lit up by the Diamondbacks, but it’s apparent that it wasn’t because anything was physically wrong. Rather, it looks like he just had a rough day.

Even Clayton Kershaw is allowed to have one of those from time to time.

Friday night’s stellar outing alleviated the fears that Kershaw‘s body was still not 100 percent, and the future should hold plenty more of the same for him if he starts with the same weaponry he used on the Phillies’ bats.

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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From the “oohs” and “aahs” of baseball fans when they see this larger than life figure walk out onto a baseball field to the crack of the bat when he strikes a baseball to the sound of a teammate’s mitt popping when he guns a throw from right field to the sound of his car engine when he’s driving way too fast, Yasiel Puig is rarely surrounded by silence. 

Yet, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has quietly gone about his business over the last month while fellow Cuban slugger Jose Abreu has stolen all of the headlines. 

But now that Abreu has finally stopped demolishing baseballs and adding to his league-leading 15 homers—the 27-year-old is on the 15-day disabled list with ankle tendinitis—maybe it’s a good time to check up on this Puig guy who took Major League Baseball by storm in 2013. 

Not only has the 23-year-old Puig avoided any of the negative press that seemed to follow him around previously, whether it was from his 26-pound weight gain from the end of last season to the start of spring, his two reckless driving charges or just a multitude of bat flips and on-field behavior that almost always seemed to rub an opposing team the wrong way, he’s also putting up huge numbers that are reminiscent of his rookie season and probably even better. 

After a slow start (.723 OPS, HR in 14 games), at least for the standards he created after his amazing big league debut in 2013, Puig has been on a tear. Since April 20, he has a .366/.443/.693 slash line with eight homers, seven doubles and 30 runs batted in. 

He also extended a career-high 16-game hitting streak with this two-run homer on Saturday, though it ended the next day. 

His team is only 12-15 during that span, which is another reason why his current run is falling slightly under the radar. But that’s no fault of Puig, who is helping to squash the theory that one man is not capable of carrying an entire team on his back. 

If he was, you’d think this month-long performance by Puig would qualify as one of those cases. 

Regardless, Puig is thriving without the spotlight right now and proving all of his doubters wrong as opposing teams are still unable to put together a game plan that is strong enough to contain him. 

Any player capable of posting a .925 OPS with 19 homers in 104 games is cause for an opponent’s concern. When that player is a 22-year-old rookie as was Puig, it’s of even greater concern because of the strong chance of improvement.

But in Puig‘s case, his lack of patience (36 BB, 97 K) was an indication that he could eventually be figured out. The St. Louis Cardinals appeared to have done so in the NLCS when Puig went just 5-for-22 with no homers, a walk and 10 strikeouts. An 8-for-48 performance this spring with no homers, one walk and eight strikeouts was just another sign that the league was catching up to him. 

It was also the reason why Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was so reluctant to say that Puig was a middle-of-the-order hitter who could drive in a lot of runs, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Fast forward to his first 14 games of 2014. 

While his overall numbers weren’t great, there was possibly a silver lining. He had eight walks during that span. Compared to 2013, when he didn’t draw his eighth walk until his 43rd game, it was obvious that Puig was taking a different approach at the plate. 

Of course, that could’ve been seen as a lack of aggressiveness, resulting in his lack of production. Or it could’ve also meant that Puig understood the need to become a more patient hitter with the results showing up down the line. For the patience to pay off, he needed to be patient. 

The beginning of his hot streak, however, resulted in a .310 batting average (9-for-29) with two homers, a double, triple and zero walks. 

But instead of acting like the immature kid he’s been made out to be for very good reason, Puig didn’t become overly aggressive. In the 15 games that followed, he walked 11 times while hitting .409 (27-for-66) with six homers and five doubles. 

The difference, says Mattingly, is the patience that is forcing pitchers to throw the ball down the middle instead of always trying to make him chase pitches outside of the strike zone, even in a hitter’s count. 

“He’s now basically forcing the issue,” Mattingly said. “You throw him strikes or you walk him. He’s forcing them to throw strikes.”

Just when they think they have Puig figured out, he goes and does this. I guess it’s back to the drawing board. 

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Who wants to see grown men lay waste to a field of children with a volley of rubber balls?

Yep, it was dodgeball time in the city for Drew Butera and Dee Gordon. The two Los Angeles Dodgers were in New York on Monday when they took the business to a crowd of students from the Grace Church School.

The game was filmed for the MTV2 show Off The Bat From The MLB Fan Cave, according to TMZ. As you’ll see in the footage, Butera and Gordon were out to put kids in the dirt.

Both men caught throws, completing crucial two-man swings, though no one came from the sideline, leading me to believe this was a Dodgers-against-the-world scenario, and mercy be damned. Judging by Butera‘s play, you’d think the two men would be fed to the Rancor if they lost. 

The catcher snagged a ball out of the air and laced a kid in the torso, teaching him an important lesson about dodgeball and—ultimately—life. You’ve got to keep your hips honest and your head on a swivel if you want to make it in this world.

Gordon captioned this video “@drewbutera smashed on him lol.”

That’s not the sound of bruising. That’s the meaty smack of a lesson learned.

For those unfamiliar with the sports-ish program, Off The Bat debuted in April with the stated objective of “merging baseball and pop culture.”

According to Mike Oz of Yahoo Sports, the program is hosted by a medley of pop culture personalities, including rapper Fat Joe, model/actress Melanie Iglesias and MTV radio host Sway (who remains without answers). Each week involves baseball players from different teams coming in to share a bit of their off-the-field passions—which, in Gordon and Butera’s case, involves juicing hot rubber at the youth. 

The Dodgers play the New York Mets Tuesday night at 7:10 p.m. ET. Suffice it to say, their arms will be limber come game time.

Nothing loosens the rotator cuff like administering stern lessons in the five D’s. 

All is fair in love and dodgeball.

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Zack Greinke has registered a 3-0 record and 1.72 ERA in five starts against the Arizona Diamondbacks since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Friday, as the two teams face off at Dodger Stadium.

Sports bettors will find that the Dodgers are minus-145 home favorites in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at 8.5 in the market.

Let’s take a closer look at this National League West matchup from a betting perspective, while offering a prediction along the way.

Gambling stats via SBR Forum 

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A quarter of the season is in the books, and most Dodgers fans would agree that their team has played to about a quarter of its potential. 

One of the most popular picks to represent the National League in the World Series this season, Los Angeles began the week just one game over .500.

The Boys in Blue have not won a series since sweeping the Minnesota Twins almost two weeks ago and own a disappointing 8-12 record at home.

The trade deadline is less than three months away. While a lot can change between now and the end of the July, general manager Ned Colletti may want to start thinking about potential deals in case his team can’t find a way to right the ship.

Trade an Outfielder for Bullpen Help

When the Dodgers promoted Yasiel Puig last season, it meant there would be four highly paid outfielders for only three outfield spots. Skeptics wondered how manager Don Mattingly would handle the situation which, due to injuries, didn’t actually come to fruition until this season.

So far, Mattingly has settled an outfield rotation that favors certain matchups while giving all four outfielders multiple opportunities to start each week.

Having Puig, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier or Carl Crawford available off the bench any given day is certainly a luxury. But those four are all good enough—and paid well enough—to warrant full-time action.

That’s why it might make sense to ship one of them off in exchange for some bullpen help.

It’s no secret that Los Angeles relievers have struggled this season. The Dodgers’ bullpen has compiled a 3.94 ERA with 11 losses and five blown saves in 17 chances following Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Here are two possible trades that may help ease the bullpen concerns:

 Andre Ethier for Luke Gregerson

This trade would send Ethier back to the team that originally drafted him 11 years ago, while giving him the opportunity to start every day in Oakland. The A’s have a hole in right field as Josh Reddick has underwhelmed this season to the tune of a .214 batting average with just one home run.

The Dodgers would receive a quality right-handed relief pitcher in Gregerson, who is currently a key contributor to a top-five bullpen in terms of opponent batting average. His personal 2.37 ERA so far this season is even lower than his fine career ERA of 2.88.

The former San Diego Padre has experience in the National League West and could help spell a Los Angeles bullpen that has already pitched the second-most innings in all of baseball.

The potential snag lies in the financials of the deal. Ethier is owed about $10 million more than Gregerson this year. It doesn’t help that the A’s have been a notoriously frugal franchise.

However, Oakland’s ownership has shown a recent willingness to reach deeper into its pockets, as the team’s 2014 payroll is the highest it’s been in 14 years.

Carl Crawford for Will Smith

Carl Crawford is another outfielder that the Dodgers may need to use as a trade chip. In exchange, Colletti would reel Will Smith into Hollywood. No, not that Will Smith. The Milwaukee Brewers‘ young reliever currently leads the majors in holds. His 25 strikeouts in just 17 innings pitched have led to a miniscule 0.52 ERA. 

Unlike Kemp and Puig, Crawford did not originally sign with Los Angeles. It wasn’t Colletti who offered Crawford his current contract that will pay him over $20 million this season.

The Dodgers acquired Crawford in the 2012 mega deal with the Boston Red Sox and thus might be more inclined to part ways with him come July.

Crawford’s .255 average this season is nothing to write home about, especially considering his career average is .291. He’s no longer the speed demon of years past and hasn’t really gotten the opportunity to play the role of table-setter for the Dodgers this year due to the re-emergence of Dee Gordon.

Although Crawford’s contract will be unattractive to suitors, Milwaukee’s 2014 payroll is also the highest it’s been in the 21st century. The Brewers have been a surprising team this year and surely believe they are contenders. Crawford’s veteran presence may help fill an important void on the team.

If anything, he’ll be an upgrade from the current right-field combo of Logan Schafer and Caleb Gindl. In 66 combined at-bats, the two youngsters are hitting .196 with zero home runs and five runs batted in.

Trade an Outfielder for Infield Depth

The depth of the Dodgers’ infield is the polar opposite of the outfield. Beyond established veterans Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Juan Uribe, there’s not much to speak of.

Colletti always likes having a super utility infielder that isn’t known for power but rather versatility. Last season, it was Nick Punto. This year, it’s Justin Turner.

The only problem is that Turner hasn’t been turning in much production when he gets a chance to play. He began the week hitting just .180 in 65 at bats.

Here are some potential deals that might solve issues surrounding the Dodgers’ infield depth:

Andre Ethier and Chone Figgins for Adam Lind

The Blue Jays‘ Adam Lind might be a good fit in Los Angeles. What the Dodgers have been lacking in recent years is a powerful left-handed bat off the bench. Lind has been relegated to designated hitting duties with occasional starts at first base behind Edwin Encarnacion in Toronto. He hit 23 home runs last season, far more than the combined total of Dodgers’ bench players in 2013.

Lind is off to a slower start this year, with just two home runs. Still, his .306 average is a bright spot along with his 118 home runs over the past five seasons.

While Toronto has a fully loaded outfield with Melky Cabrera, Colby Rasmus and Jose Bautista, Ethier could still make the occasional start like he is doing now with the Dodgers.

But with the designated hitter in the American League, he’d be guaranteed even more at-bats than he’s receiving in Los Angeles.

Lind could be a fine backup to Adrian Gonzalez at first base, and he has outfield experience. Lind would essentially play Chone Figgins’ current role, but with the added power from the left side—something that’s been missing from Mattingly’s bench. Figgins would simply be a throw-in.

Carl Crawford and Justin Turner for Conor Gillaspie and Matt Lindstrom

This trade with the Chicago White Sox would bring in both a left-handed bat off the bench along with a veteran relief pitcher. Conor Gillaspie, who hit 13 home runs last season, can play both corner infield positions. Juan Uribe’s recent hamstring injury has raised even more questions about the Dodgers’ lack of infield depth.

The Jerry Reinsdorf-owned White Sox would be able to handle Crawford’s contract. This is assuming that Chicago is not one of the teams to which the outfielder can block a deal, per a stipulation in his contract.

The White Sox should be able to easily plug Crawford into their outfield shuffle. The team doesn’t have any proven outfielders outside of Alejandro De Aza and Dayan Viciedo, although they will look to develop Adam Eaton when he returns from the disabled list.

Matt Lindstrom is currently closing out games for Chicago and has turned in a solid 2.81 ERA. Although he has blown three of eight save chances, the hard-throwing right-hander wouldn’t be called upon to finish games in Los Angeles. Rather, he could be used in place of the struggling Brian Wilson.

It’s no secret that the Dodgers have underwhelmed so far in 2014. Still, they are above .500 and not in last place like they were at this point a year ago. If there’s a team that knows about flipping a switch, it’s the one that went on a 42-8 run last season.

The Dodgers remain one of the most talented squads in the league and should be able to gather momentum sooner rather than later. It’s not time for Colletti to pull the trigger on these panic trades just yet, but they should be considered if things don’t turn around over the next few months.

All stats courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.

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The Dodgers made a splash when they signed Cuban middle infielder Alexander Guerrero this past offseason to play second base, but in the early stages of the 2014 season, it’s been another middle infielder that has emerged as a sensational second baseman.

After years of hacking at the threshold, Dee Gordon has finally materialized into the player that he was hyped up to be when he made his major league debut for the Dodgers in 2011.

In his prior three seasons with the Blue Crew, Gordon flashed game-changing, lightning speed on the base paths, but getting on base with consistency was a challenge for him, as he hit a collective .256 in his career coming into this season.

In addition to his unpredictability at the plate, he also struggled to make plays at his native position of shortstop, where he tallied 35 errors in 160 games (.947 fielding percentage).

Gordon’s mediocre performance and the signing of Guerrero in October 2013 suggested that the 26-year-old infielder would be spending most of the 2014 season in the minors, barring an injury to shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Facing another run-of-the-mill year alternating between stints with the Dodgers and their minor league affiliates, Gordon worked his tail off in the offseason and put on nearly 15 pounds of muscle to his slender 5’11” frame.

Gordon continued to work hard in spring training, where he hit .271 and stole 10 bases in 21 games, notching more base knocks (13) than Dodgers sluggers Adrian Gonzalez and Ramirez.

Then, the ideal scenario aligned for Gordon to reclaim his starting spot in the Dodgers lineup.

The Blue Crew let Mark Ellis, who was the team’s everyday second baseman for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, enter the free-agency market, a logical move given the four-year, $28 million deal they’d just inked with Guerrero.

However, Guerrero demonstrated in spring training that despite having ample years of professional ball in Cuba at age 27, he wasn’t quite refined enough to be an everyday major league infielder, particularly at his new position of second base.

Enter Gordon, rejuvenated and willing to do whatever to make the 25-man roster.

In only a few months, Gordon has not only made the transition to second base, but has been the most consistent contributor to the Blue Crew’s offense, which contains sluggers like Gonzalez, Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, who are being paid a collective $71 million this year to join forces to become one of MLB’s most dominant offensive juggernauts.

One-quarter of the way into the season, the 26-year-old second baseman leads the Boys in Blue in both batting average (.324) and hits (48). What more could manager Don Mattingly ask for from his leadoff hitter?

However, Gordon doesn’t just get on base. He has the exceptional ability to immediately swipe his way into scoring position, which has been extremely valuable for the Dodgers’ No. 2 hitter, Yasiel Puig, who is currently on pace to drive in 117 runs in his sophomore season.

Gordon is not only leading MLB in stolen bases with 24 bags swiped, but is doing so by a wide margin, as the runner-up in steals, Eric Young Jr., is nine steals behind him. Additionally, Gordon, who is on pace to steal 97 bases this season, has only been caught stealing three times so far (12.5 percent caught-stealing rate).

Gordon’s ability to single-handedly bolster the Dodgers can’t be ignored, much like Puig first demonstrated when he was called up to make his debut last June.

He put his game-changing prowess on full display on Saturday, when he orchestrated an offensive surge that led the Dodgers to snap a three-game skid and beat the Giants 6-2 in Dodger Stadium.

After singling in the Dodgers’ first at-bat of the game, Gordon stole both second and third base, giving the meat of the lineup a chance to drive him in. They didn’t, but that didn’t stop him from having a big impact on the Dodgers offense later in the game.

In his third at-bat, Gordon worked Matt Cain, who had managed to hold the Dodgers scoreless through five innings, for a leadoff walk. He then stole second and later scored the first run of the game on a double play off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez. Kemp then evened the score at 2-2 with an RBI single that wouldn’t have happened without Gordon starting off the inning well for the Dodgers.

An inning later, Gordon slapped a double down the left field line with two outs that scored catcher Drew Butera from third and nudged the Blue Crew ahead of the Giants 3-2 late in the game. He then scored on an ensuing ground-rule double from Puig.

In all, he manufactured three runs in critical junctures of the game nearly all by himself. A manager should always find a way to pencil in a player that has that much influence over a game.

Which then brings about another dilemma to the Dodgers. When Guerrero proves he’s ready to be called up to The Show, what will they do?

Regardless of whether or not Gordon continues to perform at his current stellar rate, will they put him on the back burner and bring Guerrero in as their everyday second baseman?

The Cuban sensation has already made a good impression on the Dodgers in Triple-A after a mediocre display in spring training. After 26 games, Guerrero is hitting .337 with a .392 on-base percentage, four home runs and 18 runs batted in.

He still has some work to do at second base, where he is learning the ropes after playing shortstop for all of his life, but he’s on pace to be called up in a month or two if he continues to develop at his current rate.

Will the Dodgers stick with Gordon, who has improved tremendously and has established himself at the big league level, or Guerrero, who has loads of potential but has no experience in MLB?

Gordon is hitting for average and can steal a base in the blink of an eye; Guerrero is hitting for power and average but has limited experience facing major league pitching and may be a liability in the field.

If the Dodgers’ future decision relied solely upon risk-reward, then Gordon would be the obvious choice if he can continue to buoy the offense as he has done so far in the leadoff spot.

Nevertheless, the Dodgers didn’t sign Guerrero for $7 million a year to stay in the minors or ride the pine, which could very well lead them to supplant Gordon with Guerrero at second base merely for monetary reasons.

Which leaves Gordon with little room for error. The moment he falls into an offensive slump may trigger his demotion from the starting lineup.

However, if Gordon continues to hit above .300 and steal bases like a bandit for the majority of the season, it makes little sense to make Guerrero the Dodgers’ starting second baseman, regardless of the economic discrepancy.

If the Dodgers’ true goal is to win baseball games, then an offensive force like Gordon should remain in the starting lineup, even if Guerrero continues to thrive and develop in the minors.

Yet, it’s difficult to tell what would be considered common sense for a team that is now commonly driven by cents.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to conclude a grueling nine-game road trip this week, one that has featured almost every challenge the team could imagine.

It began with a rainout in Minnesota, which led to a day-night doubleheader later in the week. The second game of the twin-bill against the Twins lasted over five hours. After jetting down to Miami for the weekend, the team flew back up north to Washington, D.C. and was greeted with a mid-game rain delay that lasted over three hours.

Despite the unwelcoming conditions of the past week, the Dodgers are guaranteed to return home to sunny Los Angeles with a winning record overall.

As the Boys in Blue prepare for a big four-game series with the San Francisco Giants later this week, let’s take a look at the three biggest takeaways from the past month of Dodgers baseball.

The Dodgers Aren’t Making Home Fans Happy

The Dodgers have been sending home fans to the parking lot with their heads down for most of the season so far.

The team is a very underwhelming 6-9 at Dodger Stadium this year. The home slate started out on the wrong foot when the Giants blitzed Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu with six runs in the first inning of Los Angeles’ home opener, quickly subduing the pomp and circumstance of the pregame festivities.

Fans at Chavez Ravine haven’t had much to cheer about since then, as the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies have been the most recent teams to take series from the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The only team the Dodgers have been able to handle at home was the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks.

All told, the Dodgers are the only National League squad currently among the top three teams in their division to have a losing record at home.

But Don Mattingly’s bunch has made up for it on the road, where they continue to frustrate opposing fans.

Entering the final two games of their series against the Washington Nationals, the Dodgers own a ripe 12-6 record on the road. That’s good for second in the National League behind the surprising Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dodgers have already swept the Diamondbacks and Minnesota Twins at their places this year, and are in position to complete a winning road trip by taking one of their two remaining games at Washington this week.

Outfield Dilemma Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be

Ever since the Dodgers called up Yasiel Puig from the minors last season, skeptics immediately questioned how Mattingly was going to manage the playing time of four high-paid outfielders with only three outfield spots available.

Well, the the potential problem didn’t really come into play until the beginning of this season, and so far it hasn’t been that big of an issue.

Mattingly has been employing an outfield rotation that favors certain matchups and situations while giving his four elite outfielders multiple opportunities to start each week.

Veteran left-handed outfielders Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford typically sit against southpaw pitchers. This is a wise move considering Ethier has posted a meager .233 batting average against lefties over the course of his career. Crawford is slightly better at .258.

But when Mattingly looks down his bench and sees a right-handed batter like Scott Van Slyke, a guy who’s hitting .375 with three home runs this season against lefties, it makes sense to start him over Ethier or Crawford.

Other times, Mattingly will give certain outfielders the day off if they have been slumping or—in the case of Puig—taken a fly ball off the head while crashing full speed into a wall, as was the case Sunday afternoon in Miami.

The bottom line is that the Dodgers have the rare luxury of mixing and matching above-average outfielders on any given day. Although Puig, Ethier, Crawford and Matt Kemp are getting paid enough to warrant a spot in the starting lineup every day, it simply can’t work when all four of them are healthy.

So far, the Dodgers have not had to deal with any public gripes about playing time, as Mattingly has continued to give each of them a fair chance every week.

The Bullpen Has Been Overused

Dodgers relievers lead the majors in innings pitched at 119 and have issued the second-most walks entering Tuesday’s game at Washington.

It also hasn’t helped that Los Angeles has played in more extra-inning contests than any other team in the league. Part of the reason for these long games is due to unpredictable situations, but other factors include relievers failing to do their jobs by closing out wins.

Closer Kenley Jansen’s 18 appearances are more than the Dodgers would have liked to see, especially considering the team has only played 33 games so far. Jansen’s two blown saves and 3.52 ERA are also numbers that the team expected to be lower at this point in the season.

Just this past weekend, Dodgers relievers were unable to preserve a 7-3 lead in the seventh inning at Miami. Los Angeles eventually won in the 11th inning, but not before the bullpen hurled 102 pitches—the same number that starter Paul Maholm threw in six innings of work.

Luckily for the Dodgers, their starting rotation gained some much-needed stability this week with the return of Clayton Kershaw. The defending Cy Young Award winner should be able to give the bullpen a rest, and it will be up to the other starters to follow his lead by going deep into games.

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More than a month through the season, the performances of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top prospects have stabilized. We’ve seen some regression away from the extremely impressive early season numbers put up by many of the young starters. 

This is not necessarily concerning, of course: Young players are prospects because they still have areas in which they can improve, and consistency is clearly one of those. However, it may indicate that some of these players are not as big league-ready as we might have hoped or expected.

Notes: All statistics courtesy of MiLB.com unless otherwise noted. All statistics updated through May 5 unless otherwise noted. Prospect list courtesy of MLB.com. Nos. 8 and 9 Ross Stripling and Onelki Garcia are out for the season, so Nos. 11 and 12 Jose Dominguez and Matt Magill will take their place.

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