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Star players often perform at a high level during the postseason. The Los Angeles Dodgers saw that happen in their National League Championship Series triumph as Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts put together a monster series at the plate.
The Dodgers also received insane contributions from an unlikely candidate and eventual series MVP, Tommy Edman. All the star power in the world is nice, but it usually takes a top-of-the-line performance from the role players on the squad to get a team over the hump.
It's easy to pick one of the Dodgers' many All-Stars as their X-factor in the World Series. One or more is likely to lead the way and could claim MVP honors when everything is said and done. However, plenty of non-star candidates can make a difference for Los Angeles in the Fall Classic.
With the amount of talent on both teams, the stars will take the spotlight. Baseball is a team-oriented sport, though. Especially in the World Series, where there's no room for error, teams need the entire starting nine and then some to string together four wins.
Unsung heroes are the embodiment of playoff baseball. Legends are made in October. A fantastic story is waiting to be written in the latest edition of the World Series. Here is our choice for the Dodgers' World Series X-factor.
It's time for Yoshinobu Yamamoto to dominate
Ok, so we're cheating a bit with the “non-star” label, given Yoshinobu Yamamoto's status as the highest-paid pitcher in Major League Baseball. However, Yamamoto's rookie season hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
He was rocked in his debut and missed three months due to injury. When he's been on the mound, he's shown flashes of why the Dodgers handed him over $300 million before he threw in an MLB game.
Yamamoto delivered seven quality starts in his 18 regular season outings, adding four more starts without allowing an earned run through at least four innings. His strikeout numbers stayed consistent throughout the year as he fanned at least five batters in 14 starts. Walks were never an issue either as he posted only one outing with more than two free passes.
The Dodgers have been cautious with Yamamoto since his return from triceps tightness. He has yet to throw 80 pitches, topping out at 79 through his four September starts and 73 in his three playoff outings. Los Angeles wants to keep him on a five-day rest schedule, giving him an extra day off than you typically would in a five-man rotation.
Yamamoto will get the ball in Game 2 against the Yankees. Should the series get to Game 6, he would be in line to start there. It's worth noting that both games will be at Dodger Stadium, where Yamamoto recorded a 3.88 ERA compared to a 2.06 mark on the road in the regular season.
Yamamoto's keys will be locating his fastball and using his off-speed stuff. He primarily throws a splitter and curveball outside of his fastball. The Yankees hit fastballs well, but there are holes when facing off-speed pitches. Only Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have a batting average above .250 against curveballs. Judge is the only Yankee that's punished splitters this year.
The leash on Yoshinobu Yamamoto should be longer in the World Series, so long as he pitches well. The Dodgers would be wise to save their bullpen as much as possible with the prospect of at least one bullpen game coming in the middle of the series.
In a perfect world, Yamamoto fires bullets for at least six innings in both outings. He is capable of getting the best hitters on the planet out. Should he shine on the World Series stage, he'll quickly become a hero in Los Angeles.
