3 Dodgers starting pitchers who will begin 2024 season in Triple-A, 2 who won't

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The Dodgers' 40-man roster is just about full, and 11 of those spaces are currently occupied by starting pitchers. With the offseason additions of Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, along with the Dodgers' continued pursuit of at least one more starter, not all of them will make the 26-man Opening Day roster and will have to be optioned back down to the minors. Glasnow, Yamamoto, Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller are clearly locks for the rotation, but some of the others ... not so much.

The seven other starting pitchers on the Dodgers' 40-man have varying degrees of experience in the major leagues, but innings pitched isn't the only contributing factor in whether or not a player will retain his roster spot by Opening Day. Some pitched 30+ innings in 2023 but couldn't perform, while another pitched two flawless innings. As we get closer to Opening Day and the Dodgers shuffle players around to make room for new additions, here are three players who won't make the 26-man cut (to start) and two who will.

3 Dodgers starting pitchers who will begin 2024 season in Triple-A

Gavin Stone

Stone is currently the No. 4 prospect in the Dodgers' pipeline, and he was called up for short stints last season to get his feet wet in the major leagues last year. It didn't go incredibly well for him, though; he started four games, appeared in relief in four more, and was lit up repeatedly. In his first three starts in May, he pitched 10 innings and gave up 16 earned runs for a 14.40 ERA. His appearances in relief went a little better (15 2/3 innings, eight earned runs), but when the Dodgers decided to give him one more try at the start of a game against the Padres in September, he gave up seven earned runs and two home runs in 5 1/3 innings. He ended the major league season with a 9.00 ERA.

While Stone is on the Dodger's 40-man roster at the moment, he probably won't be there by Opening Day. He still has two minor league options, one of which the club can use to send him straight back to Triple-A at the start of the season without sending him through waivers. He pitched 100 2/3 innings in Triple-A in 2023 between trips to the majors for an okay 4.74 ERA. The Dodgers will be hoping to see a return to form for him (in 2022, he pitched 121 2/3 innings from High-A to Triple-A with a 1.40 ERA) and continued development in the minors, but it's unlikely he'll be in LA at the start of the season.

Nick Frasso

Frasso is the Dodgers' No. 3 prospect and the highest-ranked pitcher in their farm system. He was moved to the Dodgers' 40-man in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, during which he undoubtedly would've been scooped up by another team had he been left exposed. Frasso has done well in the Dodgers' pipeline since he was brought over the Blue Jays' system in August 2022 as part of a trade that sent Mitch White and Alex De Jesus to Toronto. He stumbled only a bit in 2023 across Double-A and Triple-A, pitching 93 innings for a 3.59 ERA.

Frasso is only currently on the Dodgers' 40-man because of the Rule 5 draft, and he'll almost certainly be sent down again to get more time to develop in the minors.

Landon Knack

Knack is in the same boat as Frasso, another top prospect placed on the 40-man to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. They were joined by catcher Hunter Feduccia, who is also likely to be sent down again at the start of the season. Knack is the Dodgers' No. 9 prospect, and he actually performed better than Frasso did in Double- and Triple-A last year. He pitched 100 1/3 innings over 22 starts for a 2.57 ERA. His walk rate, as seems to be an issue with a lot of pitchers in the Dodgers' system, wasn't ideal to say the least; it went from 1.88 BB/9 in Double-A to 3.77 in Triple-A.

The Dodgers will probably send Knack and Frasso down as soon as they're able, as they definitely won't be making the Opening Day roster. However, bringing them up to the majors with the Rule 5 draft looming did get some more eyes on them, and it'll be interesting to track their development over the next year in the minor leagues, because we very well might see them next year.

2 Dodgers starting pitchers who will begin 2024 season in the big leagues

Emmet Sheehan

Having been called up just months apart in 2023, Sheehan never had as many expectations hanging over his head as Bobby Miller, a longtime top prospect in the Dodgers system who peaked at No. 2 in 2022, did. Sheehan was initially unranked in the Pipeline, but was called up from Double-A in June and went on to no-hit the Giants for six innings in his debut. While he stumbled a bit over 10 more starts and two relief appearances throughout the rest of the season, ending the year with a 4.92 ERA, he put his best foot forward with his debut and hung on well enough in the major leagues as an unranked prospect scooped up from Double-A.

With the Dodgers' rotation in a certain state of flux without Walker Buehler and Tony Gonsolin, Sheehan seems to have earned a spot on the big league team's Opening Day roster. Although the Dodgers are more than likely to get another starter before then, Sheehan could fit in as the rotation's No. 5 if they don't, and maybe a No. 6 even if they do.

Kyle Hurt

No. 11 prospect and 2023 minor league strikeout leader Kyle Hurt got his major league start on Sept. 12, with a two-inning appearance against the Padres, during which he didn't give up a single hit, didn't give up any walks, and struck out three batters. It was an impressive first showing that caught the attention of the front office, enough for them to at least temporarily bring him back onto the 40-man after the season had ended.

If the Dodgers keep him until Opening Day, he would probably be moved to the bullpen to work in multi-inning relief or as an opener, instead of as a starter. He's still more likely to remain on the roster than Stone, Frasso, or Knack, and the strong showing from his debut may be enough to convince the front office to give him more chances to shine at the major league level.

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