With a little over a month remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers remain in the process of not only determining what their postseason starting rotation will look like, but also the bullpen.
The first three starters – Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler – are locks, but the fourth spot remains open. Rich Hill is the favorite if he is able to return from injury and get built up in September, but the team has a variety of different options if he is unable to do so.
One of those is rookie Dustin May. The 21-year-old is making an impact at the big league level sooner than expected, although whether or not he will be on the postseason roster is still unclear.
May had three solid starts after being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City, but then was moved to the bullpen in anticipation of a possible relief role come October. The audition didn’t go as planned though, as May allowed three hits and four runs, including a grand slam, in two innings of work against the Atlanta Braves last weekend.
He will likely return to the bullpen eventually, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently revealed that May will first be inserted back into the rotation. Roberts has now announced May’s start will come Monday in the series opener against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com
Rookie Dustin May will be a starting pitcher again on Monday when the Dodgers open a three-game series in San Diego.
Although the Dodgers intend on providing May with additional opportunities out of the bullpen, he’s needed for a spot start as the team is in the midst of playing 16 consecutive games. They aren’t due for an off day until Thursday, Sept. 5.
May made his MLB debut against the Padres on Aug. 2 at Dodger Stadium. He started off well but ran out of gas in his six innings of work, and wound up allowing nine hits and four runs (three earned) in 5.2 frames. May struck out three without issuing any walks, but took the loss.
If Hill is unable to get healthy or stretch out to four or five innings, then May could be the favorite to be the fourth starter in the playoffs. It is for that reason the Dodgers have not fully committed to utilizing May as a reliever.
