Dodgers have the talent to recover from slow start in NL West

National League West

The National League West poses an interesting puzzle for outright punters. Arizona are on top of the division and are 3.5 games up on Colorado, while the ante-post favourites for the section, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are languishing in fourth after a dreadful campaign.

The Diamondbacks finished 11 games behind LA last season but they have been quick out of the gates this time. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is probably their only superstar, although they have some solid if not elite starting pitching too.

Their run difference and stats suggest they are only slightly fortuitous to have 24 wins, and most bookmakers make them 1-2 to take the division. Colorado have done well but do not look as if they have the pitching for a strong challenge and seem the likeliest to regress.

The big question is can the Dodgers recover from their poor start to get back into the division race?

They are an eye-watering eight games behind the Diamondbacks and have a mountain to climb.

The men from California have been plagued by injury and in recent weeks have lost shortstop Corey Seager, starter Hyun-Jin Ryu and superstar pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who will be absent for the foreseeable future.

Injuries aside, however, this is still roughly the same team who won 104 games last term and were just edged out in the World Series. It is interesting to note that they started slowly last year too, before notching more wins than anyone else.

It will be fascinating to see how this plays out. At present, although the Dodgers can be backed at 19-5, it may be worth waiting for them to show signs that their talented team can kick start their season and close the gap before backing them, albeit at a likely shorter price.

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