With the Dodgers’ 2026 season beginning tonight, it’s prediction time. No, not “the Dodgers will win the World Series,” that comes in tomorrow’s MLB prediction article. These predictions are a bit more bold, as the headline would imply.
You’re not going to get anything like, “Shohei Ohtani will hit 40-plus home runs,” since he has done that in his first two seasons as a Dodger and, even with him pitching more, should impact his bat that much. You’ll also not get anything like, “Edwin Diaz will save 30 games,” since that’s almost a lock (if not for injuries being in a thing). We’re thinking a bit more outside the box.
Five Bold Predictions
1. Ben Casparius leads the Dodgers in bullpen WAR
I wrote about Casparius’ chance of a breakout season in December, and I’m sticking with it. He isn’t going to get enough starting opportunities with the glut of arms ahead of him on the depth chart, but he’s also not going to be a single-inning reliever on most nights. So, saying he’ll end up with the highest WAR might be cheating a bit, since WAR is a counting stat. However, to accumulate the highest bullpen WAR for a team like the Dodgers, which led MLB in bullpen innings last season, would be no small feat. Oh, and his stuff is really, really good.
Daily tjStuff+ Leaders2026-03-23Min. 10 Pitches
1) Ben Casparius – 1162) Aroldis Chapman – 1123) Clayton Beeter – 111 pic.twitter.com/lgPyzGuP1C
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) March 24, 2026
(peep No. 4 on that list)
He amassed 68 innings as a reliever last season, and it’s possible he could get to that level again. The difference this year being he’ll be a better overall pitcher, accounting for a higher WAR. Side note: His 1.3 WAR as a reliever last season was third-best on the Dodgers, behind Justin Wrobleski and Jack Dreyer. To lead the Dodgers in bullpen WAR in 2026, he’ll have to post at least a 2 WAR season.
2. Mookie Betts returns to MVP-form
Prior to last season, Betts’ career batting line with the Dodgers was .284/.372/.530 with a 146 wRC+. So, to see him finish the 2025 season with a .258/.326/.406, 104 wRC+ was shocking. He never fully recovered from the illness he suffered last March that caused him to lose 20-25 pounds. He was behind the proverbial 8-ball all season. Yes, he had his moments, but the consistency wasn’t there. Fastforward to 2026 and a new training regimen could help him rediscover his former MVP form. He did hit .300/.447/.443 in Spring Training, which doesn’t mean much because Spring Training. The thing is, he did that with a 92.8 MPH average exit velocity and a 40.7 HardHit%, which is awfully encouraging. He’ll spend most of the season in the No. 3 spot in the lineup. The RBI opportunities should be plentiful with Ohtani and Kyle Tucker batting ahead of him.
3. Justin Wrobleski throws 120-plus innings
This would be as a starter/reliever, and to throw that many innings, he’d have to be pitching well enough. With Blake Snell not due back before the end of May and everyone not named Yoshinobu Yamamoto having question marks about durability, the opportunity should be there for Wrobleski to accumulate a lot of innings pitched. His career-high in innings pitched is 102 1/3 (2023), so effectively doubling his workload from last season may not be as doable. Having said that, he has some electric stuff and is hell of left-handed hitters. Also, he’s set to be in a bit of a piggyback situation with Roki Sasaki, and he might eventually overtake Sasaki in the rotation (see the next prediction).
4. Roki Sasaki throws more innings for Oklahoma City than Los Angeles
This one is kind of a bummer. After his postseason heroics last year (that, admittedly, may have been a bit overinflated), he figured to slide back into the rotation. Technically, he has, but he’s also on an extremely short leash since his Spring Training was concerning. His stuff appears to be in good shape, including the addition of a cutter, but his command/control just isn’t there. Because of this, he’ll struggle early in the season and will get sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He’ll spend more time there than with Los Angeles as he tries to figure out what he has lost since coming over from Japan.
5. Tommy Edman is closer to replacement-level (0 WAR) than average (2 WAR)
Edman struggled mightily in 2025, as he hit just .225/.274/.382 with an 81 wRC+. All but the slugging were career-lows. Yes, he was dealing with a messed up ankle, but there is more to it than that. Since coming to the Dodgers, Edman has hit just .229/.280/.392 with an 85 wRC+. He’s living off a strong 2024 postseason that saw him hit .328/.354/.508 and the NLCS MVP. He’s valuable defensively, since he can play all three up-the-middle positions (and play them well), but his bat has been lackluster since the Dodgers traded for him. The offseason ankle surgery should help, but there is no guarantee that it will.
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The chances of any of these hitting are slim. I think we’re all hoping the first three do and the last two don’t. I didn’t want to make this all positive predictions, because that surely wouldn’t happen.
It’s almost time for Dodger baseball!
