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Dodgers: Jimmy Nelson highlights make comeback season seem possible

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Dodgers Way

Mar 9, 2021; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jimmy Nelson pitches against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning of a spring training game at Goodyear Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

As Blake Harris of TrueBlueLA so helpfully pointed out, Jimmy Nelson is currently the approximate No. 8 starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Which is pretty cool, considering his mind-bending breaking ball looks to be all the way back.

So we’ve got that going for us.

Nelson took to the mound again Tuesday night, and made sure to snap off some dragons that looked extra special, in case you hadn’t noticed the first time around.

The right-hander hasn’t appeared in a full season — fully healthy — since his masterful 2017 campaign, in which he finished ninth in the Cy Young race.

After another false start with the Dodgers in 2020, he decided to re-up for ’21, and the early returns are extremely positive.

Especially on that curveball, and especially Tuesday night.

Filthy.

Do the Dodgers have another secret weapon in Jimmy Nelson?

The Dodgers’ rotation rolls so deep that, at this point, you can be complimenting one spring standout and the remarks can apply to at least four or five different surprises. A good problem to have.

On Tuesday, it was Nelson’s turn to show off, retiring the side in order to start off the game while whiffing three. Many of them were brand names; he retired Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos and struck out Nick Senzel.

In the aftermath, the burly righty said he’d be down to move around into any role asked of him, which only further lends credence to the idea that he could be an excellent swingman. So far, he’s two-for-two in mowing down the opposition.

Nelson is attempting to battle back from far more than just one season away from the normal routine of baseball. He struck out 199 men in 175 excellent innings for the 2017 Brewers, but then found himself on the shelf for the better part of three years after blowing out his shoulder in a freak base running accident.

His 2019 comeback was all for naught, and he found his progress impeded once again in 2020 after he signed a low-pressure deal with the Dodgers.

Now looking well-rounded and gassed up, Nelson has certainly made an impression on everyone with eyeballs, and will have the first pick of available innings over a prospect like Josiah Gray, thanks to his experience.

Hollywood has taken notice, in more ways than one.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.