Pete Donovan

Special to The Desert Sun

Pundits from Pittsburgh to Palm Desert have predicted the demise of the Dodgers this season.

With Zack Greinke gone, they reason, how can they possibly replace his 19 wins, not to mention his unearthly ERA of 1.66. Furthermore, the team chose not to make a significant splash in the free agent market, passing on slugging outfielders and artful pitchers.

Woe for the boys in blue, right?

But it would be a huge mistake to write this team off. The Dodgers can win. They can win the National League West, they can win in the playoffs and they can win it all.

Spring training marks time when every team is contender

Here’s why:

*They still have baseball’s best pitcher in Clayton Kershaw. He’s brilliant and he’s brilliant every year. He’s the only pitcher in baseball history to finish in the Top 3 in the Cy Young voting five consecutive years. So, you can pencil him in right away for more production. The over/under on Kershaw’s wins is 20.

*They have the No. 1 prospect in the game, shortstop Corey Seager, who hit a blazing .337 in the 27 games he played when called up in September. No one expects him to hit .337, but everyone in the game believes he’ll be a superstar and a middle of the order weapon.

*The Dodgers are deep, very, very deep. They have an abundance of outfielders, reliable backups both in the infield and behind the plate.

*They can boast of no fewer than seven capable outfielders, all with major league pedigree, including the mercurial Yasiel Puig, power-hitting Joc Pederson and veterans Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier.

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*Chase Utley, one of the premier players of the past dozen years in Philadelphia, is the principal reserve in the infield.

*Then there’s 24-year-old Enrique Hernandez, who can play second, short, third or the outfield. His .351 average from July 1 on was the highest in the majors.

*If healthy, they have eight starting pitchers with major league experience to choose from (Kershaw, free-agent signee Scott Kazmir, Brian Anderson, Alex Wood, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Mike Bolsinger, Carlos Frias and Brandon McCarthy) plus Japanese ace Kenta Maeda (15-8 with a 2.09 ERA last season in Japan).

*They also have some highly prized minor league pitchers, most notably 19-year-old lefthander Julio Urias and 23-year-old Jose DeLeon. Both could be factors later in the season. Beyond Urias and DeLeon there are other attractive arms in the system, ones that could prove to be valuable if needed in mid-summer trades should the organization feel compelled to spur on the current team.

*They have veteran stability in first-baseman Adrian Gonzalez (100+ RBI seven of last nine years), second-baseman Howie Kendrick (last five years his average has been between .285 and .297) and closer Kenley Jansen (133 saves over past four seasons).

*They can spread the offense around. The bottom part of the order (catcher Yasmani Grandal, Pederson and either Crawford or Ethier) can be as productive as any in baseball.

*New manager Dave Roberts figures to inject energy and enthusiasm into a clubhouse that not always had that kind of spirit and fire.

*And, of course, they still have the one and only Vin Scully!

What could go wrong?

Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. He can be reached by e-mail atpwdonovan22@yahoo.com.

Spring training marks time when every team is contender