2026 MLB First-Half Recap: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Pitching

The Good

Very little went wrong over the first half.

Starting with the pitching, the Dodgers’ rotation was led by a trio of All-Stars: Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Justin Wrobleski.

Not only did Ohtani make a strong case to win the NL MVP again (he’ll get the pitching boost) but the two-way sensation was, statistically, one of the best pitchers in baseball. The third-lowest HR/9 (.42) among starting pitchers, 95 strikeouts over 85 innings, and a sub-2.00 ERA. He controlled things on the mound.

Yamamoto has shown no signs of slowing down after a historic postseason run. And then there’s Justin Wrobleski, who worked in the bullpen last season but moved into the rotation in 2026. No, not a lot of strikeouts. But Wrobleski, who has slowly expanded out the arsenal after being a mostly fastball/slider pitcher, turned in a 2.69 ERA over 100 IP.

Moving to the bullpen, Tanner Scott has performed very well in his second run as closer for the Dodgers. Fifty strikeouts over 38 innings, 13 saves, and hitters have struggled to do any damage on him this season.

As for the offense, it included two of the top 20 in wOBA (Ohtani & Freddie Freeman), plus Andy Pages, tied for the 22nd-most extra-base hits (39) over the first half. Pages put the last half of 2025 well behind him in the mirror.

Max Muncy has been healthy this season and hitting, as the third baseman has cracked 17 home runs.

The Bad

There were not many negatives from the 2026 first-half for the Dodgers. After all, the Dodgers ended the stretch as the best team in baseball from a wins perspective. However, there were some issues to point out.

Namely, the injuries. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell combined to make eight total starts, with seven of those coming from Glasnow. Edwin Diaz went down in April with an elbow injury that required the removal of loose bodies. The good news is that, as of mid-July, Diaz had already begun to work in rehab assignments.

Will Smith missed the final few weeks before the break, as well, which opened up the door for Dalton Rushing to take over as the interim starting catcher.

From a complete perspective, Mookie Betts‘ numbers weren’t outstanding in the first half. Betts slashed .235/.293/.416 with 11 home runs, with nine of those coming after May 1. The good news for the Dodgers is that Betts did get stronger as the first half went on.

However, the numbers for Betts were better than those of Kyle Tucker, who hit just four home runs since May 1. Yes, Tucker is getting on base, which helps with the value. However, Tucker is a $60MM AAV player. While the market dictated that to a certain extent (the Dodgers’ fervence to win another title did, as well), it’s been a tough run for Tucker thus far.

Looking Ahead

It’ll be interesting to see whether the Dodgers add more pitching. Tyler Glasnow has begun to work his back but he’ll need time. Blake Snell, meanwhile, is tentatively scheduled to start yet another rehab stint in July. So, those two are options for the second half.

But with Ohtani, who’s dealt with bicep and knee troubles of late, it would make sense to add an arm as the Dodgers look at a potential three-peat.