Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May should be playoff locks

The Dodgers have some tough playoff roster decisions on their hands with just three games left in the regular season.  Talent should prevail over experience.

The Dodgers will play out the final three games left on their regular season schedule before embarking on another October World Series run.  If there is one thing that the Dodgers should have learned in the past two postseasons it is that talent should prevail over experience.

The Dodgers put Brandon McCarthy on their playoff roster over Walker Buehler in 2017 and it turned into a move they regret.  McCarthy pitched one inning in the 2017 World Series and he allowed a two run home run to George Springer in his lone postseason appearance.

If the Dodgers get stuck in a similar extra innings situation they need to make sure they have the most talented pitchers on the roster.  It could make the difference between going up 2-0 in a series or tied 1-1 like it did in 2017.  The Red Sox had Nate Eovaldi as their flame throwing long reliever last October and the Dodgers could have two pitchers like that in Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin.

While Tony Gonsolin isn’t quite a flame thrower (averages 93.6 MPH on his fastball), he has shown time and time again this season that he can pitch against elite teams.  He started against the Yankees and allowed one run over five innings, giving the Dodgers their best start of the series when Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu made the other two starts.  He has held the opposition to a .154 average as a reliever.

Then there is the flame throwing rookie Dustin May.  May doesn’t just throw 98-99 miles per hour, he throws a sinker with sharp movement.  He has appeared on the popular twitter account Pitching Ninja multiple times with GIF’s of his nasty sinker movement.  Some call it a two-seamer, some call it a sinker; whatever hitters want to call it, they will come to fear that pitch.

The question becomes how will the Dodgers fit both May and Gonsolin onto their postseason roster?  Regardless of what the answer is, the Dodgers need to make sure both are on the postseason roster.  Stuff is more important than postseason experience and the two rookies have arguably the best stuff on the roster outside of Walker Buehler and Joe Kelly.

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If Rich Hill makes the club and starts or opens game four, the Dodgers will likely go with an eight man bullpen like they have over the last few postseasons.  The playoff bullpen could be Jansen, Baez, Kelly, Urias, Kolarek, May, Gonsolin, and Maeda.  Ross Stripling was said to be on the postseason roster according to Alanna Rizzo but including Chicken Strip would likely leave one of Gonsolin or May off the roster.

Dustin May has been much better as a reliever in September, pitching to an ERA of 2.89 while holding batters to a .257 average.  He also passed the test of pitching back to back days during the most recent series in San Diego.  Pitching back to back days is the only test left for Tony Gonsolin to prove.  That test may come in San Francisco during the final series of the regular season.

The Dodgers need to include Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May on their playoff roster even if it means leaving off an experienced pitcher like Ross Stripling.  Going up against some tough competition in the postseason, Dave Roberts needs to have the most talented pitching staff available at his disposal and that means including Gonsolin and May.