The Los Angeles Dodgers are considered the most talented team in Major League Baseball by a significant margin. In addition to winning the World Series a year ago, the presence of superstars Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and the other stars on the team have helped the Dodgers stand out and play with confidence on an every-day basis. However, despite the edge in talent over nearly every opponent, the Dodgers have been vulnerable to injury.

One of their best players this season as been outfielder Tommy Edman. After a brilliant start that has seen him slash .252/.295/.523 with eight home runs, two steals, 24 RBI and 19 runs in his first 30 games this year, Edman was placed on the 10-day Injured List with an ankle injury.

Manager Dave Roberts says that Edman is recovering well and could be back with the team Sunday against the cross-town Los Angeles Angels or early next week when the Dodgers play their National League West division rival Arizona Diamondbacks.

Even with their dominant talent, the Dodgers are being chased in their division by the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Diamondbacks. The Dodgers have build a 29-16 record and that's the best mark in the National League. However, they lead the Padres by just one game and the Giants by three. The Diamondbacks are five games behind Roberts' team.

Dodgers have survived Edman's absence

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Prior to his injury, Edman had demonstrated the ability to come up with big hits on a consistent basis. However, the Dodgers have continued to play competitive baseball without him.

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One of the reasons for that has been the play of reserve Hyeseong Kim. He has taken advantage of Edman's absence with a 1.038 OPS in his first 12 games.

While the return of Edman will provide a boost, it's the slugging and leadership of Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Freeman that have provided the most production for the Dodgers offense.

Ohtani is slashing .316/.416/.690 with 16 home runs, 29 runs batted in and 30 bases on balls. Hernandez has hammered 9 home runs and driven in 34 runs while slashing .315/.333/.600.

Freeman is slashing .358/.423/.675 with 9 home runs and 34 RBI. If Betts can get back to his top form — he is hitting .264 with 6 home runs — the Dodgers will become even tougher to beat.

Japanese import Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been the Dodgers' top starting pitcher through their first 45 games. Yamamoto has a 5-3 record with a 2.12 earned run average along with 59 strikeouts in 51.0 innings.

Closer Tanner Scott has gotten the job done out of the bullpen with 9 saves, a 1.83 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 19.2 innings of work.