The Dodgers’ rotation is getting healthier, deeper and more interesting by the week, and Blake Snell sounds like a pitcher who can see exactly what that means.
With Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound delayed, Los Angeles still doesn’t have its full starting staff intact. But the group has reached its best shape of the season anyway, thanks to Snell and Tyler Glasnow coming off the injured list last month and the Dodgers’ trade for Tarik Skubal.
Snell is embracing the setup.
“Yeah, definitely excited about it,” Snell recently said about the Dodgers’ rotation. “It’s going to be a lot of good competition within the starting rotation, and I’m really excited about it. I mean, being able to watch some of the best pitchers in the game and learning from them, the mentality, the way they attack, having those conversations are very big.
“And yeah, I’m definitely grateful that we’re on the same team and a lot to learn.”
That kind of depth has put even more weight on the shoulders of Snell and the rest of the staff while the Dodgers’ offense has been stuck in a slump over the past few weeks. It has a familiar feel to last October, when the rotation delivered historic results on the way to a second straight World Series title.
The talent is there for another run like that, but manager Dave Roberts said he wants the offense to be the unit setting the tone as the Dodgers chase a first National League three-peat.
Even with Ohtani’s pitching return still unresolved, the playoff rotation picture currently points to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Snell, Skubal and Glasnow.
Snell’s latest start showed both how effective he has been and how demanding he is of himself. He worked six shutout innings in the series opener against the Washington Nationals, then pointed straight to the details he still wants sharpened.
“The fastball location is getting better. I got to move it around more, so I’m looking forward to do that,” Snell said on SportsNet LA.
“Land curveballs a little more in the zone, and I just can’t be walking, guys that I know I can get out. Just got to get ahead, quit trying to be so perfect and just attack, get ahead.
“I’ll find myself being able to go deeper in the game. Going six is cool, and it’s a good starting point.
I really want to go seven, eight, and I want to get to nine. So for me to do that, I got to locate the fastball more, throw more strikes, and get early contact for outs.
“So overall though, a lot of weak contact. So happy about that, but I can still execute a lot better.”
The results have been hard to argue with. Snell has allowed one or fewer runs in all five starts since returning from the 60-day injured list, and he has finished six innings in four of those five outings.
In Other News...
Dodgers May Have A Postseason Bullpen Option Nobody Saw Coming
The Dodgers added Tarik Skubal and Kris Bubic ahead of the trade deadline, and the bigger question now is how each fits when October arrives. While Skubal brings obvious front-line value, Dave Roberts also singled out Bubic as a name to watch, noting both his experience and the progress he has made in his rehab work after landing on the injured list in mid-May.
Bubic has been working back through assignments and has shown enough along the way to keep his postseason path open. For a Dodgers club that always wants as many usable arms as possible in the playoffs, the possibility of turning a rehabbing starter into a bullpen option is the sort of depth move that can matter late, even if the final answer is still to be determined. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Could Soon Cut Short One Young Infielders Opportunity
Andy Pages is starting to work his way back from the fractured left hand he suffered Aug. 21, and the first encouraging sign for the Dodgers is that he has begun hitting off a tee without pain. While Pages has been sidelined, Los Angeles has patched together the outfield and infield with a mix of Alek Thomas, Tommy Edman and Alex Freeland, a reminder of how quickly one injury can ripple through the roster and create opportunities in a hurry.
Freeland has been the name to watch in that shuffle, even if his bat has not given the Dodgers much reason to slow down the next move. Because he still has minor league options left, his place on the roster looks especially vulnerable once Pages is ready to return, and the front office may not have much choice if it wants to restore the lineup and keep its defensive alignment where it prefers it. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Hand Emmet Sheehan A Big Late Season Opportunity
With Eric Lauer headed to the injured list, the Dodgers are turning to Emmet Sheehan for an important late-season chance against the Reds. The right-hander was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and is now getting a big-league assignment at a time when Los Angeles is still fine-tuning its pitching mix for October.
Sheehan has earned the look with his recent work in the minors, and the Dodgers are clearly hoping that form carries over when the games start to matter most. For a club already thinking ahead to the postseason, this start offers both a chance to stabilize the rotation and a reminder that there is still room for one more arm to make a case. [Read more 🡒]