The Dodgers have no shortage of options for their starting rotation. Even after trading Kenta Maeda to the Twins, Los Angeles has Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, Alex Wood, Julio Urías, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Ross Stripling and Jimmy Nelson on the 40-man roster. So too is prospect Mitchell White, but he doesn’t figure to be in the mix out of the gate after posting a 6.50 ERA in 63.2 innings at Triple-A last year.
That’s plenty for manager Dave Roberts to work with, but he offered a bit of clarity on the situation today. Urías will open the season in the rotation, Roberts told reporters (including Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times). Gonsolin, it seems, will not be in that mix, Castillo adds. Roberts noted the 25-year-old has a chance to break camp with the club as a reliever, though.
A relief role is not in the cards for the club’s top pitching prospect. May is currently viewed as a starting pitcher only, Castillo relays. The 22-year-old thus seems likely to open the season in the rotation at Triple-A Oklahoma City, he adds.
None of this news is especially surprising, although it does shine some light on the situation. Gonsolin made six starts (and five relief appearances) for L.A. in 2019. The former ninth-rounder was effective in his 40 MLB innings, working to a 2.93 ERA with a 22.7% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 41.7% ground ball rate. Impressively, he compiled a 4.35 ERA/4.38 FIP in 41.1 innings in the hitter-friendly PCL. Baseball America’s #82 overall prospect, Gonsolin’s long-term future is presumably still as a starter. Given the Dodgers’ pitching depth, though, it seems his immediate path to big league innings is in relief.
That won’t be the case for Urías, who actually worked mostly out of the bullpen in 2019. His results (2.49 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate, 38.7% ground ball rate) were even better than Gonsolin’s. That pen role was never expected to be permanent, though. Still just 23 and once the game’s consensus top pitching prospect, Urías’ 2019 innings were constrained a bit by health troubles. After logging nearly 80 innings last year, it seems he’s ready to shoulder a starter’s workload again.
May, too, served in a swing role in 2019 after making his MLB debut in August. BA’s #20 overall prospect, he showed well in his limited time in the show. He only made five starts at Triple-A before his promotion, though, and an early minor-league assignment, if indeed that comes to fruition, could help the club keep his innings in check as well.
If it weren’t clear already, Roberts has no problem deploying the pitching staff in a nontraditional manner. There’ll be ample innings to go around, and the club will surely rely on more than five of the names above to start games over the course of the year. If healthy, Buehler, Kershaw and Price seem like locks to take the ball every fifth day, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a few different names penciled in behind them as the year progresses. That runoff should also aid a bullpen that is the closest thing the Dodgers have to a weakness. It’s an enviable situation for the NL West favorites.
Got to love their depth!
I’m pretty happy they held on to May. I am looking forward to watching his development. Their depth is really impressive, especially considering the talent they have already brought up in recent years and the fact that it just keeps coming.
@Chief Two Hands When many teams will be struggling with depth it is a nice luxury for Dodgers to have. Not sure how well Jansen is going to do this year so it’s nice to see we have some guys who can step up and fill that need.
Buehler
Kershaw
Price
Urias
May
Some form of Pen
Stripling
Wood
Nelson
Kelly
Baez
Trenien
Jansen
Minors depth
Graterol
Gray
Gonsolin
Ferguson
White
Santana
My guess.
Wood rotation
Graterol pen
May -triple AAA to start
Probably not correct. May will start in the minors to stretch him out some but it may not the long until he’s in the rotation. I also expect Graterol to be in the bullpen from the get-go! He has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues and reports are the dodgers big club likes him A LOT!
@moneyballer graterol had nearly a 5 era with twins last year dont see it until he makes strides in minors to limit walks.
Being dumb must hurt
He had 1 bad inn in 12 inns is more accurate than a 5 era imo-
The other 11 looked pretty pretty good
Grat will be here opening day and I gotta say Im excited to see him ASAP
Wood is in rotation. That’s the only reason why he signed back with LA.
Wood sucks and is coming off a serious shoulder injury. May has earned a chance a spot, based on last years results. With that thought process nelson signed to have a spot in the rotation sadly best man wins and may is the best arm outside of kershaw, buehler….
May still needs seasoning in the minors. Starting pitching can’t be rushed, they will definitely slow play his development. There’s absolutely zero need to rush May into the bigs. He’s so young, stash him in AAA.
Woods is working with Driveline and the reports are very positive. Driveline is working with several Dodgers pitchers, including Jansen.
Urias is clearly the best pitcher outside of those two, you could argue he is comparable to them.
They even hired one of Driveline’s top trainers, Rob Hill, to be their Pitching Coordinator…they must really like what they see from Driveline. Also, according to those in Dodgers camp, Jansen’s cutter has it’s good “ride” back. Buehler, Kershaw, and Jansen all took much less time off from throwing when the season ended, after Buehler talked with Max Scherzer at last year’s All-Star Game and Max explained he never takes much time off from throwing…I’m excited to see how they all look this year!
I don’t see Dodgers having 4 LH starters but maybe at the start of the season. It will be fun to watch all are good choices. Graterol will be fun to watch his 100 mph fastball in relief videos look good.
Where were you when we had 5
With that rotation you will win 100 games and lose to teams like
Nats
Mets (Think of 2015 lol)
Yankees
Etc
Price
Urias
May
Is laughable in playoffs
I mean if the Mets are bringing back their 2015 rotation sure….. that rotation with that exact production. They have to stay healthy and actually make the playoffs first, you should probably worry about that first. The main thing here is the Dodgers rotation will not stay the same as it is today. Urias and May will be transitioned back to the pen as they run through their innings. Price being laughable in the playoffs is now as laughable as this post. The point here is this is not even good trolling.
Yeah, you really can’t troll the Dodgers..lol Maybe any other team, but definitely not the Dodgers…
Their backups are more talented than some teams starters..Their overall organizational depth is just absurd..
They’re the only team that I cannot even fathom my favorite team beating in the playoffs..Just have to hope, first the Braves make it, but second, someone else eliminates the Dodgers first…lol
Thank you for being honest. The playoffs are a crapshoot, but I really believe this year the Dodgers are set better than the past.
I disagree. Everybody thinks I’m trolling. I’m not. Dodgers are the best team on paper.. but I feel every year they don’t win the WS or make it (2015, 2019) bc they don’t have a Degrom, Cole, Sherzer. A true ace (buehler isn’t their yet) that could pitch in the playoffs and take them over the top.
My example goes as follows..
Mets Vs Dodgers game 7
Degrom Vs Buehler
There is no denying Dodgers are the better team
Mets advance….
Ik Dodgers could win in that situation but this is a example of what happens to them.
They don’t have that real ace.. kershaw won’t cut in playoffs
Buehler has to get the chance to win a big game like that before he can actually do it. No ACE will consistently beat DeGrom. But they don’t need to. Buehler will beat Syndergaard 2 times out of 3. Same with Kershaw against Stroman.
Mets fans should just keep quiet.
I don’t think this Mets fan is trolling. I think he is just a blind homer with below average intelligence.
Dodgers in 5. Why all this talk of a 7th game?
I don’t really know where that situation even remotely comes into play. Buehler shoved 163 against the Rockies. He literally shoved in the WS vs the Red Soxs. He shoved against the Nats. With all due respect, he has performed in the biggest moments the dodgers have given him the ball. You can come up with hand picked situations, to try and craft your argument, but the simple fact of the matter is you haven’t paid attention. The Mets would have to stay healthy and get to that situation for it to even matter. The fault of the Dodgers not winning somewhat relies on the inability for the offense to tack on/ show up and some questionable pen management. Among other things really…..
You know before degrom there was a dude named Kershaw right?
Exactly
Who won a win or go home game 163 in 2018?
Walker buehler. Go away Mets troll who doesn’t watch dodger games then pretends they don’t have pitching
Buehler has won big games. Game 163 against the Rockies for the division, and 7 shutout innings in his first and only World Series start (and on the road). Walker Buehler has allowed 2 runs total in his last 4 postseason starts, including outdueling Strasburg in Game 5 (sadly for naught).
So Game 7, DeGrom vs. Buehler.
How do the Mets win game 7 by scoring zero runs?
DeGrom get’s run support never.
Mets lose.
In the playoffs teams go to a 3-man rotation MetsFan22. That means Buehler, Kershaw and whoever is pitching best out of Price, Urias and May. That might not be as good as the Nats were last year, but it at least ties the Mets and beats the current Yankees rotation.
I think they hava good rotation. In the playoffs too.
They barley lost to the Nats with Rendon. Mets had a super rotation that year, now its just Degrom and a underwhelming Thor. “May is laughable in the playoffs” is such a random weird thing to say. Dude pitched well in October and was a 21 year old rookie. Such a dumb thing to say.
Now let’s compare lineups, Dodgers vs., say, Mets.
(Now let’s compare ownership, but I digress and am just goofing. 😉 )
Now let’s compare starting pitching DEPTH.
Minor league depth.
And from starting pitching 1-5 dodgers are pretty deep.
But you do you.
I’m a 38 year old Mets fan and I have to sit and listen to chatter like this all the time, and things about how Kershaw can’t ‘cut it in the playoffs’ especially from Yankees fans. Please stop embarrassing us. The Mets look good this year but they aren’t the Dodgers. Yes anything can happen in a short series but the Dodgers, especially this year, are looking very very good.
Not the smartest kid in middle school ‘ey mets fan? You just keep watching baseball this year. You will get the hang of it.
Buehler would shut down that Mets lineup in the playoffs. He’ll soon be in the top echelon of starters in baseball.
LOL!
Go watch a game then laugh
Winning college World Series with busted UCL, winning 163 as a rookie. Our ace in the playoff rotation This year
You sound so so stupid. And for a Mets fan, that’s impressive
Buehler would be our 3 lol
@commonsense I have to agree. People forget he out pitched Strasberg in do or die game 5 last year too. Nationals almost didn’t even make it to face the Dodgers. They had to bail Scherzer out against Brewers in WC game. Mets fans talking about what it takes lol. DeGrom got blasted in his only WS start. People just like to stir the pot Go Dodgers!
…
To who!? Degrom sure, he’s a top 5 guy in mlb
It’s not Stroman and sure as hell isnt thor. You’re so full of it. You’ve clearly seen zero Walker buehler in action. He’s a bulldog with a 98 mph fastball
The Mets hitters would look like children. Sit down
I cant think of another team in my lifetime that was favored to be the best team in the league and would still have a path to actually trade out MLB players for future prospects and still be the favorites!
Its fascinating the routes you could take with this team in any direction
As Always a hat tip to the scouting dept and player development departments, unrivaled in the business and sorely unappreciated
And some Dodger fans have the audacity to think Friedman is a bad exec
Any one of us could be a good exec with that budget…but that’s not to say I disagree with you. I think Friedman is fantastic.
@ Ntorsky- You couldnt be more wrong with the budget comment-
This is a team that home grows its talent better than any team out there (and w/out tanking like the Stros)
The money has been slowly carried over from bad contracts over the years- Yes you can argue the market makes it easier to absorb such blows but its NOT what makes US good on the field
Fact is Dodgers could lose thier top 5 highest paid players and still be a sub 100 mill playoff team and Div winner based entirely almost on just arb players……theres not another team out there like that Twins Braves come to mind but even they arent close
Not true at all. Lots of big market teams with huge budgets struggle to be sustainable. Dodgers are a machine that are in the middle of a Red Wings like playoff streak.
I also disagree about the budget comment. Friedman has usually taken calculated swings with his budget: attempting to address needs or using it to bring in a player like Mookie. He hasn’t given big contracts out left and right to any free agent who hits the market. A lot of fans (and probably some current MLB front office personnel) would probably give out blank checks if the budget wasn’t an issue and tried to sign the big names every offseason. I mean just look at what Dombrowski did in Boston. He had a similar budget and a decent-to-good farm system. Yes Boston won a World Series but a lot of the big contracts he gave out have come back to bite him and, arguably, is one of the biggest reasons the Sox chose to move Mookie.
He def is not a bad exec but he does have some pretty big blind spots imo-
Free agency and the Bullpen have been pretty big fails in his tenure thus far
He does have some great merits as well though like keeping a pretty clean ledger, trades, draft and taking long shots at guys like Muncy/Taylor
Again though the Dodgers are who they are bc of the scouting and player dev depts….something that NEVER gets its just due imo anywhere (media fans industry etc)
Spending on the bullpen and assuming results is like assuming if you keep betting black, eventually you’ll break even
Look no further than LADs two potentially suspect bullpen arms are also the 2 highest paid…
Yeaahhhh……..and not addressing the bullpen after years of seeing it take us down when it matters most is like losing your wallet on the way to the sportsbook when you have an inside tip on the game
Once again, nothing of substance from Commonsense just anger and audible grunts….. Good day Sir
How is Graterol nothing ?
You wanted another joe Kelly? Brandon morrow, hows he doing on the cubs?
You complain that I call you out for being dumb JD, but you have no substance to add. What would you have done differently that would have been A GUARANTEE of better results. He’s thrown money at it, he’s gone cheap.
If neither gives you guaranteed results, and neither does, your complaint is futile
I’d say you’re the one who just moans and grunts. Remember Corey Seager sucks? Then you shut up when I used data not my gut like you? Go away your a bandwagon fan clearly
No I dont want a Morrow Blanton or Kelley thats my point but your kinda proving it for me as you typically do with your posts that have no direction or value-
Fact is the pen has been our detriment 5 years running come playoffs and we all are on pins and needles come the 7th 8th 9th-
Your suggestion – Bullpen arms are fickle do nothing-
Okay!!!!!! Glad your not running us with that garbage ! Get some sunshine today common , You Need it !
Jesus you’re so good at not reading my posts then insulting me
I’m asking what you wanted different. You haven’t answered. Just like you didn’t once I put seagers numbers out there
You want them to use prospects? Did that
Spend on big reliever free agents? Did that
Re-sign big arm free agents? Did that too
Traded for guys mid year? Yep that too
If you’re going to insult Friedman’s ability to build a pen, then tell me what he should do differently- that he hasn’t already done
You’re a baseless complainer and a pretend fan to act like you have any reason to talk about the Dodgers. You have nothing to back up your opinions
To call my posts just rambling- when I use data and you use your opinions that are baseless- just sums up how much of a moron you are JD
The first iteration of the mookie betts trade would have been one of the best deals made in team history. Not that the way it ended up being a bad deal at all in the end. But when I saw they basically were trading maeda and verdugo for betts and price with the Sox paying half of Price’s money… I was honestly shocked that he could have pulled that off some how, and that may have pushed him up to the best exec in the game had the red sox not backed out and squeezed more out of him.
I actually like getting Graterol for Downs and Wong better-
If all players hit their say 85% range Grat in the pen will supply much more value to us than Downs with Lux and Muncy locked in- Wong is a nobody with a 32% k rate in the minors disregard him
When you further Pivot to realize we got Grat for free for the Reds trade last year in dumping Puig it becomes all that more satisfactory
They call it desperation by the RS.
They do? Laziness pasha2k. I expect more from a varsity letterman.
Way over rated rotation, we will see that they certainly are but still a solid enough rotation to win 94-96 games and win the west again.
Think so? You seem pretty confident so let’s set the the under/over at 96. How much?
After all this Stro’ can azzholery and robbing the Dodgers of a fair series, plus the fact that my M’s are in a youth movement I am officially pledging my fandom to the Dodgers. Good luck guys, make this year your year.
Meaning this with 100% sincerity, us Dodger fans are happy to have you on board for the year! This can definitely be the year to make it happen!
They’re in pretty good shape. Teams that have options usually do well because they can replace guys who are struggling or get hurt. Dodgers look like a pure powerhouse ball club!
Best rotation: Buehler-Kershaw-Price-Stripling-May
Best pen: Jansen-Baez-Kelly-Treinen-Urias-Nelson-Wood-Graterol
Stackedddd…
As the article says, Urias is already penciled into the rotation and May will probably start the season in the minors.
8 starting pitchers , every single one better then any angel lol.
Dodgers could trade 3 pitchers for say another difference-maker (trout,Degrom or whoever they want) and still win.
And the angels almost got one too
Dodgers have a lot of depth is crazy
Fantastic pitching depth. It will be interesting to see what happens with the electronic ump calling balls and strikes. All pitchers walks, hits and ERA will probably go up. I would think the control pitchers that live on the corners will be most affected. The living on the “black” days will be coming to an end. IMHO.
While they don’t have the best pitcher in the game anymore (I love Kershaw, but he’s just not what he was 4 years ago anymore), they certainly have a very good pitching staff. But then that line up will include Seager, turner, bellinger, betts… I think their worst hitting regular is probably will smith. Certainly not a bad spot to be in on either side of the field.
The weakest spots on the roster are the current catchers. I want to see what Keibert Ruiz can offer. Not impressed with Will Smith or Austin Barnes
When Ruiz is ready I expect Barnes to be traded for another hidden player. Like Graterol who they were kind of forced to take what a deal.
Smith was a top 40 prospect as recently as last year before his debut… give the kid some slack. Most 23 year old catchers are in Aa or AAA still
Ruiz had a rough year at the plate last year. He’s young. Why rush him?
I am keeping an open mind, and not rushing anyone. Just didn’t feel overly confident in Smith offensively. Just hope that Roberts doesn’t screw it up again in playoffs.
Ruiz and Smith will make a nice catching tandem at some point this season.
Not trying to attack ya man. But Smith has performed in the minors and is 2-3 years older than Ruiz. He slumped 2nd half, but that’s far from unique for a young catcher
Really I think it’s Smith/Barnes In 2020 and Ruiz won’t get above AAA. He needs to repeat AA first and should get a look at some AAA off speed before coming up, especially given his struggles last year with a new level. A 2 lvl jump from AA to Mlb would be tough as hell for a young catcher
Think it’s more 2021 but yes, it’ll be a lot of fun, and the perfect example of dodger riches….. to have 2 MLB Ready, starting quality catchers under age 24, when catcher is one of the weakest spots in the majors, is just crazy
Smith looked like he has a lot of potential last season, especially considering his age.
Quite frankly, after watching Grandal for a few years it was nice to see a catcher who can hit and actually catch the ball. Grandal has issues catching the ball regardless of where it’s coming from…outfield, infield and the mound.
Why unimpressed with Smith?
In 2019, Smith posted a wRC+ of 132 and 1.7 fWAR in 196 plate appearances. For 2020, ZiPS projects a wRC+ of 107 and 2.7 fWAR in 445 plate appearances.
How is that unimpressive?
Buehler has become the ace
Kershaw put up a 3.00 era in the year of the Homerun. Like greinke, he knows how to pitch and will age well. He’s only 32..
Price had a similar 3.00 era, but in the al East, before he got the cyst last year. Say what you want about how he got it, when healthy he was still highly effective just last year
Price has also said he feels completely healthy now. I think he could beagle addition to the rotation. The Dodgers aren’t going to be relying on him to be a top of the rotation guy.
Beagle? That’s a sweet auto-correction.. “be a good” becomes “beagle”
The droopy ears were a dead giveaway.
Funny! Friedman fantastic? Pre Betts trade he was a goat. I thought he was great before the trade. Remember he got rid of three dead weights in Puig, Kemp and an ailing lefty starter who missed almost the entire season last year. Remember he just traded a big time issue player in Verdugo who looks like will be fragile type. Most important is that he values the prospects
Lol
Pure Breed edition 2020 LAD
C- Smith/Ruiz
1b- Belli
2b-Lux
ss- Seager
3b-Muncy
Lf- Verdugo
Cf- Joc
Rf- Taylor
BN- Kiki Beaty Toles Rios Peters Barnes
Sp
1-Buehler
2-Kershaw
3-Urias
4-May
5-Stripling
6-Maeda
7-Gonsolin
Id actually love to see how this team would have done….. Still probably narrow favorites to win the NL west
** Yes I know Muncy Taylor Kiki do not contain the full blood but we raised them shortly after birth and they hold the Dodger print enough for me to include them…. You could justify adding Turner as well but i left him off just to show how crazy this scenario is
Except that Verdugo isn’t on the team anymore, and Toles hasn’t been in professional baseball for like 3-4 years or something now?
Also, Maeda is not only not on the team anymore, but not a homegrown player either, he had a very successful career playing in Japan before coming over to sign with the Dodgers.
You think DJ peters is ready for the show at this point? He’s played under 60 games at AAA and .260/.388/.490 in the PCL – a very hitter-friendly league.
DJ Peters has had two good months spanning the last two years in the upper majors. He’s has major major contact questions. His K rate over the last two seasons is around 30%+. He has some major tools, but he probably won’t ever hit enough to see the Dodgers lineup. If we’re being realistic he’s a lotto ticket in a trade. He’ll probably have a huge spring seeing as he can definitely hit the fb, and fans will come drooling. It’s just hard to believe in profile/performance like he’s shown. He had a major showing in AAA, and then guys made adjustments.
Toles last played in the major in 2018 and he hasn’t played at any level since. Whatever problems he was having in his personal life they seem to have ended his career.
Obv Ingles Im just showing the homegrown talent we have produced….
The fact we are debating the 18th/19th guy on the list shows that-
A lot of uninformed people still think we are a product made from money….^^ that shows we are not
Maeda was our product and catch as was Ryu as was Kuroda as was Nomo….. I dont see how overseas factors in here
Wasn’t Muncy drafted by Oakland? Didn’t come to LA until 2018
@ajm1121 though Muncy spent time in Oakland and even came up to the mlb level for a cup of coffee, the Dodgers had him in the minors for 1 season and part of another. Oakland did not complete his training so to speak. That came from the Dodgers organization..
***
Yes but developed here
pick a team that has been bad for a long time and look at all the prospects they traded that they shouldn’t have. I look at the Padres who have been bad for 10 years.Rizzo(1B) A. Gonzalez(1B) Corey Kluber(P), Ozzie Smith (SS) Altamar, Joe Carter, This is just a few and you wonder why Dodgers won’t trade their top prospects.
LAD is also one of the most patient with prospects. When they come up, it’s usually not because 5 guys are hurt and the prospect is barely in AAA. They give even prospects like Lux a near full AAA year. So many teams look at 21-23 year olds to be the savior. Imo it’s how you cause a lot higher % of guys to bust
Ozzie Smith was not a prospect when he was traded, he was an All Star. He had been in the league for several years and was traded fr another All Star shortstop in Garry Templeton. It was two disgruntled veterans traded for each other and most people thought the Padres won the deal by a mile because at that point Templeton was a far better player.
Adrian Gonzalez was a 3 time All Star when he was traded, so also not a prospect. He was traded FOR prospects. Anthony Rizzo was one of them.
They had Rizzo and Yonder Alonso and had to trade one of them. They made the wrong choice, but they had to make that deal because Epstein wanted Rizzo since he drafted him.
Robby Alomar (I assume that is who you were referring to) and Joe Carter weren’t either and the two guys they were traded for in McGriff and Fernandez weren’t half bad either.
Do you even know what a prospect is?
I am not a Padre defender, by any means. But with as many ways as there are to call them incompetent, you sure picked a one that made no sense.
Until recently the Padres traded EVERY solid player they had not named Gwynn….
Blows my mind urias is only 23
Considering his time missed, easy to think he would be 25,26 etc.
This rotation would be crazy if he could ever harness the potential he once had as a starter
About a 3.40 ERA at 19. I watched his starts back then, and it took maybe 2 outings to settle down and put up numbers that would be very good for a seasoned 29 year old.
He also had an impressive amount of poise for a 19 year-old in the majors when he first came up.
looking forward to Urias making 30+ starts and 150+ innings to see what he can actually do. the training wheels should finally come off this season…
Should be fun watching this Dodger club this Summer. It’s the Fall I’m sweating
How many trips will Price / Kershaw take to the DL? Other than that it’s pretty deep
Alex wood is going to get that 5th rotation spot, he said he wouldn’t of signed if he knew starting wasn’t going to be his role
I don’t know where you are finding any “health troubles” for Urias in 2019. I don’t believe he made a single trip to the IL last year. What he did have was a suspension issue, at a time when he was still being slow-walked into service as he recovered from his very serious shoulder surgery two years before. He worked mostly in relief and made a few starts effectively in an opener role. That’s the explanation for his limited innings last season, not an injury. I’m surprised nobody else caught that error in the article.
There seems to be a lot of people out there who question Urias’ durability because “he’s never pitched 200 innings”.
In the first couple of years of his career he was under a very strict (and publicly known) innings limit set by Dodgers management. He probably could have thrown 180-200 innings had they let him. Then right when they were letting him loose, he had a capsule tear in his shoulder, which held him out for about 1.5 years. Then when he returned, they were so deep that they had no need for him to be in the rotation long-term, and they kept him mainly in the pen to again slow his innings on the comeback from a major surgery.
I think this is the year that will set his base. If he can’t throw more than 120ish innings due to injury this year, then it’s fair to start questioning his durability. But so far, it’s only been one injury (albeit a major one) over his career.
The shoulder injury he sustained in 2017 could very well have ended his career so it was hardly surprising that he’d be built back up slowly to a starting role that he’d only just begun to assume when he was hurt. Honestly I believe the opinion stated in this article was the result of faulty research. Contrary to what was said here, Urias wasn’t injured in 2019. As much as he pitched, he pitched healthy. They now have enough confidence in his healing process to use him as a starter.
I agree with BlueSkies on a Urias.
I disagree with anyone who doesn’t believe Wood will start. His contract is incentive laden. Stripling will not be penciled in as a starter. Hell the Dodgers basically tried to give him away for an Angel minor leaguer who is not even rated in the top thirty of the organization.
May will be toil in the minors, save a call up necessary due to injuries.
Have no idea on Nelson. He is going off an injury plagued year.
For me the starters would most likely be (subject to performance and injury in spring training):
Ferris
Kershaw
Price
Urias
Wood.
Look for the bullpen to rebound.
No doubt Wood wants to start, but the structure of his contract gives the Dodgers a significant financial incentive to limit his starts. He had to have signed that contract with his eyes wide open. Nelson’s contract happens to be structured similarly. With so many competing for the bottom end of the rotation, somebody is going end up with the fuzzy end of the lollipop. All I can say about Stripling is I believe the trade involving him broke down over the return the Dodgers would receive for him and Pederson. We’ll probably never know what the Dodgers were asking, but we can be pretty sure it was more than just the one prospect and that’s where the deal broke down.
May has nasty stuff and since we have to pitch to three batters on relief he is the guy to bring in and shut down an inning.
The Dodgers have already made it clear that they don’t plan on using May in relief. So, scratch that idea.
Gonsolin’s numbers in his 11 appearances, 6 starts last year were very good…
IMO, no Dodger pitcher throws more than 145 innings this year except for Buehler. Assuming they have the divison in hand (but not clinched) at the 120 game mark, an evaluation will be made as which will be the best post season rotation. I expect 9 or 10 pitchers will make starts, so it really doesn’t matter what the starting rotation looks like. No other team in baseball can make this claim.
Maybe 145 innings is a bit low, but you get my point…
They will probably have to make that assessment sooner than 120 games into the season because that would take them past the trading deadline. The question is now and probably will still be in July is who is in the top three in the rotation.