Los Angeles Dodgers: The must-watch battle for the fifth rotation spot

The Los Angeles Dodgers have arguably the deepest starting rotation in baseball and there will be an entertaining battle for the fifth spot in the starting rotation.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had some big offensive years in the last six years that has contributed to the six-year playoff run. However, the main reason for the Dodgers’ success since 2013 has been a constant dominant presence with the starting rotation.

Led by perennial ace Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers have consistently had a solid starting rotation that put the team in position to win. Some years have been better than others and the rotation has been a revolving door of names.

Despite the changing names, there has been one constant: greatness. Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt is the best in the game and the results back that up. The Dodgers have the second-highest starting pitching fWAR since 2013 and the lowest ERA.

The next best team, the St. Louis Cardinals, are 18 points higher than the Dodgers.

This year is no different for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who field the deepest starting rotation in Major League Baseball. Nine starting pitchers on the Dodgers are projected to have a better ERA than nine aces on other teams.

It might seem hard to narrow a starting rotation down to five guys but the Dodgers already have the concrete top-four in Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill.

It is that fifth spot that will be intriguing and the Dodgers have three guys that will be fighting for the spot. While all three will start at some point because of the nature of the beast, there still will be a fight for the job to start the year.

Here is our breakdown of all three pitchers, in no particular order.