MLB.com's Dodgers X-factor is drawing comparisons to Gerrit Cole after just 4 starts

Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, and River Ryan are the leading contenders to earn a place on Dodgers' Opening Day roster, either as a de facto sixth-starter or a long reliever.

Sheehan did everything he could to make himself look like the obvious choice last year — 73 1/3 innings for a 2.82 ERA, 147 ERA+, and 0.968 — but Andrew Friedman has already identified Stone and Ryan as the two injury returns he's most excited to see play out.

Stone was the Dodgers' innings leader in 2024; he anchored their beleaguered rotation before going down with shoulder inflammation in September and undergoing surgery that sidelined him in 2025. Ryan made just four starts in 2024 before he needed Tommy John surgery.

Stone threw a complete game shutout before he got hurt and looked like he could shape up into a nice No. 3 starter (maybe No. 2 at a stretch), but Ryan's raw talent was on full display in the four starts he mustered before his arm gave out. The Dodgers didn't give him a very long leash and he only averaged five innings per start, but he pitched to a 1.33 ERA and 305 ERA+.

MLB.com named him the Dodgers' X-factor in 2026, and drew comparisons between his arsenal and Gerrit Cole, George Kirby, Edward Cabrera, and Jared Jones'.

Hype for River Ryan makes looming Dodgers roster battle even more exciting

Ryan's movement profile, per Statcast, did look eerily like Cole's in 2024, which bodes well for the strikeout capability that was perhaps the weakest part of his game in the small sample size we have. He only averaged eight strikeouts through nine innings, and he had a pretty bad walk problem: four BB/9. The strikeout problem seems to be more of an age/experience and command issue rather than a stuff issue.

He has six pitches — a fastball, slider, curve, sinker, changeup, and cutter (in order of usage) — and has hinted at developing a seventh ahead of his return to the mound. The velocity on his fastball topped out at 98.3 MPH in 2024, but he said he's sitting between 98-100 in his latest live sessions.

First seasons back after Tommy John can be dicey, so both he and Stone might be at a bit of a disadvantage coming into spring training, but Ryan already has a stronger argument than most of his competitors to make the Opening Day roster, and maybe to save himself from the very distinct possibility of being traded down the line.