Fan Poll Reveals Frustration With Dodgers’ Starting Rotation

As we reach the end of August, one month remains on the baseball calendar for teams to prepare for the postseason. Dodgers Nation posts weekly polls regarding all things Dodgers, creating a space for fans to share their opinions. Ranging from the pitching staff, to position players, to a debate about the best Dodger ever, this week’s polls gave much insight into the minds of fans as Los Angeles heads into the final month of the regular season.

Opinions regarding the Dodgers’ pitching staff was the most divided of all topics. Both the bullpen and starting rotation received nearly equal amounts of approving and disapproving votes. Only the starters received a more unfavorable rating overall.

Injuries are an obvious concern this season, especially for the rotation. Tyler Glasnow is back on the injured list after four starts. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was expected to be a significant contributor, has remained on the IL since June. Even some of the pitchers that have returned from injury, like Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, have struggled since becoming healthy.

Fans were specifically concerned about Buehler and Bobby Miller.

Across his first two starts, Buehler has logged a 7.36 ERA, allowing 11 hits and seven runs. Miller was optioned to Triple-A following the worst start in his career last month. Now that the Dodgers called him up again, Miller is still struggling, posting an 8.02 ERA in his first start back.

While Buehler and Miller bore the brunt of criticism toward the rotation, four relievers were the main targets of fans’ disapproval in the bullpen.

Phillips, Treinen, and Kelly all have logged ERAs over 4.60 since the All-Star break. This is a little too high for comfort, especially when the postseason rolls around. But, Banda has the lowest ERA of any southpaw on the team. Additionally, he has the second-lowest ERA of active pitchers in the bullpen, behind Michael Kopech.

Kopech has not allowed a run since joining the Dodgers, earning the trust of many fans in the poll.

Acquiring Kopech contributed to the fans’ approval of the front office. The addition of trade deadline pieces like Kopech, Jack Flaherty, Kevin Kiermaeir, and Tommy Edman have helped the Dodgers all over the field. The combination of trade deadline and offseason acquisitions generated more than three-quarters of fans’ satisfaction.

The position players also received mostly positive feedback. With only one fan pointing out an issue with the bottom of the batting lineup.

Oftentimes, the bottom of the lineup included some combination of Kiermaier, Kiké Hernández, Jason Heyward, and Chris Taylor. With Taylor’s return from injury, and Heyward being designated for assignment, the bottom third will look different on occasion.

With the Dodgers’ narrowing division lead, it is not surprising that a handful of fans do not approve of Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts.

Fans highlighted the main issue to be management of the pitching staff. As injuries have wiped out multiple Dodgers’ pitchers, some fans question if Roberts deserves blame.

However, many fans agreed Roberts has no control over injuries. One fan was impressed by Roberts’ ability to produce the best record in baseball despite having the most time lost on the IL.

Sometimes, Dodgers Nation includes bonus questions that are not part of the regular set of polls. Following the return of Justin Turner to Dodger Stadium over the series against the Mariners, one question asked if fans would like to see Turner finish his career in Dodger blue.

As one of the most accomplished and beloved Dodgers players in history, multiple fans are hoping to see “Justin Turner Day” on the calendar one day.

The final bonus question spurred a debate over the best season for a Dodger player in history. It asked if fans think Shohei Ohtani’s 2024 season deserves that title.

Some fans agreed that Ohtani’s season is up there for one of the best. But, he still has a few more criteria to meet in order to secure the title.

Other fans had their own suggestions for which Dodger players put up the best season in history, including Ohtani’s current teammate.

Regardless of which Dodger has had the best season, there is no doubt that Ohtani has already cemented himself as one of the best Major League players in history.

Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Have you subscribed to ourYouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, rumors, interviews, live streams, and more!