The Dodgers' biggest problem heading into last season was that they had too many potential starters to put on the field all at once. Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis were former regulars who were squeezed out of playing time, while Justin Turner, Enrique Hernandez and Alex Guerrero could only start sporadically for parts of the season, even though they were putting up good numbers. The presence of Jimmy Rollins at shortstop also kept top prospect Corey Seager stuck in the minors until September.

The one shortage that plagued the Dodgers was in the rotation. Hyun-Jin Ryu never took the mound, as he required surgery on his torn labrum, Brandon McCarthy succumbed to Tommy John surgery and Brandon Beachy did not have a successful return from his own Tommy John surgery. It hardly mattered, as Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke both had dominant seasons, with both ranking among the top three pitchers in Fantasy value. Injury-prone Brett Anderson stayed off the disabled list for a full season and made a career-high 31 starts .Diamondbacks castoff Mike Bolsinger was an unsung hero, giving the Dodgers 21 starts with a 3.62 ERA.

Once recovered from February foot surgery, Kenley Jansen brought stability to the closer's role, turning in a stellar season with a 2.41 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 36 saves and 80 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings. While Dodgers thinned out some of their hitting surpluses this offseason, strangely enough, they tried to create one at closer by agreeing to trade for erstwhile Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman. The deal was nixed after revelations of a domestic violence report surfaced, so Jansen is safe in his ninth-inning role

The Dodgers will roll out a similar opening day lineup to the one they featured late last season, though oddly enough, the newest arrival will be the player most likely to be drafted first among the team's position players. Seager will settle in as the full-time shortstop now that Rollins has left as a free agent, and he could be targeted in the early rounds ahead of teammates Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig. While the lineup enters the season lacking an established marquee star, it is balanced, and even projected bottom-of-the-order hitters Yasmani Grandal and Joc Pederson could make a Fantasy impact.

Greinke signed with the Diamondbacks this offseason, so Kershaw towers above the rest of this makeshift rotation. Anderson returns and will be joined by free agent Scott Kazmir and international signee Kenta Maeda. Ryu could be ready for opening day, but if not, Alex Wood waits in the wings as a viable replacement. One starter who won't be wearing Dodger Blue this season is Hisashi Iwakuma, who had an agreement on a three-year deal, only to re-sign with the Mariners after failing his physical.

The Dodgers not only missed out on Chapman and Iwakuma but also the slew of big-name free agents who hit the market this offsesaon. The Giants and Diamondbacks were busy this winter trying to close the gap on last season's National League West champs, but the Dodgers have retained enough of their talent to be the preseason favorite of many to win another division title. Just as they will rely on the 21-year-old Seager and embattled Puig to be key contributors to a successful season, Fantasy owners will look to the high-upside duo -- and many other Dodgers -- to propel them to glory in 2016.

2016 projected lineup

1. Howie Kendrick, 2B
2. Yasiel Puig, RF
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Justin Turner, 3B
5. Andre Ethier, LF
6. Corey Seager, SS
7. Yasmani Grandal, C
8. Joc Pederson, CF
BENCH: Enrique Hernandez, 2B/OF
BENCH: Chase Utley, 2B
BENCH: Carl Crawford, OF

2016 projected rotation

1. Clayton Kershaw, LHP
2. Scott Kazmir, LHP
3. Brett Anderson, LHP
4. Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP
5. Kenta Maeda, RHP
ALT: Alex Wood, LHP

2016 projected bullpen

1. Kenley Jansen, RHP
2. Chris Hatcher, RHP
3. Yimi Garcia, RHP
4. J.P. Howell, LHP
5. Joe Blanton, RHP

Adrian Gonzalez
NYM • 1B • #23
WALK RATES
20159.6%
20148.5%
20137.3%
20126.1%
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Fantasy owners generally aren't excited about drafting Adrian Gonzalez. To be sure, he is not a first-tier first baseman, and he is a long way from his best years. Neither of those perceptions, which are well-founded, should sour owners on Gonzalez if they happen to miss out on the top seven players at the position. He may be 33 on opening day, but aside from his 2008-09 peak, Gonzalez is playing at a level that is on a par with the remainder of his best seasons. In terms of average flyball distance and home run-to-flyball ratio, Gonzalez just had his best power year since 2011, and he has become increasingly patient in each of the last three seasons, with upticks in his walk rate and pitches per plate appearance. Gonzalez is far from washed up and, along with Freddie Freeman, is a top fallback option after the elite first basemen have been drafted.

Joc Pederson
ARI • CF • #3
2015 FIRST-HALF STATS
PA366
AVG.230
OBP.364
SLG.487
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Joc Pederson's second half struggles got so bad that he wound up splitting playing time with Hernandez down the stretch. There is no way to put a positive spin on his second-half slash line of .178/.317/.300. The best thing you can say is he continued to draw walks, but his power eroded dramatically, as nearly one out of every four flyballs was a popup. While something was clearly amiss for Pederson in the second half, let's not forget that he crushed 20 home runs with a .364 on-base percentage in the first half. On Draft Day, owners might give his more recent performance greater weight, but the potential he showed over the first three months of last season could still be fulfilled. If he is still available in the mid-t0-late rounds in standard mixed league drafts, he is worth the gamble.

Brett Anderson
MIL • SP • #25
2015 STATS VS. LHB
INN53 1/3
AVG Allowed.283
HR Allowed1
K/BB2.64
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While Brett Anderson was finally able to stay healthy last season, his 2015 stats still might not inspire much confidence in his performance for 2016. Anderson's 3.69 ERA and 1.33 WHIP don't stand out, especially since he is a below-average strikeout pitcher. He did lead the majors in ground ball rate with a 67.6 percent mark, but when opponents did get ahold of one of his offerings, they often slammed it hard. Well, at least righties did. While Anderson was not untouchable against lefties, he was exceptionally stingy with extra-base hits. He allowed a total of 12 of them against left-handed hitters all season. There is no reason to draft Anderson in standard mixed leagues, but he's a great pickup when he is due to face a disproportionate number of lefties in the coming week.

Prospects report

It's odd to think of Corey Seager as a prospect, given that he may already be the Dodgers' most valuable hitter from a Fantasy perspective, but he amassed only 113 plate appearances last season, all in September. His power and contact skills were intact as he made the jump to the majors, and he could be an elite shortstop for years to come.

If injuries cause the Dodgers to struggle once again to fill out the rotation, minor league help could be on the way soon. As an 18-year-old, Julio Urias was one of the top pitchers in the Texas League, even though his season was interrupted by eye surgery. If he gets a midseason callup, it's conceivable he could rival Seager for NL Rookie of the Year honors.

Jose De Leon is four years old than Urias, but what he accomplished last season as his teammate in Tulsa was no less impressive. After beginning the year by dominating the tough California League, De Leon went on to make 16 starts with Tulsa, compiling the highest strikeout rate of any pitcher who faced at least 200 batters in the Texas League.

The Dodgers' farm system was already fairly deep coming into this offseason, but their involvement in the three-team Todd Frazier deal made it a little deeper. In flipping Jose Peraza for Micah Johnson, they exchanged one speedy second baseman for an older one, but in also picking up Frankie Montas, the Dodgers acquired a hard-throwing right-hander who could make an impact as either a starter or reliever over the long haul.

Alex Verdugo became much more attractive to dynasty league owners after a late-season promotion to the California League. In 23 games there, he batted .385 with four home runs and nine doubles. In time, we will know if those numbers will hold up well enough with a larger sample size, in more challenging environments and at higher levels. On the chance that he is a legitimate source of power and high batting average, he should be drafted in dynasty formats.