2010 Fantasy outlooks: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers joined baseball's elite class with their second straight division title last year, winning 95 games for the first time since 1985. Their success moving forward, though, will depend largely on how well they transition from old to new.

Manny Ramirez probably doesn't have much left in the tank, but Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier have already passed him in terms of value. If James Loney discovers his power stroke and Russell Martin rediscovers his, they'll belong in the same discussion. Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw give the Dodgers a potentially fearsome duo at the top of the rotation, though both will have to overcome their command issues to emerge as true aces.

After that nucleus, though, the picture becomes cloudy. The Dodgers still have plenty of young talent in the pipeline, but most of it is years from contributing in the majors. In the meantime, they'll have to fill the gaps with veterans like Ramirez, Rafael Furcal and Casey Blake, all of whom appear on the decline. They might also opt for Ronnie Belliard or Jamey Carroll at second base instead of Blake DeWitt -- a player with some sleeper appeal but not exactly an All-Star pedigree -- which would leave them a little short on long-term solutions.

Likewise, the starting rotation offers few assurances outside of the pure talent of Billingsley and Kershaw. Hiroki Kuroda has pitched effectively at times but has hardly proven durable during his two years in the majors, and Vicente Padilla's success likely won't continue over the course of a full season. If Jeff Weaver or Russ Ortiz earns the fifth spot over James McDonald, the Dodgers might as well just punt it altogether.

Despite their high-end talent, the Dodgers lack the depth to remain the clear-cut favorites in the NL West. Their overreliance on veterans might have finally caught up to them, forcing them to take half a step back until the second wave of prospects comes to fortify the first.

Breakout: Chad Billingsley, SP

Clayton Kershaw will go off the board first in some drafts, but Billingsley is the more polished of the two and will more likely enter the elite class of starting pitchers this year. He has that kind of potential too, even if he didn't look like it when he posted a 5.45 ERA over his final 15 appearances. Keep in mind he was a different pitcher before then, taking a 9-4 record and 3.38 ERA into the All-Star break. He blames his struggles on a mechanical flaw, which would make sense considering the way his control abandoned him. The first step to solving a problem is recognizing it, and because Billingsley did the latter, he and the Dodgers had an entire offseason to accomplish the former. His stuff didn't change, and if measured on that alone, he's already an ace. The consistency comes next.

Bust: Manny Ramirez, OF

Rafael Furcal is the easy answer here. No clue what anyone still sees in him. Ramirez, though, has some risk factors of his own, such as his .269 batting average after returning from a 50-game suspension in July. You can draw your own conclusions there, but the point is he obviously declined over the course of the season, which is an especially bad sign for a 37 year old. And if his injury history wasn't bad enough, manager Joe Torre says he wants to rest him more, making him a long shot for 500 at-bats. He might close his career much like Barry Bonds did, putting up his usual percentages but in a fraction of the at-bats. You'll have to invest an early-round pick in him, but his cumulative numbers could resemble those of a middle-rounder -- and that's assuming he doesn't regress any more.

Sleeper: James Loney, 1B

Loney has disappointed Fantasy owners for years, failing to deliver any of the power potential scouts once projected for him. He isn't just a post-hype sleeper, but a post-post-post-hype sleeper. The lack of attention has finally allowed him to slip into the late rounds, making the potential reward greater than the risk. Who says this year can't be the year? Maybe it already started with his six home runs in 109 at-bats to close out the regular season and playoffs. He'll turn 26 in May, so he has just now entered his prime. If he doesn't fall to the late rounds, don't bother with him, but if he does, why not take a flier? He'll at least give you 90 RBI because of his spot in the batting order, and he might just make you look like a genius.

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