(Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers have had the luxury of having the best pitcher on the planet, Clayton Kershaw, as the team’s ace over the last decade.
Say what you will about recent years but the fact still remains that Clayton Kershaw has been the best pitcher in the major leagues this decade. Since 2010, Kershaw leads all pitchers in FanGraphs‘ WAR with a 55.6 mark.
If you expand the range all the way back to 2000, Kershaw still has the fourth-highest WAR among pitchers. He made his debut on the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008.
Despite Kershaw being the face of dominance on the mound this decade, he has fallen a bit off of the hill that he stood so highly on during the beginning and middle of the decade. Multiple injuries across several years have led to a dip in production out of Kershaw, who has not won a Cy Young since 2014.
His velocity has dipped and it feels like Kershaw is entering the latter portion of his career even though he is just 30 years old. He will be 31 in March. This is usually the prime years for great pitchers.
Since he is going to be just 31, there are plenty of reasons to believe that Kershaw can have the second half of his career similar to the first. Kershaw has given us no reason to think that he cannot excel if he stays healthy.
2019 is going to be an important year and one that can kickstart another year of dominance for Kershaw. Here are our three bold predictions for the three-time Cy Young winner.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News