How difficult will it be to turn Blake Snell into a Dodgers superstar in October?

For most of the year, the Dodgers’ rotation seemed broken.

In large part, as the archer became her anchor, he was struggling to find himself.

It’s easy to forget now, with Blake Snell in the midst of a historic October performance that helped lead the Dodgers back to the World Series. But for much of his debut season in Los Angeles, the two-time Cy Young Award winner who was signed for $182 million this offseason has struggled with frustration, enduring what he recently described as “the toughest year of my career.”

First, there was a well-documented early adversity: a shoulder issue that Snell quietly dealt with in two disappointing early-season games, before being sidelined on the injured list for the next four months.

Then, there was an ordeal that Snell detailed last week for the first time: In late August, the same day his wife, Hailey, gave birth to the couple’s second child, Snell became so ill in the hospital that he fainted, was taken to the emergency room, and stayed up overnight hooked up to intravenous fluids.

“This is terrible,” he thought to himself then.

Which now makes him so dominant in the postseason — including a 0.86 ERA in his first three playoff appearances, and a scheduled start for Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night — that makes it all the more satisfying.

“It’s been a lot,” Snell told The Times last week, as he reflected on a difficult season now preparing for a triumphant final act. “But that’s what it’s all about. Find the best in yourself. Fight all the doubts, Taurus… and find out.”

In many ways, figuring things out has been the story of the Dodgers’ entire season. From their inconsistent and injury-riddled offense. To their weak team affected by injuries. To their ever-evolving rotation, most of all.

Early in the year, that group dealt with a series of injuries of its own, losing Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Rocky Sasaki and others in a harrowing recall to 2024.

This time, most of their upper arms were back healthy. But even six weeks ago, they were still facing real questions about the fall.

At that point, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was mired in uncertainty after being named an All-Star in the first half of the year, raising concerns that he might be fatigued en route to a career-high 30 games.

Glasnow returned from his shoulder issue early in the season, but suffered six starts from July 29 to August 30 with an ERA above 4.00.

And while Shohei Ohtani was playing well, he was also continuing to build upon his return from a second career after Tommy John surgery.

Suddenly, all of that left Snell as the workhorse of the staff — propelling him into the position of a late-season resurgence that was soon to come.

“With every great staff, you have to have that anchor,” manager Dave Roberts said. “Getting him back on the field the way he did, it kind of raised the bar for everyone.”

Last winter, the Dodgers made Snell their top priority for a reason.

They looked at the patchwork rotation that nearly derailed their 2024 World Series run, and decided this year’s pitching staff needed another star to build around.

Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani have already provided a solid foundation. Clayton Kershaw, Emmett Sheehan, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May provided plenty of depth to endure a 162-game marathon.

But what was missing was another bona fide smash hit. The kind capable of swinging a postseason series and turning around October’s fortunes. In Snell, they saw such potential. They hoped his presence would complement the title defense scheme.

“While we were talking about ways we could put ourselves in the best position to win a World Series in 2025,” President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said the day the club introduced Snell, “all the conversations kept coming back to Blake.”

Of course, Snell’s influence was limited for most of the year. After an injury-hit start to the season, he remained sidelined until after the trade deadline.

During that time, the Dodgers slowed Snell’s recovery — putting him through a delicate procedure (similar to how they treated Glasnow and Ohtani) that was designed to get him ready for the extended stretch of the season, and hopefully peak in time for the start of the playoffs.

Upon his initial return in early August, Snell appeared to be on the right track, as the lefty posted a sub-2.00 ERA in his first four outings off the IL.

But then came another unexpected setback, after he rushed home from a walk in San Diego on August 22 to deliver his baby.

By the time Snell’s wife went into labor later that week, the 32-year-old arrived at the hospital feeling “very sick,” he recounted last week. At some point, when he got up from the couch to hold his newborn, he said he lost consciousness and fainted right there in the room.

Snell was taken to the emergency room and remained there overnight, where he received two intravenous infusions to combat an unspecified ailment undoubtedly exacerbated by fatigue.

“I couldn’t really stand up,” he said. “I felt terrible.”

However, a few days later, Snell was back at the top of the Dodger Stadium mound; Ensuring that after his long absence earlier in the campaign, he does not miss another start.

“This is what I signed up to do,” Snell said. “When I’m promoting, I forget about it. I don’t allow a lot of excuses.”

Snell’s illness was unknown at the time, but the physical damage it caused soon became apparent. His velocity was noticeably down in three, 5-game innings starts on August 29 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Six days later, he toiled again during a “frustrating” outing in Pittsburgh, yielding a season-high nine hits and five runs scored for the lowly Pirates.

However, going forward in those games gave Snell a key to focus on for the rest of the season. “If this is where you are today, figure it out,” he told himself. Finally, with no more disruptions to his routine, improvement began to flow quickly.

Snell struck out a season-high 11 batters over six scoreless innings in a September 10 win over the Colorado Rockies. He topped that a week later with 12 punchouts in seven scoreless frames against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“It’s a big game,” Snell said after that outing, which was followed by another six-inning start, in the regular-season finale at Arizona.[I’m] I’m starting to be able to play catch with more intent and work on things…going forward into the postseason, being able to make that happen, that’s the goal of the whole season.

The old adage in baseball is that hitting can be contagious.

In the case of the Dodgers this year, starting pitching obviously could be the case as well.

When Snell got hot in September, so did the rest of the rejuvenated team. Yamamoto rediscovered his form early in the season, winning National League Player of the Month honors with a pure 0.67 ERA in four starts. Glasnow finished the month with a 2.49 mark, after finally improving his throwing mechanics. Ohtani, meanwhile, spanned six innings, maintaining his two-man dominance over repeated complete appearances.

The bar has been raised, with the constant cycle of gems continuing to push it a little higher.

The Archers rode the momentum and enjoyed their shared success. So much so that Roberts joked it seemed like they were almost vying to outdo each other.

“I think we’re all in good shape,” Glasnow said. “So it was only a matter of time until we were all doing well at the same time.”

But in these qualifiers, no one was deadlier than Snell. In his 21 innings thus far, he has thrown a scoreless frame in all but one inning.

He was good in his first start, producing seven innings of double-run ball against the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card round. He was impressive in the next game, pitching six scoreless hits against the Phillies in a hostile road environment.

However, his masterpiece came in Game 1 of the NL Championship Series, when he threw eight scoreless innings, striking out 10 batters, and mercilessly pitching a Milwaukee Brewers lineup powerless to adapt to his manipulative changeup.

“We all knew this: Blake, when he’s right, is the best pitcher in the game,” Kershaw, his future Hall of Fame teammate, said afterward. “To have a guy that can do that, set the tone, to have a guy that you can count on like that, it’s huge.”

For his part, Snell continues to insist that “I feel like I could be a lot better.” After repeated setbacks earlier this year, he claims that “even now, I’m still struggling.”

The numbers, of course, tell a different story. In the live ball era (since 1920), only three other pitchers with 20 or more innings in the postseason have had at least 20 strikeouts and an ERA below 1.00 (Sandy Koufax in 1965, John Smoltz in 1996 and Justin Verlander in 2013).

And on Friday night, Snell will be on the ropes once again, trying to continue his impressive streak and turnover.

What once seemed like the toughest year of his career is now four wins away from being the most satisfying.

“This is what you have to go through to win a World Series,” he said. “You can find an excuse, or you can find a way to figure it out.”