Opening Day is less than two weeks away on March 27, but for two of the teams in the National League, the season starts much sooner. The Dodgers and Cubs will kick off this year’s regular-season action next week with two games in Tokyo.
We took a look at the NL East and NL Central earlier this week. It’s time to break down what could be the best division in the sport in 2025, the National League West.
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Los Angeles Dodgers
Projected record (per FanGraphs, as of March 14): 97-65, 97.5% odds to make the playoffs, 84.2% odds to win the division
What happened last year? With Shohei Ohtani in the fold and recording the first 50-50 season in MLB history, the Dodgers cruised to yet another division title despite an onslaught of injuries in the starting rotation. They were challenged by the Padres in the five-game NLDS but handily defeated the Mets and then the Yankees to win the franchise’s first non-pandemic World Series title since 1988. Then they doubled down by soundly winning the offseason with the additions of Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto, Tanner Scott and more.
Best-case scenario: The Dodgers do what everyone is afraid of and absolutely demolish the rest of the league, setting the MLB record for wins in a season. Ohtani continues to be a machine, delivering his one-of-one prowess offensively while returning to being one of the league’s best on the mound. Sasaki is the runaway NL Rookie of the Year, Snell mows hitters down, and L.A. captures back-to-back World Series titles.
Worst-case scenario: Disaster strikes, and the Dodgers not only fail to make it back to the World Series but also get knocked out before reaching the NLCS. The team’s rotation is once again decimated by injuries, and the organization struggles to fill holes the way it managed in 2024. Sasaki isn’t ready for the big leagues and disappoints as L.A.’s big-money strategy fails to deliver.
Make-or-break player: Ohtani. It’s tough to envision a season in which Ohtani is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and isn’t the team’s make-or-break player. The Dodgers’ success is significantly attributed to his prolific greatness, and even with all the other amazing players on the roster, if Ohtani is unable to perform at his typical levels, L.A. will suffer. We’ve reached a point where his offensive numbers are pretty consistent from year to year,…