Rants & Raves – Pitcher Style

Posted By on February 16, 2023

  • Clayton Kershaw – He can still pitch with the best of them, but only about 70% of the season. If the Dodgers can manage his health so that he is healthy for the playoffs, then he can pitch another year. $20 Million for 126 IP with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.942 WHIP, then I will take it all day long. That’s ACE 1A Status! OH, and a 3.8 WAR and 137 Ks in 126 IP. This guy is still regarded as one of the best in the game.
  • Jimmy Nelson – This is an “under the radar move” that I had a “gut feeling” about. Lest we forget, Jimmy Nelson was being converted to the bullpen in 2021 and pitched 29 innings, allowing just 14 hits and 44 Strikeouts to go with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.931 WHIP. Can he stay healthy? That is the question, but his stuff is beyond filthy.
  • Reclamation Projects – It used to be that the Dodgers would bring in a reclamation project a year (Joe Blanton, Brandon Morrow, et al). Now they have multiple projects at a time: Shelby Miller, Rubby De La Rosa, Alex Reyes, Jake Reed, and Adam Kolarek. Add in Syndergaard, and the total is seven. Not all will make it, but some will shine.
  • Tony Gonsolin – If my gut is right, Tony will need TJ next year, but if he is healthy, he will continue what he started last year. He has four pitches and should be even better than last year… unless he needs TJ. That’s my worry!
  • Dustin May – He will need all of Spring Training to get the “feel” for pitching back but make no mistake, this guy will be a solid #4. He will have hiccups, but they will become fewer as the season progresses.
  • Noah Syndergaard – Can Mark Prior perform another miracle on Thor? I have no clue but am hopeful, but that is why they have Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller, and Gavin Stone at the ready! This will be the best rotation in baseball!
  • Bullpen – This bullpen is no bull. You all know the names, but here’s a reminder:
    • Almonte
    • Bickford
    • Bruihl
    • Ferguson
    • Feyereisen (2nd half)
    • Gonzalez
    • Graterol
    • Grove
    • Hudson
    • Jackson
    • Phillips
    • Vesia
    • That is in addition to the six others I listed above. I have NEVER seen a bullpen this deep!

Projected Rotation Depth List

  1. Urias
  2. Kershaw (1A)
  3. Gonsolin
  4. May
  5. Thor
  6. Pepiot
  7. Stone
  8. Miller

That’s deep! Now, Play Ball! There are a lot of pitchers trying to get one of thirteen spots. It’s going to be fun to watch. Any guesses as to who makes the Squad of 13?

Camelback Ranch Video from Dodger Blue

Here’s another one from Dodger Nation. I have to watch it with the volume off… but that’s just me.

Here’s another for Outman Fans

If Outman and Vargas win jobs this Spring, things will be very good for the Dodgers.

This article has 22 Comments

  1. A couple of things I would like to see CK accomplish this season. 200 wins, he only needs three so that should be a lock. 210 wins, with 210 wins he passes Big D and moves to second all-time on the Dodgers behind Sutton. No Dodger hurler ever has more than Sutton’s 233. I do not think CK will top that since I believe he will retire after this season. Of course, if he gets close to 3000 strikeouts, that could change. He is 193 away from that mark. I am taking a wait and see attitude with most of the pitchers. But I believe if Thor is healthy, he is going to have one monster of a year. The guy’s stuff is nasty, he is a full year removed from his health problems, and he is working with a pitching coach who is getting a reputation for being able to spot flaws in a pitcher’s mechanics and fix them pretty fast. I think the bullpen is going to be much better than last years bunch, and last year, they were pretty damn good. For those of you who missed the stream yesterday, the news that MLB.TV is going to include minor league games with your MLB package this season is huge. Now you can watch the kids you have read about.

  3. Speaking of raves, I was pleasantly surprised to see MLB.com cite Pepiot as a potential “breakout pitcher.”
    May was also cited, but that didn’t surprised me.
    Re Pepiot:
    Key stat: 24.1% in-zone whiff rate as SP

    Pepiot is a wild-card pick because there might not be a spot open in the Dodgers’ rotation right away. But based on the stuff the Dodgers’ No. 6 prospect showed in his first big league action last year, we’re betting the 25-year-old right-hander just needs a chance. First of all, Pepiot posted a 10.4 K/9 in the Majors to go along with his 11.2 K/9 at Triple-A. His fastball, even though it “only” sits at 94 mph, has a 2,400-plus rpm spin rate that gives it strong rise (two inches more than an average four-seamer), which helped Pepiot generate a high 28% swing-and-miss rate in 2022. His 87 mph changeup gets nearly 17 inches of horizontal movement to the arm side, 2.5 inches more than an average changeup. And he throws a tight slider, also around 87 mph with above-average horizontal break.

    Then there’s this: A good sign for how dominant a pitcher can be is how often he gets whiffs on pitches inside the strike zone, since those should be the most hittable. In his starts, Pepiot got whiffs on nearly a quarter of the swings against his in-zone pitches (24.1%), ranking among the top 10 starters in this smaller sample. That list, for reference, was topped by Jacob deGrom, Shane McClanahan and Spencer Strider. Further indication of how Pepiot commanded the zone: if you add in called strikes, he got a called strike or whiff on over half of the pitches he threw in the strike zone (50.6%) — the highest rate in the Majors.

    — David Adler

    I guess I should be more impressed with Pepiot, who I’ve always viewed as a good guy to trade. Maybe he still is… but maybe not.

  4. And the SP depth you cite keeps going, with Grove and Jackson.
    And then there’s another group with Nastrini, River Ryan, Sheehan, Frasso, Knack, Hurt, Bruns… etc etc…. Just a lot of quality depth.

    1. Nobody has a crystal ball. But that’s exactly why I don’t want to trade Pepiot for Reynolds
      YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH PITCHING

      1. Totally agree. Let’s see where we’re at the trading deadline and make decisions on what is the best path to improve the team with trading prospects . AF is the best. In Andrew We Trust.

      2. Kershaw, Urias, and Syndergaard might not be on team next year. So, May, Gonsolin, Pepiot, Miller, and Stone could be the 2024 rotation. If Mark’s gut is right, Gonsolin would be scratched from 2024.

  6. The Dodgers announced Thursday that they’ve placed right-handers Walker Buehler, Blake Treinen and J.P. Feyereisen on the 60-day injured list. The trio of transactions clears space on the 40-man roster for the previously reported free-agent signings of David Peralta, Alex Reyes and Jimmy Nelson, whose one-year deals have now become official.

    None of three IL placements come as a surprise. Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2022 season and is expected to miss most, if not all of the upcoming 2023 campaign. Treinen, meanwhile, could miss the entire 2023 season after undergoing surgery to repair the labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder back in November. At the time the surgery was announced, the team provided an estimated recovery period of about 10 months, which would run into early September.

    As for Feyereisen, he’s never thrown a pitch for the Dodgers but was acquired in a December trade that sent minor league lefty Jeff Belge to the Rays. The 30-year-old Feyereisen rattled off 24 1/3 shutout innings for Tampa Bay in 2022 and has a 1.48 ERA in 61 innings of relief work with the Rays dating back to 2021. However, he underwent a similar procedure to Treinen (rotator cuff and labrum repair) in early December and is reportedly looking at August as a best-case scenario for his own return.

  8. I think we’ll have the patience needed for young players to find their way at the plate, but there will be limited patience for the defense we’re about to witness in our projected infield.

  10. Yeah been trying to come up with what 13 pitchers making opening day but I give up to many question marks mostly concerning heath among other possibilities

  11. Cole Hamels signed by the Padres. Second pitcher in two days for them. Wacha yesterday. Corbin Burnes lost his arbitration hearing against the Brewers and he is none to happy about it.

  12. I would say next year miller replaces Kershaw in starting rotation and Kersh retires after dodgers win the world series. That’s why they can trade Pepiot. Because they have other starters or can trade for a good starter. When they make the trade for Reynolds. Pepiot will be in that trade package.

  13. That’s good news for other teams on Burnes. Be nice we got him somehow. If I never heard about Reynolds again wouldn’t bother me none

  14. Nothing not to like about him I know of just wore out on the constant talk about him when chances are slim we get him. Especially now he’s open to a long term deal with pirates. Got a lot position players showing up to camp early this is a good sign

    1. The biggest long term deal the Pirates have ever given out is $70 Million. Reynolds is worth double or triple that. I guarantee the pirates will not come close. If Soto is worth $350 to $400 mil, Reynolds is worth at least half. Hopefully Outman will seize the CF job but if he doesn’t the Dodgers will come calling in June or July.

  15. I couldn’t agree more but until then. Pirates might be thinking arbitration years deal keep him happy. Just saw got 71 players in camp

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