27-year old righty swinging CF Matt Kemp has turned in an incredible year for the Dodgers and he should be the MVP of the National League in 2011. Kemp has played in 159 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 192 for 593 (.324 avg, .983 OPS) with 113 runs scored, 38 homers, 123 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Kemp has now played in 785 games in his first six years with the Dodgers and he is 837 for 2,853 (.293 avg, .845 OPS) with 462 runs scored, 127 homers, 454 RBIs and 144 stolen bases. Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are the cornerstones for the Dodgers’ future going forward.

36-year old righty starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda should sue everyone on the Dodgers’ roster position player wise (except Matt Kemp) for a lack of support. Kuroda has pitched in 30 games (all starts) for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 12-16 with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has now pitched in 113 games (112 starts) in his first four years with the Dodgers and he is 40-46 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The Dodgers would be smart to re-sign Kuroda for 2012, but they are going to likely have a lot of competition for his services.

27-year old lefty starting pitcher Dana Eveland is off to a good start for the Dodgers. He has started 2 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. Eveland has only given up 9 hits in his first 15 innings while only walking 2 batters, as he has been impressive. But don’t be fooled by Eveland’s performance as he has not been a good pitcher in the past. Eveland has now pitched in 97 games (56 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 18-22 with 1 save, a 5.52 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP.

The Dodgers have finally decided to shut down 27-year old righty reliever Jonathan Broxton for the season due to an elbow problem. Broxton pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers this year and he was 1-2 with 7 saves, a 5.68 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. He has now pitched in 386 games (0 starts) in his first 7 years with the Dodgers and he is 25-20 with 84 saves, a 3.19 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Dodgers hope that some good old fashioned rest and relaxation will have Broxton back to his old self in 2012.

25-year old righty reliever Javy Guerra has been a huge surprise for the Dodgers in 2011. He has pitched in 182 games (54 starts) in his 8 years in the minors and he is 27-25 with 27 saves, a 4.31 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. The Dodgers didn’t really plan on having Guerra pitch for them at any point in 2011. But, he has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 2-0 with 18 saves, a 1.99 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has only given up 34 hits and 13 walks in his first 40 2/3 innings in the majors with 35 whiffs so far this year. Guerra has really stepped up for the Dodgers, working as the closer as they had a lot of problems with injuries in the pen this year.