March 9th, 2019 at 10:00 am 
by 0799291000348 (Rostered Players Only – Players in bold moved up, players in italics moved down)
A+
- Justin Turner – Dodgers best all-around hitter is having a terrific spring training
- Cody Bellinger – improved mechanics, 1 K and 3 walks in 17 plate appearances
- Rich Hill – continues to shine this spring; opening day starter?
- Hyun-Jin Ryu – has not allowed a run this spring; opening day starter?
- Kiké Hernandez – if today was opening day he would be the starter at second.
- Austin Barnes – proving he should be the regular catcher – his eight RBI leads team
- Yimi Garcia – continues to impress; Fields’ DFA opens spot in bullpen
- Julio Urias – stardom is just around the corner
A
- Alex Verdugo – making his case to play every day
- Kenley Jansen – new grip on cutter; so nasty that Will Smith had trouble catching
- Scott Alexander – ground ball machine
- Jamie Schultz – Only the number of veterans in front of him will keep him off the opening day roster
B
- Chris Taylor – still having a good spring, but more swing and miss this week
- Matt Beaty – swings the bat well, but defense was shaky
- Ross Stripling – Valuable utility pitcher willing to do whatever helps team
C
- Dennis Santana – wonderful arm; Royals hitters lit up the rookie on the 8th
- Max Muncy, Rocky Gale, Brock Stewart, AJ Pollock, David Freese, Kenta Maeda, Tony Cingrani
D
- Keibert Ruiz – very young and learning
- Joc Pederson – LF platoon in jeopardy; his spot to lose and on the verge of doing so
F
- Caleb Ferguson, Pedro Baez, Josh Sborz, Ed Rios, Adam McCreery, JT Chargois, Dylan Floro: so far, disappointing spring training for these players
Incomplete
- Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Yadier Alvarez, Corey Seager, Andrew Toles, Russell Martin, Joe Kelly.
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Posted in 
I think the opening day roster/starter Gambit is a bit overblown in importance. Sure, it would be great for Kershaw to make his record setting start, but his health for the whole season is way more important. The Dodgers depth is the whole 40 man roster,not just the starting 25, and the whole group evolves over the course of the season. Given injuries and performance, depth/versatility is essential and Friedman/Roberts know it. I’d like to see Urias “piggy back” after Buehler. It would help keep his innings down, while keeping him on an every 5th day rotation.
^^^ Yup. Agreed!^^^
I don’t think the players or manager see the opening day starter as important, more of a reward/honor in recognition of a pitcher’s abilities and contributions to the team. The Dodgers front office has done an outstanding job of assembling a deep and flexible roster, including those playing in AAA or AA who will be called upon during the season to contribute to team success.
Will Smith? No grade, had trouble catching Kenley’s cutter isn’t saying much. He once had a four K inning because a veteran catcher couldn’t handle it the first time he caught him. Highly (over)rated defensive catcher at that. He’s with Milwaukee now.
So many players in camp, I was focusing only on those who are on the 40 man roster, so Smith did not get a grade. Regarding Jansen, Alden Gonzalez (ESPN) reported last month that bull pen coach Mark Prior suggested early in camp that Jansen adjust the grip on his cutter. After making the adjustment Jansen’s cutter reached 2600 rpm and averaged just a little less; last season he averaged 1867 rpm on the pitch (2017 was around 2300). Bottom line, the pitch has more movement and “bite” which is good news to the Dodgers and bad news for hitters.