It’s hard to believe that Opening Day is less than three weeks away, and it looks like the Los Angeles Dodgers are readying themselves to defend their back-to-back titles. But who knows? Everything can look good on paper, but baseball is known to throw a curveball or two. However, here are three positive predictions for the Boys in Blue.

Will They Hit 100 Wins?

This seems to be low-hanging fruit. After all, this appears to be the deepest team ever assembled in Dodgers history. However, it looked like winning 100 games was a good assumption last season, and Los Angeles struggled to win 93. As a result, they had to play in the Wild Card Round of the postseason. Third baseman Max Muncy said that 2025 was a challenging year.  There were times when the offense unexpectedly scored runs and injuries plagued the team. Thus proving that nothing is a given.

Granted, 2026 is a new year, and the Dodgers’ philosophy is to win as many games as possible. However, it is not the preeminent goal. The regular season serves as a prelude to the postseason. The primary goal is to win a World Series. To do that, Los Angeles tries to get to October as healthy as possible. The Dodgers may not sacrifice games, but they will not sacrifice arms for regular-season success. All things being equal, the Dodgers have enough talent to win 100 games, and it’s more than likely they will.

High Five for Shohei

Is there anything that Shohei Ohtani can’t do? He has four Most Valuable Player Awards to his credit, including back-to-back years with the Dodgers. In 2025, he was recovering from elbow surgery and couldn’t pitch, so he reeled off the first 50/50 season in baseball history. Last year, he hit 55 home runs while rehabbing his arm on a major league mound. This year, manager Dave Roberts expects Ohtani to have a “normal” year on the mound and be in the Cy Young conversation. Is there anything “normal” about Shohei? Not really. But if he has a successful year and stays healthy, it is easy to see another M.V.P. season in his future. It’s hard to bet against him.

The Difference Maker

River Ryan came up in the middle of the 2024 season and was inserted into the starting rotation in a time of need for the Dodgers. He quickly made a name for himself as his repertoire was nasty and his mound presence commanding. He proved it with a high strikeout rate and a microscopic Earned Run Average. However, he was soon sidelined with an elbow injury. After missing all of 2024, Ryan is back and making a bid for the starting rotation. Now, thirty pounds heavier, Ryan has regained his 95 mph-plus fastball. The Dodgers are hoping that with the increased weight and velocity, the right-hander will be able to fill a hole, stay healthy, and be effective. Someone is going to have to step up in the absence of Blake Snell and Gavin Stone. Ryan has filled a void once. Why can’t he do it again?

 

River Ryan gave up a home run, but was otherwise SUPER impressive. Fastball sat 96.3 and touched 98.5, and the slider was SIC.
2.2IP | 2H | 1R | 3Ks | 1BB

Dodgers fans are very excited about this young man, and rightfully so, but you have to understand that he’s coming off Tommy… pic.twitter.com/Naaiex1C7B

— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) March 9, 2026

All in all, Prognostications are fine on paper. It won’t be long, however, before they are tested on the diamond.

 

Main Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images