Dodgers: Rich Hill progressing as he attempts to beat the clock

The Dodgers’ fourth starter for the postseason remains up in the air.  Rich Hill is trying to beat the clock to make sure he is the one taking the ball for LA.

Time is of the essence.  It’s a saying used in business and it certainly applies for Dodgers’ starter Rich Hill.  Hill is trying to beat the clock, and the calendar to prove he is capable of being the fourth starter in the postseason for the Dodgers.

Rich continues to progress and Tuesday he threw at 150 feet at maximum effort.  This week he will also throw his first bullpen since hitting the IL.  David Vassegh reported on AM 570 Wednesday morning that Hill’s bullpen session will come Thursday.

Rich Hill’s last start came back on June 19th against the San Francisco Giants.  After throwing a scoreless first inning he went back out for the second inning but called the training staff out before leaving the game with an injury.  That injury later came out as a flexor tendon strain, the type of forearm ailment that often leads to Tommy John surgery.

Luckily for Hill, he has continued to progress and appears to be nearing the end of his rehab.  At 39 years old, Tommy John surgery would have likely been the end of his career but so far so good and Hill will soon be back on the mound for a bullpen session.  It’s easy to forget with a loaded pitching staff, but Rich was pitching very well prior to his injury.

For the season, Rich Hill has a 2.55 ERA and 1.11 WHIP.  In four June starts, he was beginning to roll again and had an ERA of 2.25.  Now he will try to get back into starter shape and make a push for the postseason rotation.  While Hill’s return looks to be a safe bet at this point, the role he will fill remains a mystery.

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After initially being pessimistic about his chances of returning to the rotation, Andrew Friedman has expressed more optimism lately about Hill working his pitch count up before the end of the regular season.  Even with stellar young pitching talents like Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, the fourth starter spot is Hill’s to lose if he can make it back in time to show he is ready to go for another World Series run.

In the previous two World Series runs, Rich was as good as any Dodgers’ starter pitching to an ERA of 2.55 in 2017, and 2.16 in 2018.  No matter the venue or the moment, Hill has the Dodgers’ trust but first, he needs to show them he can take the ball to start in a playoff series.  This is where the race against the calendar and the clock begins.

The Dodgers’ last regular-season game is scheduled for Sunday, September 29th.  That gives Hill about five weeks to make it back and work up his pitch count.  September will be his spring training and he will need to make at least 2-3 starts to get his pitch count high enough to pitch five or six innings in the postseason.

While it’s no fun to think about the season-ending, Rich Hill is a free agent after this season and will be forty years old before next season begins.  The next two months will be crucial, not only in determining the Dodgers’ playoff rotation but also in determining Hill’s big-league future.