The Dodgers are nearly through to the postseason, and the only real suspense left in the National League is where they land in the bracket. Everything else feels pretty much settled around them. The chase now is less about whether Los Angeles gets in and more about which road it takes once October begins.
For the Dodgers, the bigger question is whether they finish as the NL’s top seed or settle into the second spot. That choice shapes the first round, and it’s the kind of setup that has fans already gaming out matchups even if the club itself probably isn’t spending much time on it. The Dodgers, after all, are trying to defend a championship for the second straight year and chase the first threepeat in National League history.
The NL’s other notable race is the fight for the sixth seed, where the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are still in the mix. The Miami Marlins are technically hanging around too, but only barely. The Dodgers can essentially put the final nail in Miami’s season with their trip there in September, which is a strangely familiar place for the schedule to send them.
If the Dodgers grab the top seed, they’d draw the winner of the projected Cubs-Phillies matchup. That’s not exactly a soft landing.
Chicago, with likely Most Valuable Player Pete Crow-Armstrong, has the kind of profile that can swing wildly from terrifying to baffling. Philadelphia, meanwhile, is still waiting for a shot at avenging Kerkering’s Blunder from last year.
That path would also leave Milwaukee watching the other side of the bracket with interest. Brewers/Cubs 2: Electric Boogaloo would have plenty of juice, and probably the same ending, though there’s a wrinkle that could still shift things around based on what happens in the next week. For now, though, the current projection is the one to work from.
The second-seed path is the one that keeps looking most likely, at least from one view of the board. In that scenario, the Dodgers would face the winner of the Braves, Diamondbacks, and Padres section of the bracket. That setup comes with plenty of storylines attached: a possible shot at revenge for 2021, a repeat of Arizona’s 2023 surprise run, or, worst of all, Dodgers/Padres 4: The Revenge?!?
The preferred outcome, if you’re making a list, is pretty simple: let the Dodgers rest, let somebody else burn energy in the early rounds, and give Los Angeles a fresher route back to the NLCS. The danger comes if they end up facing the Diamondbacks or Padres in a three-game series in Los Angeles and then have to hop on a plane to Atlanta afterward, assuming they get through at all.
That’s the kind of path that can get messy in a hurry. And as this season has already shown, neither Arizona nor San Diego is likely to roll over the way last year’s Reds did.
In Other News...
Dodgers Have A Shohei Ohtani Problem Fans Wont Ignore
Shohei Ohtanis latest stretch has turned into something the Dodgers can no longer treat like a short-term slump. Los Angeles placed him on the 15-day injured list after he had already been benched for most of the recent games and had struggled at the plate, a sequence that has only sharpened the scrutiny around how the club has handled one of the sports biggest stars. Ohtani has been working through knee and biceps issues, and for a team built to chase a title, his availability has suddenly become a much bigger part of the nightly conversation than anyone expected.
Dave Roberts and members of the front office have already acknowledged how difficult it has been to manage the situation, and the real concern now is not just the injury itself but the way the decisions around it were made. The Dodgers were trying to balance performance, health and the long view, but the communication issues between Ohtani and the team suggest there was more uncertainty behind the scenes than fans were led to believe. For a club that needs him at his best, sorting out the next step may matter as much as the recovery timetable. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Depth Battle Looks All But Over For Two Young Players
The Dodgers late-season roster picture keeps narrowing, and for two young infielders, the path to October already looks blocked. Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim are both on the 40-man roster, but the current read is that neither is in line for a postseason spot unless the club gets hit by injuries. Freeland has drawn the more favorable internal buzz thanks to his plate discipline and youth, and he is with the big club now, while Kim remains in Triple-A.
For Kim, the timing is especially tough because the bat has not yet forced the issue in the minors. Freelands case has become the cleaner one as the Dodgers sort through depth and versatility, but even that has not translated into a real playoff role. At this point, the more intriguing question is not which of the two makes the cut, but whether either player can do enough before October to turn an already thin opening into something real. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Prospect Josue De Paula Is Forcing A Bigger Conversation
Josue De Paula has turned Double-A Tulsa into a very loud stop on the Dodgers prospect track, and not just because of the numbers. The 2026 standout has been drawing attention for an offensive profile that keeps checking every important box: he makes contact, he controls the strike zone, and he brings real power to the table. When a player in the system starts producing at a .303 clip with a 145 wRC+ in the upper minors, the conversation stops being about whether he belongs on lists and starts shifting toward what kind of major league hitter he can become.
For the Dodgers, the intrigue goes beyond the bat. Evaluators are increasingly circling around the same question, namely where De Paula fits defensively and how that might shape his long-term value. The comparisons being tossed around with prospects such as Kevin McGonigle and Sal Stewart only underline how quickly his profile has risen, because this is no longer just a good year in the minors. It is the kind of season that forces a bigger conversation about ceiling, role, and how soon the organization may have to make room for a player whose offensive promise is getting harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]