Emmet Sheehan concerns come to a head after disastrous Dodgers start in Angels rout

Emmet Sheehan's struggles have been an understated but consistently worrisome subplot of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 2026 season. It started in spring training, when his fastball velocity dipped all the way down to 91.8 mph, and it's persisted through his first third of the regular season.

Sheehan had a 4.50 ERA going into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Angels but had improved over his last two outings, pitching back-to-back 6-plus inning starts with only two runs allowed in each.

Sheehan got through is first inning without damage despite giving up a two-out double to Wade Meckler, but the wheels came off in the second. He gave up a one-out single, then a walk to an overturned ABS challenge to end a 14-pitch at-bat, and then another walk to load the bases. The Angels' No. 9 hitter Sebastián Rivero scored two on a single, and that led to an early hook for Sheehan, who was already at an astonishing 49 pitches through 1⅓ innings.

The Dodgers went on to lose by a final score of 13-5. The loss was on the bullpen, not Sheehan, but fans have been side-eyeing him ever since he started to lose his velocity in camp. To some, his Sunday start was confirmation that he doesn't have what it takes this season.

Emmet Sheehan's worst start might make him Dodgers' new weakest link

Sheehan's ERA has sat 4.50-plus since early May. It's not disastrous but it's not ideal, and he may have been able to hide behind Roki Sasaki's comparatively worse performance.

But now that Sasaki is on a run of dramatic improvement, attention will shift to the new weakest link in the rotation, especially after a start as bad as Sheehan's was on Sunday. Sasaki has a 1.48 ERA in his last four starts, with 29 strikeouts to just five walks. The Dodgers' patience with him is paying off.

Sheehan isn't weighed down by the same expectations as Sasaki, but he still set a high bar for himself last year when he became a big part of the Dodgers' pitching staff in June through the rest of the season. He posted a 2.82 ERA in 73⅓ innings.

The Dodgers have no reason to oust Sheehan from the rotation after one lopsided start, but it put a finer point on a pervasive, underlying worry for LA, and it could spell trouble for him when Blake Snell and/or Tyler Glasnow work their way back the IL.

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