Should We Worry About the Pitching?

IMO, there is a difference between being worried, and believing that there is room for improvement. It seems clear that the #5 starter was not open for competition. Hyun-jin Ryu was anointed the #5 and what transpired during spring training seems irrelevant. Both Stripling and Buehler have pitched better than Ryu this spring, and neither seem to be considered at this time. Stewart has not pitched well and he is now settling into the OKC rotation. Stripling was labeled a reliever early on as one of the five relief role locks. I would have no problem if the position was not open for competition, but it was stated prior to spring training that the #5 starting pitcher was yet to be decided.

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I am not worried about the depth of pitching. I have stated on multiple occasions that FAZ is the master at building a team with enough depth to get to the playoffs. Whether they have the correct pieces to get THROUGH the playoffs has been the question. They did last year, it just did not work out. Gerrit Cole has quietly had a fantastic spring thus far. In 4 starts he has 12.2 IP, allowed 10 hits, 2 runs, 5 walks, 15 strikeouts, for a 1.42 ERA and 1.184 WHIP. He no longer has to pitch with the pressure of being the Ace of the Pirates. How great do the Astros feel when Cole goes against their opponents’ #3 or #4? The Astros were not worried about their pitching, but they knew they could improve, and did. There is no question the Dodgers could have made a better offer for Cole, but chose not to, and I am in no way criticizing that decision. If FAZ was unquestionably supportive of Ryu as the #5, then say there is no competition for the #5 coming into spring. They have more than earned the right not to be second guessed on this.

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I feel the same about the supposed open competition for the bullpen. JT Chargois and Pat Venditte have both pitched well enough to have earned a spot in the bullpen. They both have a WHIP of less than 1.000. As does Justin De Fratus. IMO, Jansen, as the best closer in MLB, and Alexander and Cingrani, as the only viable LHRP, should be the only locks. Stripling has pitched well enough to be the multiple innings long man as well as one who can come in to pitch in high leverage situations. But how does Pedro Baez and his 2.357 WHIP earn a spot over Chargois, Venditte, or even De Fratus? I have no problem with Josh Fields getting a spot, especially if he continues to gets innings over the next 9 days. Baez can be part of that depth at OKC, along with De Fratus, Garcia, Liberatore, Moran, Copping, Paredes, Broussard, Jankowski….The relievers that have earned their spots are Jansen, Alexander, Cingrani, Stripling, Chargois, Venditte, and Fields. If an 8th is needed, I would take De Fratus over Baez and let Baez earn his spot back while pitching at OKC.

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Worried? No. Is their room for improvement? Yes.

From the OC Register:

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Urias says he has not had a single twinge of pain during that program which has progressed to long-tossing from 120 feet this week.

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Other markers are off in the distance. Urias says he does not know when he will throw off a mound again or face hitters. He says he is just trying to stay pain-free and get comfortable throwing again.

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“Making sure you’re pain free day-to-day — that’s the most important part,” he said. “When you go eight months without doing anything then you start throwing, you immediately start feeling like there are other things coming, other stages of the rehab coming along.”

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There are only hazy projections for when Urias might be able to return to action. The original prognosis was a 12- to 14-month recovery and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sticks to the company line when he says, “We’re expecting to get Julio back at some point this summer.”

Dave Roberts is a good spin Doc.