Dodgers Way
FanSided

Hidden Dodgers pitching prospect's strikeout totals are getting absurd

ByEmma Lingan|
Apr 14, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman attends batting practice at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Apr 14, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman attends batting practice at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

A Los Angeles Dodgers pitching prospect who was recently identified by Baseball America as a potential breakout arm this year is proving that he is worth the hype.

Down on the farm at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, 20-year-old right-hander Sean Linan has struck out 40 batters in 20 2/3 innings this season. 40 batters. He has allowed just four walks and a pair of earned runs for a sparkling 0.87 ERA. After earning California League Pitcher of the Week honors for the week ending April 20, he could very well be in line to keep his crown for the week ending April 27.

In his last outing against San Bernardino on Thursday, Linan pitched five scoreless innings in which he allowed just two hits and one walk while striking out 11 of the 18 batters he faced.

Hidden Dodgers pitching prospect Sean Linan's strikeout totals are getting absurd

Those 40 strikeouts are good for a staggering 54% strikeout rate. And he isn't just striking batters out; he's annihilating them. Linan's fastball is nothing exceptional, as it sits in the low 90s, but his changeup has been absolutely lethal.

“As he’s grown more and matured and developed some things of his delivery and his body, the velocity has come up on this fastball, and it’s made the changeup just that much better,” Dodgers director of pitching Rob Hill said (via Josh Norris of Baseball America). “He used to throw the changeup around 80-81—it’s still roughly like 81-84—but when the fastball is 93-95, having to deal with that changeup is just a terrible time for the hitters.”

The Dodgers currently have six prospects in MLB Pipeline's Top 100, and Linan isn't even one of them. In fact, he's not even considered one of the top 30 prospects in the Dodgers' organization. If he continues to confound hitters the way he has been, that will almost certainly change by the middle of 2025. He's made quite the strides ever since getting signed as an international free agent out of Colombia and debuting in the Dodgers organization as a 17-year-old back in 2022. He has 203 strikeouts across his 152 1/3 professional innings (a total of 50 games).

Linan is still just 20 years old and has yet to play above the Single-A level, but the Dodgers may have uncovered another productive pitcher they can add to their neverending assembly line.

More Dodgers content from Dodgers Way

Home/Dodgers Prospects