Dodgers: Going through and grading the pitching staff

Out of the ‘Pen

I took a more strict definition here, as I’ll only be going through the relievers listed on the final depth chart, not every single arm who took the mound this season. I’ll also give shorter descriptions for many of these arms, since they had less of an overall impact on the team.

Kenley Jansen– A 3.73 ERA and 33 saves are usually not numbers that are associated with Kenley Jansen. But this season, he just could not stay consistent, with both the cutter and his secondary stuff. He did not seem happy coming into Game Five with nothing on the line either, so we’ll see if he’s back for 2020, and for the record, I really hope he is. B-

Joe Kelly- Not to hate on Joe Kelly, but when he was signed, I did not consider him worth the contract. He pitched well in his first inning of Game Five, but he is not the multi-inning game dominator that Jansen once was and that other top-dollar relievers are. He pitched well during the season though, and maybe he can put it all together in 2020. C+

Pedro Baez– A strikeout per inning, a sub-1.00 WHIP, and a 3.10 ERA, yet he still could not be trusted in the postseason. Pedro Baez is the only reliever in baseball capable of earning that distinction with those numbers. No point dumping him though since he really does have the stuff to back up those regular-season numbers, just don’t cite him as a reason not to deal for bullpen help in July 2020. B

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Yimi Garcia- One of the best WHIPs in baseball, and yet he’s another Dodger reliever you just could not trust to pitch in October. Oh well, what are you going to do? C

Caleb Ferguson– He showed flashes of what excited fans last season and the season before, as he’s a lefty with good stuff and a powerful fastball. He did not have it all together in 2019, but more repetitions and an accelerated path to the late innings could be a recipe for success for him next season. C+

Dylan Floro- He had an awesome stretch of scoreless appearances in April, but a 4.24 ERA and less than a strikeout per inning won’t be enough to stay on the MLB roster for a team looking for revenge in 2020. At least I hope it won’t be enough… D

Julio Urias– More than a punchout per inning and a 2.49 ERA, yeah, this is the Urias we’ve been waiting for. Whether they pair him as a tandem starter with Ross Stripling and/or Tony Gonsolin or if they let him start games himself, he’ll be valuable again in 2020, just hopefully with more innings pitched. B+

Dustin May– With arguably the best stuff in the bullpen, maybe after Kelly, May could probably start and should probably start. But the Dodgers have too many solid starters and can’t afford to sit around and wait while May goes through the growing pains he’s bound to experience. So, he should remain in the bullpen for most of 2020, making spot starts and maybe even opening for Maeda and/or Ryu. B

Casey Sadler- He’s fun. He’s not a strikeout pitcher, but he’s fun. I’d like to see him back in Dodger blue in Spring Training for 2020, maybe armed with a new set of more offspeed pitches that exhibit more break or sink. C

Adam Kolarek– Now he’s interesting. He shut down all the lefties he faced as a Dodger. He’s the perfect specialist for 2019 baseball. But now he’ll need to either face three batters per appearance or end an inning before coming out, putting more pressure on him to beat righties too. But I believe he can do that, mostly because I want him to be able to. A-

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