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The Los Angeles Dodgers have performed as advertised from the beginning, and the Chicago Cubs are in a good place, winning each of their last 10 games. In fact, the two teams are in the middle of a three-game series in Los Angeles. Watch Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 7:15 pm ET on FOX.
But what should we take away from the two teams’ respective good starts?
Thanks to injury, 2025 rookie Roki Sasaki He has just 54 regular season innings under his belt, as well as another 10.2 in the postseason. While his effectiveness shined in the bullpen, he still struck out just six batters and walked five, and similar issues persist in 2026. How long can the Dodgers keep Sasaki in the rotation if his control and command issues continue?
Rowan Kavner: They intend to let him work out his problems in the big leagues, despite lingering control issues. They can survive Sasaki’s volatility when Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow excel at the top of the rotation (combined, that trio has a 1.91 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 18 walks this year) and when Justin Wrobleski is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA as the team’s sixth starter.
Despite Sasaki’s unseemly 6.11 ERA and 1.87 WHIP, the Dodgers have the best ERA and WHIP of starters in the National League. Those numbers should improve even more when Blake Snell returns next month.
So while I think Sasaki should be in the bullpen or the minors in a more controlled environment working on his erratic command and the development of his third pitch, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Even with Snell activated, the Dodgers, at least now, say Sasaki won’t go to the bullpen. The control issues are concerning and ongoing, but at least they’re keeping their velocity above 90 and missing more bats than last year.
With top pitching prospect River Ryan currently on the shelf with a hamstring issue (and with the Dodgers being careful with Ryan’s innings after he missed last year recovering from Tommy John surgery), there aren’t many obvious alternatives knocking down the door right now.
Deesha Thosar: The Dodgers have the kind of depth other executives dream of, so it’s a no-brainer to let Sasaki work out his problems and give him a long leash, too. It’s not that Sasaki is so disruptive as to unbalance the Dodgers’ bullpen. Although he has allowed multiple runs in his last three starts and is having trouble issuing walks, he is averaging over four innings pitched each outing, which is manageable for now.
In the meantime, Los Angeles can determine whether Sasaki belongs in the rotation or the bullpen and hope something clicks and allows him to settle into the former.
Sasaki’s command issues are a problem, no doubt. That 14.1% walk rate is higher than last year. But, in a vacuum, that doesn’t hurt the club’s chances of competing in October. The only real red flag to watch for with the young right-hander is any potential drop in velocity. His fastball is in the upper 90s and he is able to repeat his mechanics while still generating swings and misses.
So now he has to adapt, pitch with confidence and find a balance that allows him to thrive, without overthinking, on the mound.
Outfielder Andy Pages took a leap last summer, producing a near-four-win season for the Dodgers that was overshadowed by their all-star lineup. You’re off to a great start in 2026 – is this another jump in production or just a hot April?
Kavner: Pages is prone to these wild swings where he’s scorching hot for a few weeks and then freezing cold for the next few weeks. Last year, he had a .544 OPS with three extra-base hits in his first 20 games before producing a 1.056 OPS with 11 extra-base hits in his next 20 games. We may be seeing something similar now, but in the opposite order. Pages had a 1.186 OPS with nine extra-base hits in his first 16 games before falling back to earth over the past week, posting a .500 OPS with no extra-base hits in his last eight games.
So, no, I don’t expect him to be challenging for the batting crown at the end of the season like he’s doing now, and I do think he’s going to have a month or two where he cools off considerably before warming up again. But I also think that this production is at least a little more sustainable. His hard-hit rate and average exit velocity have skyrocketed since last year, and while he’s still below the league average in walk rate, he’s at least shown more willingness to accept a free pass when it’s given to him.
Pages’ tendency to chase will make him vulnerable to ebbs and flows throughout the year, but he has shown slight improvement in his selectivity, and I think he could be primed for a career year with an OPS+ well above the 115 mark he finished last season with.
Thosar: It’s always a positive sign to look at a third-year player’s Baseball Savant page and see flashes of bright red in the right places. For Pages, those key areas that set him apart from the rest are elite career batting value, hard hit rate, and expected batting average. Pages’ quality of contact has been excellent so far this season.
Sure, Pages will likely cool off a bit, as his high BABIP suggests he can’t maintain a top-three MLB average all year. And when he inevitably experiences a drop at the plate, I’d like to see him chase less and walk more so he can still get on base and be a factor for the Dodgers.
But the underlying metrics are encouraging and suggest this season could be the real deal. In fact, Pages could finish among the top 15 leaders in batting average if he improves his chase rate and stays consistent with his approach at the plate.
The Cubs look like a contender as expected despite getting absolutely nothing offensive from the first baseman. michael busch and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Are you worried that either of their struggles will be a long-term problem?
Kavner: Yes, although right now I’m more confused than worried about Busch. The declines in hard hit rate and exit velocity are so pronounced and dramatic compared to what he was doing last year that I wonder if he was messing around with something. He has the biggest drop in average exit velocity (from 92.2 mph last year to 83.4 mph this year) of any qualified hitter in MLB, his bat speed has been slower, and he doesn’t throw the ball in the air as often.
There was a point last April where his exit velocity slowed, so maybe he just needs the weather to warm up to start looking more like himself. The series against the Phillies has been much more encouraging.
With Crow-Armstrong, defense and speed provide such a reliable base of value, but I don’t know if we can expect him to complete a full first-half season that he had last year, one that would put him in the MVP conversation, as was the trend heading into 2025 before the late-season slump, until, or at least, he gets his whiff and chase rates more under control.
Going back to early last August, he has the third-lowest wRC+ among all qualified hitters. In that time, he has just five home runs and a .563 OPS in more than 300 plate appearances, and his career OPS has dropped to .714, around a league-average hitter. However, he’s still only 24 years old and already has a 30-30 season under his belt, so we know what he can do when he’s in the zone. Now it’s a matter of finding a way to sustain what he had.
Thosar: I’m not as worried about Busch as I am about Crow-Armstrong when it comes to plate production. Last season, Busch got off to a slow start in April and May before taking off in the warmer months. He’s already started to show signs of improving, suggesting he could find his groove at the plate even before his hot June last year. There’s no doubt he’s been a big disappointment for the Cubs to start the season, and his reduced bat speed is something to keep an eye on. But for now, Busch’s track record is working in his favor.
As far as the PCA is concerned, they are starting the season similar to how they finished it last year, which is a bit concerning. The outfielder experienced a tough decline in the second half of 2025, with his OPS falling to a terrible .446 in 28 games in August. Early on, opposing pitchers are exposing PCA’s poor plate approach. He is an expert at chasing the ball out of the zone, to the point that it is actually a mistake for an opposing pitcher to throw a strike at him. He’s more likely to swing and miss balls low and far, and his barrel rate is half of what it was last year.
PCA will always provide value defensively and is a great sign that the Cubs are winning despite their offensive struggles. It’s too early to panic, but these appear to be lingering issues at the plate for the 24-year-old.
Chicago has received plenty of production from the 22-year-old designated hitter and designated catcher. Moisés Ballesterosafter a brief but impressive debut in 2025. Expecting Aaron Judge’s impression for the season is probably optimistic, but what kind of year do you think the rookie will have in ’26?
Kavner: The kid can crush right-handed pitchers, possessing a rare combination of bat-to-ball skills, power and the ability to command the zone. He’s also doing a better job of getting the ball in the air, which should lead to more home runs considering his penchant for hard contact. Because the Cubs aren’t exposing him to lefties and are primarily keeping him off the field (there are questions about his defensive abilities behind the plate, and at 5-foot-8 it’s hard to imagine him moving elsewhere full-time), he’s providing the best version of himself without becoming overexposed.
While it may be difficult for him to compete for NL Rookie of the Year when he’s barely playing the field, I wouldn’t be surprised if he remains a well above average hitter the rest of the way with 15-20 home runs and amazing pace stats. His bat is legit and impossible to ignore, even if his .400+ BABIP is unsustainable.
Thosar: It’s encouraging that Ballesteros has picked up where he left off in his big league cameo last September, when he posted a .999 OPS in 46 plate appearances. So far this year, he’s been able to increase his bat speed and hard-hit rate, and as we’ve discussed with other slow-starting hitters, Ballesteros would be forgiven if he had trouble getting going in April.
Instead, there’s talk around Wrigleyville of wanting the Cubs to extend this guy. One of the most encouraging signs of his good start is how well he is handling the ball. Ballesteros has reduced his ground ball rate from 62.2% in 2025 to 38.1% this year. He is hitting the ball more in the air, with an apparent intention to get ahead. None of these things are coincidences. Ballesteros is staking his claim as Chicago’s promising designated hitter.
