The Dodgers are going to select right-hander Emmet Sheehan to their roster, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com. He will start tonight’s game, making his major league debut. The club has an opening on their 40-man roster from designating Adam Kolarek for assignment earlier this week but will need a corresponding move to get Sheehan onto the active roster.
Sheehan, 23, was selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2021 draft and made a brief professional debut at the lower levels of their farm system in the subsequent months. Last year, he spent most of it at High-A and was able to reach Double-A by the end of the year. He tossed 68 innings on the year with a 2.91 ERA, striking out an excellent 38% of opponents though with an 11.1% walk rate that was on the high side. He then went to the Arizona Fall League and added another 20 1/3 frames with a 3.54 ERA in six starts.
Coming into this season, he was generally considered to be just outside the club’s top tier of prospects. Many outlets had roughly five to eight Dodgers on their top 100 lists, with Sheehan just a bit behind that group. Baseball America ranked him #13 in the system, Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs at #17 and Keith Law of The Athletic at #14.
Here in 2023, Sheehan has returned to Double-A and has been getting great results. He has an ERA of 1.86 in 53 1/3 innings so far, with a massive strikeout rate of 41.7%. His 10.9% walk rate is still a bit on the high side and he won’t be able to maintain a .211 batting average on balls in play or 91.1% strand rate, but his numbers would surely be impressive even with a bit of regression.
The Dodgers are now going to have Sheehan leapfrog over Triple-A and into the majors. That’s partially a testament to his impressive work but it’s also related to some challenges they have faced with the big league staff. Walker Buehler had Tommy John surgery last year and won’t be an option until late in the season, even in a best-case scenario. Dustin May was able to make nine starts this year but departed the last of those and was diagnosed with a flexor pronator strain. He’s on the 60-day injured list and ineligible to return until mid-July. Julio Urías has been on the IL since mid-May due to a hamstring strain and was supposed to come back this week but suffered a setback and will likely require a rehab assignment now. Noah Syndergaard went on the shelf just over a week ago due to a blister.
Amid all of those injuries to their established starters, the club has been forced to turn to their prospect depth. Ryan Pepiot was going to open the season in the rotation but he himself got injured at the end of Spring Training as he strained his oblique and isn’t expected back until the All-Star break. Michael Grove and Bobby Miller have been pushed into the rotation next to incumbents Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin. Miller’s ERA is a miniscule 0.78 but Grove’s is way up at 8.10.
Despite all those challenges, the Dodgers are managing to stay afloat. Their 39-30 record places them second in the National League West and they are currently holding the top Wild Card spot in the league. Whether this is just a spot start for Sheehan or he sticks around for longer will likely be determined by a few different factors. His own performance will surely be one of them, as will the continued results of Grove and Miller, along with the health situations of the guys on the injured list.
Who dat?
Hopefully, somebody better than Michael Grove.
He’s a member of the best minor league rotation in baseball, and his stuff has a lot more upside than Grove. How he’ll fare being pressed into a big league debut remains to be soon, but you should know his name. baseballamerica.com/stories/its-just-absurd-double…
Or remains to be seen, even, tho it’ll be seen soon!
Say. His. Name.
Just saw. Pretty adequate debut (considering he has to wait another start to give up a hit).
Just saw. Pretty adequate; he’ll have to wait for his next start to give up a hit. Pretty good. Prettay, prettay good.
He’s a pitcher.
But not a belly itcher? Zoinks!
It’ll be interesting to see – there are gonna be a whole lot of guys who have never seen a whole lotta guys without a lot of MLB time tonight. It will also be interesting to see if skipping AAA is a good idea since the general consensus in pitchers that pitch in the PCL (AAA) because of the hitter friendly environment have an easier time adjusting to the MLB pace (and the numbers in AAA more mirror MLB performance) and with the AAA automated strike zone implemented tend to show more improved command due to the additional walks accumulated. This guy hasn’t experienced any of that so he is going right into the fire.
They have a full rotation on the injured list, so they have no other choice to promote guys from Double A now.
It’s never really a good idea to throw the unprepared into the fire, but it’s desperate times. If rookies who are called up struggle in their first outings they usually get sent right back down before it messes with their minds. Except in the case of Stone the Dodgers haven’t been able to do that. Have to worry about Grove being run out there every five days to get shelled. In a better situation he’d be back in the minors making adjustments. The Dodgers planned their starting pitching depth around a bunch of inexperienced minor leaguers, so we are where we are by design.
I know you’re whole schtick is talking crap on the Dodgers “blue skies” but most other teams would’ve never signed Thor and gone with kids like Pepiot and Miller to start the year. Braves as a recent example. I don’t think LA’s problem is lack of spending on free agents. Injuries happen
No, my whole “schtick” is being real. Granted not a lot of it around here where homers and trash talkers dominate, but you should still be able to recognize it when you see it.
Not sure I get your defense for signing Syndergaard since it’s worked out so badly. Because, yes, injuries happen but how well a team gets through them depends on their depth. In this case they made the decision to rely on untested depth. It was a high risk strategy. How’s it working out? And my other point is the Dodgers aren’t most other teams. They’ve got huge resources, and they have it because of the money fans like me spend on the team.
You’re the one defending free agents signings, I think they should’ve rolled with the youth movement sooner like ATL. I was literally saying the opposite of you.
TA worked out great, Heaney was good when healthy, Thor bombed. That’s how 1 year deals go, you win some you lose some.
The Mets and Padres followed your line of thinking and it hasn’t worked out at all.
You don’t build long term winners through spending big every year. Ask Preller and Eppler.
I get it, you’re negative in the comment section about all the Dodgers moves. I’ve never seen you say anything good about LA. You should change your name to gloomy skies. Depressing af just to read your comments all the time. Go touch grass and get off the internet for a while
Completely false. Trash talking isn’t a substitute for paying attention.
You trash talk a lot in these comment section so I guess you would know. I still suggest you get outside more often. Can’t be good for your health to be constantly arguing on the internet
Well said Panaeolus. BlueSkies is always the first to go at people with his opinion quite forcefully and arrogantly – and it’s always coming from a position of negativity. Only one opinion matters to him.
I imagine a lot of people have muted BlueSkies, and it’s probably best if I do too.
Completely false. Just more trash talking.
Marlins and Braves skip AA often and it works for them. Chicago white sox often have their best college arms fast tracked through the minors to the bullpen. Time will tell if Sheehan will succeed but LA is known as one of the most conservative teams when it comes to prospect promotions.
If Gavin. Stone were right this year, he’d be called up again. Best guess – since this will require a 40-man, of the AA pitchers who are doing great this year (Frasso, Nastrini, Sheehan, Ryan, Knack – who just jumped to AAA), they think Sheehan also has the highest likelihood of being able to stick as a bullpen piece this year if they need him.
One positive out of all of these injuries is that LA is getting a good look at the young arms in their system for next year to help offset possible Urias and Kershaw departures.
The next Bobby Miller, snatch him now all you Fantasy freaks!
It’s interesting: Gavin Stone was putting up amazing numbers in the minors, got the call up, and struggled with big league hitters.
Bobby Miller was putting up so-so numbers in the minors, got the call up and has dominated big league hitters.
Emmett Sheehan has been dominating in the minors, so……….? Will he crash and burn like Stone, or impress like Miller? I will settle for somewhere in between.
> I will settle for somewhere in between.
Gavin Stone 14.40 era 10ip 23h 16er 7bb 5k
Bobby Miller 0.78era 23ip 12h 2er 7bb 23k
Middle (rounded down): 5.06era 16ip 17h 9er 7bb 14k
Ummm, yeah, I don’t think you’re going to be happy with the middle.
Haha, point taken. In year’s past, I would agree with you.
But, so far this year, we have Stone 10.00+ era, Grove 8.00+ era Syndergaard 7.00+ era
I will take a 5 (ish) era at this point. : (
You did say somewhere in the middle. I picked right in the middle. So, a little towards the better end of the middle would be fine, right?
I forgot to consider it within the context of that hot dumpster fire, Syndergaard, so almost any pitcher alive, throwing the baseball, would be an improvement.
Pretty much sums it up.
They’ve lost 8 games this year when their offense has scored 6+ runs in a game. 4 of those losses were when they scored 8+ runs, and we’re not even to the all-star break.
This is all well and good, but LAD needs to add another SP or two at the deadline. They can make the mix and match position players work (as long as that doesn’t include Thompson) the rest of the way, but the need for SP is real. Doesn’t have to be top of the market, just someone durable other than Jordan Lyles.
Needed, but hard to do, especially with the expanded playoff pool. Sellers are going to be few and far between and every useful player on selling teams will have many potential buyers. A team with massive revenue like the Dodgers should be using it to fill roster holes with free agent signings, but that boat has already sailed.
All the pitcher signed last offseason have kind of stunk. Only Eovaldi has been good.
Not sure I can agree with that assessment. Just to name some, on the relief side, Chafin has been good for the D’backs, and Matt Moore for the Angels. Starters: Wacha has been really good for the Padres and even Grienke is getting respectable results for the Royals. All of them were available to the Dodgers, mostly on short term deals. But they made the deliberate decision to go with untested minor leaguers as their depth options, and made a poor choice with Syndergaard, so now we are where we are.
Eflin been a keeper for the Rays.. ERA, FIP,whip, K/BB ratio.. no matter what stat, new or old, he’s pretty much doing well and staying healthy for the most part. 3 year deal at 40m turningout well, especialy with Rays starters having injury issues as well as the Dodgers
I was speaking to SPs. For the pen yeah there are definitely solid guys. Chris Martin was the one who got away
You’re overlooking Kyle Gibson.Eovoldi, Wacha,Gibson and Eflin were rated the second tier, but were, in results, the first tier.
He couldn’t do any worse than Stone or Grove IMO!
Noah Syndergaard would argue with that.
Sickening how they keep stumbling on top prospects and then they’re gonna ruin baseball by buying Ohtani this offseason
They don’t “stumble” on top prospects, they draft well and develop extremely well. Ask any BA writer like Kyle Glaser. It’s not just a bunch of dumb luck. And it’s drafting many of them later in rounds and in late rounds, as well as acquiring them in under the radar trades and developing them further than their previous organization. they don’t all pan out either but enough of them will to make it impressive. As for Ohtani, it remains to be seen where he goes but after a quieter off season clearly they’ll be trying hard for him. How that “ruins baseball” I have no idea.
dodgers are calling up Ed Sheeran? Lol! I know that’s really lame but I couldn’t believe nobody has made that joke already. Usually de rigueur on MLBTR
Don’t you dare. That’s because his names Sheehan.
First name and last names aren’t the same but OK I guess I could see how you make that leap.
Somebody is begging to get Rick Rolled.
I have to take my hat off to Dodgers and the Braves scouting departments.. Despite rarely picking in the upper half of the draft, both teams draft and develop starting pitching better than the other 28 teams combined.
To wit, I’m a Phillies fan, and the only home grown SP we’ve had do well over the past fifteen years are Cole Hamels and Aaron Nola. Might be able to add Ranger Suarez to that embarrassing short list sometime in the future, but as of right now, it’s just the two of them, Hamels and Nola.
You’d think the Phillies would have hit on one or two more just by accident.
Many thought Spencer Howard would be that guy, but he kinda crashed and burned.
They might be on to something with Andrew Painter.
Hoping Painter is the real deal. Don’t believe Sixto, Drabek or Howard were ever as highly touted as Painter. Still, there are many bridges that need crossing before Painter finds the promise land.
@backupcatcher what about Roy Halliday or Cliff Lee? Oh wait…
Neither was homegrown. The Phillies got Halladay from the Blue Jays and Cliff Lee from the Indians.
He will do a good job against the Giants tonight. Giants mo against rookies.
I know at one point recently, the Tulsa Drillers had the highest avg velocity of any pitching staff in baseball, even the MLB. Sheehan’s gas was a big part of that
I am thinking/hoping that Sheehan will be closer to Miller than to Stone in regards to overall big league results. I say this because Sheehan, like Miller, has 2 above average pitches to lean on whereas Stone only has the one pitch (changeup).
Whats Landon Knack up to?
Reports were this guy was MLB ready from the draft 3 years ago and that’s why they went after him,