4 MLB Teams Bound to Improve in the Second Half

Los Angeles Dodgers

First-Half Record: 51-40
Run Differential: +53
numberFire Ranking: 3rd

Can somebody please explain to me how a team that has placed a small nation of starting pitchers on the disabled list is doing this well? Anybody? Good luck with that one. The Los Angeles Dodgers were good in the first half, but they could be great going forward.

Here's a list of the things the Dodgers' rotation currently has working in its favor. Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-jin Ryu recently made their season debuts following injuries that cost them most or all of 2015. Julio Urias is dealing with a 27.3% strikeout rate in his first eight starts. Recently-acquired Bud Norris (somehow?) has a 2.93 SIERA over his past six outings. Kenta Maeda is coming off the best performance of his career, in which he struck out 13 San Diego Padres.

Oh, and that Clayton Kershaw guy? They'll be getting him back in the not-so-distant future. With Scott Kazmir pitching at a decent level, they'll have the depth to move Urias into the bullpen eventually to save his arm, and that's not likely a cat you'd want to face in relief.

All of this is focused on the rotation, but the offense is also fourth in hard-hit rate over the past 30 days, and they seem to be figuring things out on that front, as well. If they can be 51-40 with their rotation in shambles, it's scary to think what they could do in the second half.