Clayton Kershaw

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching staff has fallen on tough times recently. But there are reasons to believe that a turnaround is on the horizon, in spite of all that’s occurred over the past two weeks. In that time, the Dodgers have lost two of their most important pitchers to injury, possibly for the rest of the season.

What had been a dream season for the Los Angeles Dodgers thus far took a major blow on Monday, with news that MVP favorite Matt Kemp would be put on the disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are on fire through the first five weeks of the MLB season. A big reason for this success is because of Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw. 

Picking out quality starting pitching for your fantasy baseball team can be a fickle enterprise, given how difficult it is to project how well any given MLB hurler will fare from year to year.

Not to mention how few and far between aces tend to be.

Baseball perfection is one of the most exciting, rare and unpredictable feats in all of sports. Yet here I am trying to predict who will hurl the next ultimate gem.

The last time we saw one, Roy Halladay pulled it off in a 1-0 victory over the then Florida Marlins in May of 2010. The fact that Halladay has done it so recently makes him an automatic candidate to pull it again, never mind the postseason no-no he threw that same year.

Each year, the talent that enters Major League Baseball seems to get younger.  After all, we are on the verge of seeing a player break into the majors who is barely old enough to vote for the President of the United States.

This is great news for the fans who get to see a young talent pool of players who should be around for a very long time.

Here is a list of the top 25 pitchers under age 25 who should anchor major league pitching staffs for the next 10 to 15 years.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw has been sensational since coming up to the big leagues in 2008. He has lived up to all of the hype and should be locked up by the Dodgers to a long-term contract.

Despite less than three full years of Major League Baseball experience, Kershaw is already one of the top pitchers in all of baseball and seems to get better each start.

The Giants did not expect to start their trek to a repeat title like this.

The Giants hit a road block on Thursday's opening day at Dodger Stadium, kicking the ball around in the sixth inning.

Miguel Tejada botched a throw to second with a runner at first with one out, followed by a rare Posey throwing error with the bases loaded. Just nanoseconds before, Posey made a great save on a pitch by Lincecum in the dirt.

After an amazing 2010 season last year, which included unforgettable moments like Armando Gallaraga's near perfect game, Jose Bautista ripping a league-high 54 Homers, Roy Halladay's playoff no-hitter and a perfect Mother's Day for Dallas Braden, fans everywhere are anxiously awaiting 2011, which they hope will be even more special.  

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The Dodgers addressed two issues in the offseason; pitching depth and power.

Los Angeles was 14th in the National League in home runs last season.  Grant it, Rod Barajas and Juan Uribe aren't sexy signings, but they add pop to the lineup.

The organization got pitching depth to put behind Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley with the re-signings of Ted Lilly and Hiroki Kuroda and the signing of Jon Garland.

After a three year stint in Dodger Blue, Joe Torre decided to hang it up.  Don Mattingly now takes over.

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