Dodgers 2020 spring training primer: Starting rotation

Spring training is almost here for the Los Angeles Dodgers which means it’s time to take a look at their roster.  First up is a deep and talented starting rotation.

The Los Angeles Dodgers did not make too many additions to their roster this off-season but the most additions came to their starting rotation.  The Dodgers brought back former Dodger Alex Wood on a one year deal and they also signed former Brewer ace Jimmy Nelson to a year contract.  Wood and Nelson will join a heated starting rotation competition that includes Julio Urias, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Ross Stripling, and Kenta Maeda who are all competing for rotation spots after Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw.

This might be the first year that Clayton Kershaw doesn’t get the opening day rotation when he is healthy given the breakout postseason performances of Walker Buehler.  Buehler is looking to nail down the number one spot in LA’s rotation and he certainly has the best stuff of any other starting pitcher in Los Angeles.  Regardless of who cracks the opening day rotation, the Dodgers will have plenty of talent and depth waiting in reserve.

The locks for the Dodger rotation

When looking at all the starting pitchers on the Dodgers’ roster, the only two locks are Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler.  Kenta Maeda’s incentive-laden contract seems to make him a lock for the rotation but the Dodgers have tried restructuring his contract in the past.  With Maeda pitching effectively in the postseason bullpen, the Dodgers could shift him into a relief role if Maeda struggles in spring training.

Newly signed Alex Wood is also back in Los Angeles on an incentive-laden contract but it seems the Dodgers have assured him of a starting rotation spot.  Speaking on Dodger Talk, Wood said he would not have come back to LA to pitch in any other role.  That seems to hint at the Dodgers starting Wood out in their starting rotation.  Jimmy Nelson is also going to be given a look as a starter in spring training, but Nelson is more open to pitching in a relief role.

Julio Urias pitched in relief most of the 2019 season, but the Dodgers are going to use him as a starter in 2020.  Urias also appears to be one of the locks for the starting rotation although much will change during the spring depending on health and performance.  As spring training begins it seems the only true locks are Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, although Maeda, Wood, and Urias seem to have the upper hand on the remaining three spots.

Top competitors for the final three rotation spots

The primary competition for the three rotation spots after Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw figures to be Ross Stripling, Jimmy Nelson, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin.  All four of these starters are going to head into spring training trying to pry a rotation spot away from one of Kenta Maeda, Alex Wood, and Julio Urias.  Each has interesting circumstances surrounding them.

For Ross Stripling, he was an All-Star in 2018 for his strong first half as a starting pitcher.  Since then he has shuffled back and forth between the bullpen and the starting rotation.  In 2019, Chicken Strip made 15 starts for the Dodgers and pitched to an ERA of 3.60.  The Dodgers know what they have in Stripling, but he seems unlikely to take a rotation spot heading out of spring training.  That is if everyone is healthy.

Jimmy Nelson is looking to rebound from a freak labrum injury suffered at the end of the 2017 season.  Nelson tore his labrum diving back to first base and missed the entire 2018 season.  He returned in 2019 making ten appearances and three starts but struggled to the tune of a 6.95 ERA.  Jimmy will look to bounce back in 2020 and re-emerge as the quality starter he was becoming in 2017.  That leads to the two wildcards of the rotation mix.