Dodgers off to quick start

It’s only April and the sample size is pretty small – only 12 games.

But the first impression being made by the 2015 Dodgers is a good one. The baseball minds now running the Dodgers, they of the sabermetrics and analytics, could have a strong team on their hands.

The Dodgers swept Seattle and Colorado this week and have rattled off seven straight wins to post a 9-3 record and a 1.5 game early lead in the NL West.

The acquisitions have shown well early. Jimmy Rollins at short and Howie Kendrick at second have been impressive – especially Kendrick’s bat.

The rookie in center, Joc Pederson, is still a little green but we can already see why he tore up the Pacific Coast League last year and earned a shot to win the job in center.

Yasmani Grandal at catcher is struggling at the plate but should provide an upgrade at catcher.

Though Yasiel Puig, Pederson and Carl Crawford will get the nod in the outfield most nights, Scott Van Slyke and Andre Ethier give Mattingly a deep bench and the ability to exploit lefty/righty matchups.

Then there’s the pitchers. Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson have been holding down the fort until Hyun Jin-Ryu returns to the rotation and relievers Yimi Garcia, Juan Nicasio, Joel Peralta, Pedro Baez, J.P. Howell, Paco Rodriguez, Chris Hatcher and Adam Liberatore are keeping the pen producing while Kenley Jansen recovers from foot surgery.

The pen was LA’s weak link last year but appears to be stronger in 2015.

Clayton Kershaw (1-1) has yet to return to Cy Young and MVP form but Zack Greinke (2-0) is pitching like an ace.

Then there’s the power. The Dodgers are third in homers in the major leagues out of the gate and lead the majors with 36 doubles through the first 12 games. The Dodgers have the best team batting average (.288) in the National League and the third-best in the majors.

Gonzalez leads the club with five dingers but Kendrick, Alex Guerrero, Pederson, and Puig each have a pair.

I like the bench where Van Slyke, Ethier, Guerrero and Justin Turner are capable of winning a game with their bats.

It’s April. It’s early. But the Dodgers are off to a good start.