Dodgers mailbag: Should Alex Wood make the All-Star Team?

The Dodgers are 26-19. That translates to a 94-win pace. The team took three of four from the bottom-dwelling Marlins, as a blowup by Julio Urias prevented a sweep. The Dodgers face a more robust challenge on the rest of this homestand, with the Cardinals and the Cubs coming to town.

Here are the pitching matchups for this week against St. Louis:

Tuesday: LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.15 earned-run average) vs. RHP Lance Lynn (4-2, 2.78 ERA).

Wednesday: LHP Rich Hill (1-1, 2.77 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Leake (4-2, 2.03 ERA)

Thursday: RHP Kenta Maeda (3-2, 5.03 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (2-1, 2.74 ERA).

The Dodgers still trail the Rockies by two games in the National League West. As always, there is plenty to discuss. You can send me questions on Twitter @McCulloughTimes. Let’s do this.

Absolutely. Alex Wood needs to maintain this level of performance, obviously, but he has been outstanding thus far.

For the sake of context: Twelve starting pitchers were named All-Stars last year in the National League. That creates a sizable amount of runway for a pitcher like Wood, who entered Monday tied for second among National League pitchers in FanGraphs’ version of wins above replacement. He is tied with Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg. Only Clayton Kershaw has been more valuable, according to this metric.

In his last three starts, Wood has struck out 25 batters and issued four walks. He has a string of 20 1/3 innings without a run allowed. He has earned a spot in the rotation after starting the season in the bullpen. Even if his performance dips somewhat and he gets passed over for the All-Star Game in Miami, his return from elbow surgery last season must be considered a success.

No.

Consider three factors:

1. The Dodgers have shown a deftness in using the disabled list to handle roster issues.

2. The players, coaches and management of the Dodgers revere Chase Utley and cherish his presence in the clubhouse.

3. Utley has actually started to hit lately. After a wretched April, he has batted .286 in May with two doubles, two triples and six walks. He has been the player the team expected him to be.

Utley is not going anywhere.

Logan Forsythe will start at third base. Chris Taylor will split time with Utley at second, with Taylor likely getting more at-bats than Utley. I figure Taylor will play four or five times a week, with Utley playing two or three.

Dave Roberts prefers to act based on the situation, rather than in a dogmatic pattern. But it is pretty clear, at this point, that the two relievers he trusts the most are Josh Fields and Luis Avilan, with Pedro Baez as the bronze medalist. Roberts will ride Fields and Avilan for as long as they perform well.

Hard to say, really. I think a lot depends on how other relievers (Josh Ravin, Grant Dayton, Adam Liberatore) perform as the summer progresses. The Dodgers were hopeful that Brandon Morrow could contribute, but he’s been getting knocked around in triple-A Oklahoma City. Ravin has an impressive arsenal, and Liberatore could return to the majors when his strained groin heals.

But given the team’s zeal for depth, it’s hard to see the organization just jettisoning the two pitchers before the All-Star break. Romo has really struggled, but Hatcher has been fine. He is prone to homers, but that’s one of the reasons the Dodgers have only used him in two high-leverage situations all season, according to Baseball-Reference’s leverage index.

The “(maybe more)” portion of this trade should be written in 70-point font. Because otherwise this trade is bonkers for Pittsburgh.

This question is an inverse of the previous one. Joc Pederson was, as recently as last year, a more reliable and productive player than Lorenzo Cain. It’s hard to see the Dodgers giving up Pederson, who is under control for three seasons beyond 2017, for a few months of Cain. I do expect the Dodgers to call on Cain later in the summer — the two teams talked over the winter about him — but it just seems crazy for the Dodgers to put Pederson into that deal. Pederson has been disappointing this season, but a trade like that would display a significant downgrade in their evaluations of him.

Even for Ichiro Suzuki at his peak, a .426 batting average on balls in play is unsustainable. But, Robert, I think you already knew that.

Yes. The most likely areas of need are the outfield and the bullpen, but it’s too early to say who the Dodgers will be shopping for.

I don’t think so, but I’m sure they would get along. Zimmer is a bright young man and Turner is an agreeable fellow.

I caught most of Takeover and skimmed Backlash. Takeover was great! Backlash was awful.

Roderick Strong is excellent, but I’m not sure why he’s being booked as a babyface. The Bate-Dunne match was indie-riffic but delightful. Watching a diminished version of Kenta bums me out, but I’m starting to come around on Bobby Roode. I still doubt he gets over on the main roster, but he does carry himself well.

I loved the main event. NXT has done an excellent job booking Authors of Pain. They aren’t the best Road Warriors rip-off — that would be War Machine — but they’re much better than the Ascension. The match, obviously, was carried by Ciampa and Gargano. It went from sloppy bland to sloppy bonkers to downright terrifying. I can’t believe Gargano took an unprotected ladder shot to the face. That looked brutal. Ciampa’s heel turn was vicious and visceral. I’m sad they won’t be working together, but it had to be done, and it sets up a dynamite undercard feud for the summer.

There isn’t much to say about Backlash. The writers on Smackdown seem determined to turn everyone on the show into a jobber, and by golly, they are good at it. Shinsuke Nakamura looked like just another guy in the opener. The match between Kevin Owens and A.J. Styles was good, until the finish infuriated everyone. Jinder Mahal, the new WWE champion, cannot work or cut a promo, and the crowd doesn’t react to him. Other than that, though, I’m sure his reign will be dynamite.

At the end of the show, as Jinder paraded around and no one cared, Byron Saxton asked the relevant question: “What does this mean? What does this mean for Smackdown Live?” It means no one will be watching.

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes