Dodgers 2019 MLB Win Total Opens at 94.5; No Other NL Team Over 88.5

• Sportsbooks have set the total wins for the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2019 at 94.5
• The NL champion Dodgers won 92 games last season
• The Dodgers have averaged 95.6 wins per year over the past three seasons

Sportsbooks are anticipating once again that there will be some very artful Dodgers at work in Los Angeles this season. They’ve pegged the two-time defending National League champions to collect a league-high 94.5 wins this season.

Top 10 2019 MLB Win Totals

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The Dodgers are the only NL team projected to win 90 games this season.

What Can Dodger Blue Do for You?

It’s almost a given that the Dodgers will win 90 games this season. After all, they’ve won at least 90 games in each of the past six seasons while taking the NL West title all six years.

A little throwback to the top 5 moments of 2018. #TBT pic.twitter.com/KDYppASxOD

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 10, 2019

Last season, the Dodgers won 92 games, tied for their second-lowest total over that six-year span, but it was a number that arrived with a caveat. Minus injured third baseman Justin Turner to launch the 2018 campaign, LA came out of the gates 16-26 and on May 16th the Dodgers were 8.5 games off the NL West pace. But with Turner back in the fold, they closed an impressive 76-45 and moved into first place on July 12th.

In 2017, when the Dodgers captured their first NLCS since 1988, LA won an MLB-best 104 games, the second-highest total in franchise history. In 1953, when they were still in Brooklyn, the Dodgers won 105 games.

The Dodgers clouted 235 homers, second in the majors, and the team ERA of 3.38 was also second in baseball. In the offseason, the Dodgers extended ace starter Clayton Kershaw for three years and added Joe Kelly from the World Series-winning Red Sox to bolster their bullpen.

With the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres all at different stages of rebuilds, there’s a lot of wins up for grabs within the division. But truth be told, that 104-win campaign of 2017 is the only time in that six-year span of success that the Dodgers topped 94.5 wins. It seems like a reach to expect that many wins, so the under looks to be the play with LA.

Where Else is there NL Value?

A year ago, the Atlanta Braves were the surprise team in the NL, going from 90 losses in 2017 to 90 wins and an NL East title in 2018. Is there another team out there poised to explode like the Braves did a year ago?

It could be the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cincinnati Reds, unlike a lot of MLB teams, are at least trying this winter https://t.co/COMO6HAQcV

— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) January 22, 2019

The Reds dealt with the Dodgers to acquire outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp and southpaw pitcher Alex Wood, and also picked up starting pitchers Sonny Gray from the Yankees and Tanner Roark from the Nationals.

@Reds I’m so excited for this new opportunity. Can’t wait for ST19 and to meet all of my new teammates. Ready to see what Cincy is all about! Let’s go!! pic.twitter.com/cvcovCNEdC

— Alex Wood (@Awood45) December 22, 2018

They still have former NL MVP Joey Votto and a deep farm system is starting to reap rewards. Sportsbooks peg the Reds at 77.5 wins this season, a big increase from their 67-95 record of a year ago, but if all the pieces come together, this is a team that could challenge for a postseason position.

“At the stage of my career now, I want to be on the best team I can be on…” – Patrick Corbin on deciding to sign with the #Nats: https://t.co/HsW8oKzYws

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) January 21, 2019

Washington had an off year last season and still won 82 games. The Nationals have averaged 91.3 wins the past three seasons, and added pitcher Patrick Corbin and second baseman Brian Dozier. If free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper opts to stay put, seeing them top 87.5 wins is far from out of the question.