In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down each of the playoff teams from a scouting perspective.With a bullpen loaded with power arms and an assortment of pitchers who can shut you down in a variety of ways, the team to vanquish the Dodgers would likely want to do their damage early. The key is to remain patient and try to wait out their quality starting pitchers to get them out of the game by the middle innings.
If you begin to run into the back end of the Dodgers 'pen, chances are things will not go well. Young pitchers like Clayton Kershaw can fall victim to high pitch counts in a playoff atmosphere, so his starts in particular could be turning points in the series.
Despite some veteran influences, L.A. is driven by its outstanding young talent. Opposing pitching is likely going to need to make these talented young bats -- like Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier -- leave the strike zone. Whether or not they can remains to be seen.
The book on Matt Kemp around the league seems to be to attack him with off-speed pitches. He has outstanding bat speed and is unlikely to be beat by even the league's best fastballs. Make him go fishing out of the strike zone early in the series and you may be able to neutralize him. The Dodgers are paced by their youthful stars, but if you can turn that against them and force youthful mistakes, then you can stop them. There a number of pitchers in this playoff pool that have the skills to do that. Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Chris Carpenter, and Adam Wainwright come to mind.
Matchups To Watch
The Dodgers' bullpen deserves a lot of attention heading into the playoffs. From a scouting standpoint, their late-inning relievers possess some of the most electrifying stuff in baseball. From Jonathan Broxton's 100-mph fastball to Ronald Belisario's mid-90s sinker, few teams can match that kind of pure talent. These two power-armed relievers in particular thrive on their ability to challenge hitters with their fastballs without fear. This can be a dangerous game in playoff baseball where hitters like Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley await. If you are a Dodger fan, you still want to see your power arms in the bullpen remain confident in their fastballs; there have been more crushing playoff home runs on hanging breaking balls than on 96-mph heat.
X-Factors
Ronald Belisario: The middle innings are often where playoff games are won or lost. With Belisario, the Dodgers have a guy that many scouts would consider to have closer stuff pitching setup man/middle reliever innings. Keeping the ball in the park is another obviously important aspect of pitching in the playoffs, and this righthander does that with the best of them. He allowed just four big flies all season. • Scouting Perspective: Belisario has had the year he's had by essentially challenging hitters with his sinker. He has the right approach for a guy with such a powerful sinker. Living comfortably at 94-96 mph, Belisario attacks the plate and just allows his big action to take over. He mixes in the slider but knows to stick with his bread and butter. Intangibles are praised in playoff baseball, but pure stuff and talent tends to win out, and Belisario's stuff is truly elite; his sinker is one of the best in the game today. Few teams can run a guy out in the sixth or seventh inning with stuff of this caliber.
Clayton Kershaw: As mentioned with Belisario, power stuff usually rises to the top in playoff baseball. Kershaw is certainly the owner of power stuff from the left side. He appears locked, loaded and, most importantly, healthy heading into the Division Series. If the Dodgers run into the Phillies' lefty-laden lineup down the line, Kershaw is going to play a pivotal role in their starting rotation. • Scouting Perspective: Armed with a power 92-95 mph fastball and a devastating curveball, Kershaw's stuff is going to make an imprint on any Dodgers run through the playoffs. The southpaw throws downhill exceptionally well, creating a tough angle for the hitters and that's part of what makes his curveball as tough as it is. If he can keep any jitters he may have under control, he has the ability to take control of the game. Keep an eye on the curveball against right-handed hitters early. If he's spotting it down and on the inner half, it sets a tone for the entire night, making his fastball even tougher when he can elevate it. He needs to make the righthanded hitters respect that breaking ball from the get-go.
Manny Ramirez: For a mere mortal, Ramirez's 2009 wouldn't have been a bad season. But, even all controversy aside, Manny has been nothing short of underwhelming next to his usual production. He is still Manny Ramirez, however, and the Dodgers have to at least be curious if the Manny of old will suddenly reappear in the playoffs. When he is at his best, no one in baseball has a better track record against top-notch pitching. • Scouting Perspective: Something has been different in Manny since returning from his suspension. What is causing the difference isn't certain, but it appears his problems stem for deteriorating bat speed. What made Ramirez great in the past several years was his ability to cover both sides of the plate and all speeds. You'd see him punish the inside fastball but still have the bat control to drive the off-speed pitch away. Now, he sometimes appears to have to start the bat sooner on the inside pitch, and therefore doesn't have the ability to stay back as well on the off-speed ones. Whether it's a slump or deterioration remains to be seen, but Manny in the playoffs may give us some insight on that question.
Frankie Piliere has spent the last three seasons working as a scout, most recently in the professional scouting department for the Texas Rangers in 2009. He now serves as the National Baseball Analyst here at FanHouse.
