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The Los Angeles Dodgers have been as advertised from the start, and the Chicago Cubs are on fire, winning each of their last 10 games. In fact, both teams are in the middle of a three-game series in Los Angeles. Watch Game 2 of the series Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET on FOX.
But what can we remember from the respective hot starts of the two teams?
Thanks to injury, 2025 rookie Roki Sasaki has just 54 regular season innings under his belt as well as another 10.2 in the postseason. While his ERA shined out of the bullpen, he still only struck out six batters and walked five, and similar issues persist in 2026. How long can the Dodgers stick with Sasaki in the rotation if his control and command issues persist?
Rowan Kavner: They intend to let him work out his problems in the big leagues, despite the control issues that persist. 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 starting ERA and WHIP in the National League. Those numbers should improve further when Blake Snell returns next month.
So while I think Sasaki should be either in the bullpen or in the minors in a more controlled environment, working on his erratic command and third-pitch development, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. Even when Snell is activated, the Dodgers, at least for now, say Sasaki won’t go to the bullpen. Control issues are concerning and persistent, but at least keeps his velocity in the upper 90s and misses more at-bats than last year.
With top prospect River Ryan currently on the shelf with a hamstring issue (and with the Dodgers paying attention to Ryan’s innings after he missed last year recovering from Tommy John surgery), there aren’t many obvious alternatives knocking on the door at the moment.
Deesha Thosar: The Dodgers have the type of depth that other managers dream of, which makes it a no-brainer to let Sasaki work out his problems and give him a long leash, at that. It’s not like Sasaki is so detrimental that he upsets the Dodgers bullpen. Although he has allowed several runs in his last three starts and is struggling to issue walks, he is averaging more than four innings pitched with each out, which is manageable at the moment.
In the meantime, Los Angeles can figure out whether Sasaki belongs in the rotation or bullpen and hope something clicks to allow him to settle into the former.
Sasaki’s command issues are definitely a problem. This walk rate of 14.1% is up from 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 lives in the upper 90s and he is able to repeat his mechanics while generating swings and misses.
So now he needs to settle in, throw with confidence and find a balance that allows him to thrive, without thinking too much, on the mound.
Outfielder Andy Pages took a big step forward last summer, producing nearly four wins for the Dodgers that were overshadowed by their star-studded lineup. The year 2026 is off to a scorching start: is it a new jump in production, or just a hot month of April?
Kavner: Pages is prone to these wild fluctuations in which it’s hot for a few weeks, then freezing for the next few weeks. Last year, he had a .544 OPS with three extra-base hits over his first 20 games before producing a 1.056 OPS with 11 extra-base hits over his next 20 games. We might see something similar now, but in reverse order. Pages had a 1.186 OPS with nine extra-base hits over his first 16 games before falling back to earth over the past week, recording a .500 OPS with no extra-base hits over his last eight games.
So no, I don’t expect him to be contending for the batting title at the end of the season like he is currently, and I think he’ll have a month or two to cool down considerably before heating 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 from last year, and while he’s still below league average in walk rate, he’s at least shown more willingness to accept a free pass when it’s given.
Pages’ tendency to run 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 poised for a career year with an OPS+ well above the 115 mark he finished with last season.
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 all the right places. For Pages, the key areas that set him apart from the pack are elite batting run value, hard hit rate and expected batting average. The quality of page contact has been excellent so far this season.
Of course, Pages is likely to placate some, as his high BABIP suggests he can’t maintain a top-three average in MLB all year. And when he inevitably suffers a decline at the plate, I’d like to see him run less and walk more so he can still reach base and be a factor for the Dodgers.
But the underlying indicators are encouraging and suggest this season could be the real deal. Pages could actually 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, even though they got absolutely nothing offensively from the first baseman. Michael Busch and center fielder Pete Crow Armstrong. Are you concerned that either person’s struggles will be a long-term problem?
Kavner: Yes, although right now I’m almost more confused than worried about Busch. The drops in hard hit rate and exit velocity are so steep and dramatic compared to what he was doing last year that I wonder if he played anything. He has the biggest drop in average exit velocity (from 92.2 mph last year to 83.4 mph this year) of any qualified MLB hitter, his bat speed has been slower and he doesn’t shoot the ball in the air as often.
There was a point last April where his exit velocity was down, so maybe he just needs the weather to warm up to start looking more like him. The series against the Phillies was much more encouraging.
With Crow-Armstrong, defense and speed provide such a reliable foundation of value, but I don’t know if we can expect him to have a full top-half season he had last year — a season that would put him in the MVP conversation, as he was trending toward 2025 before the season-ending drop — until he gets a better handle on his whiff and chase rates.
Since the start of last August, he has the third-lowest wRC+ among all qualified hitters. During that span, he has just five home runs and a .563 OPS in over 300 plate appearances, and his career OPS has fallen to .714, around the 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 concerned 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 during the warmer months. He’s already started to show signs of change, suggesting he might find his rhythm at the plate even sooner than his hot June last year. There’s no doubt he’s been a major disappointment for the Cubs early in the season, and his reduced bat speed is something to watch. But for now, Busch’s record works in his favor.
As for the PCA, he’s starting the season the same way he ended it last year, which is slightly worrying. The outfielder had a tough second-half slump in 2025, with his OPS dropping to a terrible .446 in the Aug. 28 games. Early on, opposing pitchers expose the PCA’s rotten plate approach. He’s elite at chasing the ball out of the zone, to the point where it’s actually a mistake for an opposing pitcher to throw a strike to him. He’s more likely to hit and miss low and far balls, and his barrel rate is half what it was last year.
PCA will still provide value defensively, and it’s a good sign that the Cubs are winning despite his offensive struggles. It’s too early to panic, but these issues appear to persist for the 24-year-old.
Chicago received serious production from a 22-year-old designated hitter and catcher Moses Ballesterosafter a short but impressive debut in 2025. Expecting an Aaron Judge impression for the season is probably optimistic, but what kind of year do you see the rookie having in ’26?
Kavner: The kid can crush the pitch hard with the right hand, possessing a rare combination of bat-to-ball skills, power and ability to control the zone. He also does a better job of getting the ball in the air, which should lead to more home runs given his penchant for hard contact. Because the Cubs don’t expose him to lefties and keep him mostly out of 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 provides the best version of himself without being overexposed.
While it may be difficult for him to contend for NL Rookie of the Year when he barely plays the field, I wouldn’t be surprised if he remains a well-above-average hitter until the end of the game with 15-20 home runs and staggering stats. His bat is legit and impossible to ignore, even if his .400+ BABIP isn’t sustainable.
Thosar: Encouragingly, Ballesteros continued where he left off in his major league appearance last September, when he recorded a .999 OPS in 46 plate appearances. So far this year, he’s managed 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 struggled to get going in April.
Instead, there’s talk around Wrigleyville about wanting the Cubs to extend this kid. One of the most encouraging signs of his strong start is his ability to control the ball. Ballesteros reduced his ground ball rate from 62.2% in 2025 to 38.1% this year. He hits the ball more in the air, with the apparent intention of getting out in front of her. None of these things are random. Ballesteros is staking his claim as Chicago’s promising DH.
