Justin Wrobleski taking notes from Yoshinobu Yamamoto could expedite Dodgers breakout

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Justin Wrobleski has arguably been LA's breakout star of 2026 thus far (if you don't include Andy Pages, who's been in an entirely different stratosphere). Wrobleski is 3-0 this season with a 1.88 ERA and 0.88 WHIP through 24 innings pitched. His "coming out party" as a starter may have been April 13 against the New York Mets, in which the 25-year-old Wrobleski allowed just two hits in eight innings of work.

Wrobleski was perfect through four against New York and faced the minimum through seven. Of Wrobleski's 90 pitches, 64 were strikes, which points to one of his greatest characteristics as an emerging MLB starter: Wrobleski attacks hitters in the zone until they prove they can do something about it.

Justin Wrobleski's new approach has him thriving for Dodgers

Wrobleski's emergence as a batter-the-zone pitcher is a recent development. He struggled in earlier MLB opportunities because of his philosophy about having a wider palette of pitches. But once Wrobleski decided to zero in on heavy usage of his fastball and slider, he experienced a eureka moment, and in doing so became a valuable asset in LA's bullpen in the latter stages of 2025. Wrobleski even gained the full trust of Dave Roberts, who didn't hesitate to use Wrobleski in Game 7 of the World Series, where Wrobleski didn't back down from anyone.

Wrobleski made four appearances (five total innings) in the World Series and didn't allow an earned run. Gutsy stuff. And he's taken that success and used it as momentum to begin 2026, albeit in a different role.

Many Dodgers fans were surprised to see Wrobleski preparing in spring training like a starting pitcher. These same fans assumed that any/all of Gavin Stone (now injured), River Ryan, and Emmet Sheehan were ahead of Wrobleski as options to fill in the rotation while Blake Snell recovered from his shoulder injury.

But Wrobleski has performed in a way to begin the season that suggests he might be better than all three of those guys. Wrobleski has also been better than Roki Sasaki, whom he piggybacked off of for his first appearance of the season. Since that day, the Dodgers have used Wrobleski only as a starter, and he's looked ace-like in all three of his starts.

Justin Wrobleski is borrowing something special from Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Interestingly, as Wrobleski's evolution into a legit rotation piece for the Dodgers continues, he's receiving some helpful pointers from Yoshinobu Yamamoto. According to The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, Wrobleski has sought advice from Yama on how to throw a splitter.

Wrobleski knows that he's found something special by getting away from a deep menu of pitches and focusing on his best two offerings. Perhaps he's now preparing for a time when hitters begin to sit back on his fastball and slider. A Yamamoto-taught splitter could come in handy down the road.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow