Three takeaways with one week left in Dodgers camp

This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio's Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- After a historic offseason, the Dodgers have had a relatively uneventful Spring Training, which is exactly how teams like it.

The most important goal in Spring Training is to get out of Camelback Ranch as healthy as possible. Up to this point, the Dodgers have succeeded in that department. They also look like they’re pretty ready to get the 2024 season underway.

While Cactus League wins and losses have little meaning, the Dodgers are showing some glimpses of the dominance that could be ahead this season. They’re at the top of the Cactus League with a 9-2 record and have a plus-39 run differential, which far outpaces any other team (25 more than the second-ranked Rangers).

The Dodgers have just eight days left in Spring Training before they depart for Seoul, South Korea, for their two-game Opening Series against the Padres on March 20-21. As they get their last full week of camp underway, let’s take a look at three takeaways from this spring.

Top of the order just as advertised

There was really not much concern from the Dodgers, but the first couple of weeks of spring have shown them that Shohei Ohtani is healthy and, barring something unforeseen, he will be ready for the series in South Korea and the domestic Opening Day on March 28.

With Ohtani healthy, the Dodgers were able to debut their top three in the batting order this spring. It’s been just as lethal as you would’ve expected.

Mookie Betts has been one of the most impressive players this spring, which says a lot, given he’s Mookie Betts. The 2018 American League Most Valuable Player looks extra motivated this preseason, and he has given all-out effort throughout camp. Most people around the building believe Betts is poised for another monster season atop the Dodgers’ lineup.

Then there’s Freddie Freeman, who should have a ton of RBI opportunities this season while hitting in the three-hole. Will Smith and Max Muncy behind him will also create a lot of problems for opposing pitchers. Muncy has particularly been impressive this spring, hitting two homers in 10 at-bats.

It’s a lineup that looked deep on paper this offseason, and it’s translating onto the field, even in spring games.

Plenty of pitching

Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw won’t be on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster, as they recover from Tommy John surgery and left shoulder surgery, respectively, and there’s some doubt with Emmet Sheehan, but Los Angeles appears to have plenty of pitching to go around.

Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the two big pitching acquisitions of the offseason, are having really strong spring performances. Bobby Miller looks poised to take another step in the right direction. And Gavin Stone is showing glimpses of why he was one of the top pitching prospects in the Minors last season, giving him a good chance at winning a spot in the rotation.

The Dodgers will use a number of arms to get through the season. It’s a philosophy the team has deployed for years to try and keep pitchers healthy heading into September and October. With arms like Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack, Sheehan and the eventual returns of Buehler and Kershaw, the Dodgers believe they have enough depth, and it’s hard to argue with the results.

Here come the kids

While Spring Training is a good way to get excited about the upcoming big league season, it also gives fans an opportunity to watch the new wave of prospects coming up through the Minor League system.

Over the last few weeks, the Dodgers have gotten a really strong look at No. 6 prospect Andy Pages, who is 6-for-15 with a pair of homers in Cactus League play. Pages, 23, missed the majority of the 2023 season after undergoing left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. It’s a procedure that creates some uncertainty heading into the season, but Pages has answered every question in a short period of time.

Pages was optioned out of big league camp over the weekend, which was expected. Even with a strong spring, he was unlikely to be an option to break camp, given the Dodgers’ full set of position players. But Pages made quite the impression. Don’t be surprised if you see him at Dodger Stadium this season.

Miguel Vargas, Josue De Paula, Trey Sweeney and Jose Ramos are also among the position players that have looked sharp this spring. De Paula is only 18 years old, but multiple scouts believe he has a chance to be the next great position-player prospect in the organization. He showed signs of that by smacking a homer in his first career Cactus League at-bat.