Exclusive: Kiké Hernández Breaks Down the Dodgers’ Road to Repeat Glory and NL Powerhouses Standing in Their Way

Kiké Hernández knows the Los Angeles Dodgers have a tough road ahead of them if they want to repeat as World Series champions.

The Dodgers will be looking to become the first repeat World Series champs since the 2000 New York Yankees. And they'll be doing so this time around without a first-round bye, as they had last season.

NL Powerhouses: Phillies and Brewers

The National League is stronger overall than it was last year, with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers entering with the two best records. 

When asked which teams impress him the most, Hernández mentions that the Phillies are a "powerhouse."

"The Phillies are always the powerhouse," Hernández told SportsBoom.com. 

"That's a tough lineup, good starting rotation. Obviously they lost (Zack) Wheeler and not having (Jose) Alvarado available for the postseason, those are going to be two huge guys, two pieces that are going to be missing. The Brewers are having a Cinderella season. Their pitching is unreal, their offense is very scrappy, they're all very athletic. They run well, they defend. They can do all the little things, and then they got guys that can slug too."

Hernández continues going down the list of World Series threats in the National League, mentioning the Dodgers' biggest rival, the San Diego Padres. Los Angeles clinched their 12th NFC West title in the past 13 seasons on Thursday, holding off the Padres in the process.

"The Padres, they're stacked as anybody in the game," says Hernández. 

"I think the National League is a lot stronger than the American League, but that's how it goes. The Mets are not a bad team, even though they're not playing their best right now. You look at all the teams that are in it, in the National League right now, and you look at the teams in the American League, and there's definitely some better teams in the National League. But then again, it is what it is, and we got to take care of business, and there's never an easy playoff series."

Dodgers’ Talent Still Stacks Up

The Dodgers may not be having as productive as a regular season they've had in year's past, they enter their final regular season series with 90 wins, but they're still a ridiculously stacked team with arguably the most talented roster when healthy.

They have a number of proven playoff performers in Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw, who is entering his final season.

When asked the biggest challenge of an MLB season, Hernández admits that it's a long one at 162 games, which doesn't even include the postseason. The Dodgers will be looking to win their third World Series in the past six seasons. 

"It's a long season," says Hernández. 

"The biggest challenge is health. It's hard for anything to stay healthy throughout the season. As far as having the target our back, I don't think being the World Series Champions changes anything. We're still the Dodgers. We're still the target of people, people want to take us down at all times, even when last year, after getting swept by the Diamondbacks two years ago, everybody still wanted to take us down."

"It comes with being in the big market, having the big team, big payroll and all these things," Hernandez continues to say. 

"It's always World Series or bust, so the mentality never changes. I guess that's a good position to be in."