The Los Angeles Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series and are in a good position to three-peat, given how stacked their roster is.
The Dodgers' roster is so loaded that stars like Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker can be playing terribly and the team still has the third-best record in baseball. Their starting rotation has been without Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow for almost the entire season as well. Not to mention, Will Smith has not played since June 5.
The Dodgers figure to be healthy for October, and it's worth asking if anyone in the National League can actually beat them in October. The randomness associated with baseball means there is always a chance, but on paper, it looks unlikely. Luckily for the National League, games are not played on paper.
The top contenders to topple the Dodgers are the Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
The Brewers have the best record in baseball and are on pace for 100 wins. Their starting rotation is elite, but their offense may not be able to outscore the Dodgers. In the postseason, home runs matter, and the Brewers hit fewer home runs than any team in baseball.
The Phillies have an elite rotation and added Luis Arraez to their offense at the trade deadline. Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo are an elite trio, and the lineup has enough stars to give the Dodgers a real run for their money.
The Cubs just swept the Dodgers at Wrigley Field, but faced just one starter whom they would see in the postseason. They saw Skubal on Tuesday, and he went six innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out six batters. The Cubs bolstered their own rotation at the deadline, but it does not stack up with the Dodgers.
The Braves have a lineup capable of doing real damage against any pitching staff, but their starting rotation is not very strong. To beat the Dodgers, they will need some miraculous stuff from their starters not named Chris Sale.
Ultimately, the Dodgers lineup, which has three MVPs and All-Stars like Max Muncy, Andy Pages, Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith, will be a problem for any pitching staff. Even if an elite rotation like the Brewers or Phillies can neutralize the offense, they will have to find a way to score runs on a postseason rotation of Blake Snell, Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani.
The Dodgers bullpen has been weak this year, but in the postseason, arms like Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki, Eric Lauer and Gavin Stone could be used in relief.
The teams most likely to dethrone the Dodgers seem to be the Phillies and Brewers. Both teams actually have the pitching to go toe to toe with the Dodgers' star-studded rotation.