The State of the Union er Rotation

Hyun-Jin Ryu looked much better last night as he pitched much differently than the power pitcher he used to be.  The curve and changeup are his “go to” pitches with the fastball in the 89-90 MPH range and an occasional 91-92 MPH just for effect.  He can be effective when pitching like this, but there is little margin for error.  The way I see it, he is our Number 5.  Lots of teams would love to have the Ryu who pitched last night as their Number 5.

Everyone’s Number 1 goes tonight, as again Clayton needs to step up… again!  Brandon McCarthy is pitching like a Number 2.  He is focused like I have never seen and has proven the half season with the Yankees was no fluke.  Ladies and Gentlemen, as crazy as it seems, Brandon McCarthy may be the Dodgers #2.  Thursday night, the Dodgers new Number 3 Starter gets his first start of the season.  Julio Urias has only thrown 14 innings (15 K’s, 1.93 ERA) and I doubt they will let him go more than 5 or 6 in his first start.  He proved he belonged last year. as he put up a rookie ERA that was a full run below Clayton Kershaw’s rookie numbers.

So the rotation is currently set at 1, 2, 3 and 5. leading to the question, who is Number 4?  It appears that Rich Hill will go to the bullpen at least for a couple of weeks to help build up a callous on his blister finger.  Alex Wood and Ross Stripling are too good in the pen to put them in the rotation, so that leaves the Number 4 spot up to someone in AAA.  Now, the Dodgers may use Wood in the Starter Role, but I think that weakens the pen.  I would not do it.

There are three possibilities at OKC:

1. Trevor Oaks – 1.89 ERA in 19 IP, 16 Hits, 21 K’s, 5 BB, 0.89 WHIP – I like him a lot.  He has a fastball that is 93-94 but can touch 96.  He has excellent control but his secondary pitches are works in progress.  He pitches deep into games  having gone at least 7 innings on many occasions last year.
2. Justin Masterson – 2.37 ERA in 19 IP, 10 Hits, 22 K’s, 7 BB, 0.89 WHIP – To top it off, he pitched 7 innings of 1 hit shutout baseball last night.  He is 32 years old and once was a top talent until injuries.  He has a “heavy” sinker and induces lots of ground balls. When healthy, this guy can be very, very good.  He has pitched over 200 innings twice and 2011 was his best year as he put up a 3.21 ERA.  To me, his career mirrors Brandon McCarthy.  Maybe he too is a late bloomer.
3. Jair Jurrjens –  3.78 ERA in 16.2 IP, 12 Hits, 11 K’s, 5 BB, 1.02 WHIP.  He had a bad last outing which drove his ERA up. In 2009 he had a 2.60 ERA and in 2011, he had a 2.96 ERA.  He was very good at one time before falling to the injury bug.

Jurrjens is currently behind Oaks and Masterson.  None of the three are on the 40-man roster, but I would think Masterson has an opt-out! If I were in charge (FAZ has yet to appoint me).  I would call up Masterson to fill the Number 4 spot and see what happens.  Oaks time will come. Just my two cents.

What about Maeda?  “You forgot Maeda!”  I’m trying to!

I have a great idea:  Let’s start hitting the ball!