The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the offseason with a clear need for starting pitching as Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw were among the club’s initial group of players to reach free agency. Scherzer went on to sign with the New York Mets, and Kershaw is still a free agent.
Furthermore, Trevor Bauer’s status for next season is up in the air as MLB hasn’t concluded its investigation into alleged sexual assault. With at least two spots to fill, the Dodgers got a jump start on the market by signing Andrew Heaney to a one-year contract.
The left-hander struggled mightily this past season, but several evaluators believe he is poised for a potential breakout campaign next year.
As the Dodgers look to round out their starting rotation in the coming months, several prospects may also get an opportunity to log important innings in 2022. “We’ve got some really good guys in place,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently said.
“That being said, we’re going to need to address that. We’ve got a really good group of young starting pitchers coming. With Mitch White, Andre Jackson, we saw some of this year. Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot, Landon Knack will all be in the upper levels or Major League when we start the year.
“It really gives us a strong foundation and depth, so now rounding the rotation will definitely be something we’re focused on as we get into the winter.”
As Friedman noted, both White and Jackson logged innings for the big league club this year. Jackson is the No. 7 ranked prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline, and posted a 2.31 ERA in three games.
Pepiot, Miller and Knack also are among the Dodgers’ top 10 prospects and can contribute as soon as the 2022 season. The latter two have spent the past month pitching for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League and recently were named All-Stars.
Dodgers’ Miller enjoyed ‘great competition’ in AFL
After being limited to 56.1 innings during the regular season due to an oblique strain, Miller has enjoyed pitching against some of the best Minor League competition in the AFL.
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