It’s been an injury-plagued season for the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff, with starters and relievers alike all landing on the disabled list at some point in 2018.
The unofficial first half of the season was especially harsh to the club’s starting rotation, which forced the Dodgers to rely on some of their younger talent earlier than expected. Walker Buehler and Ross Stripling were among those to thrive with extended workloads.
Los Angeles also gave one of their top pitching prospects in Dennis Santana an opportunity. He earned a much-deserved promotion in June after tearing through Minor League competition.
Santana’s stint was short-lived, however, as he suffered a right rotator cuff strain minutes before what would have been his first career Major League start against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
The 22-year-old made just one previous relief appearance against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, where he earned his first Major League victory despite yielding six hits and five runs over 3.2 innings pitched.
Santana managed to avoid surgery, but he was transferred to the 60-day disabled list just days after initially being placed on the 10-day DL. He has since resumed baseball-related activities and recently threw his first bullpen session, to which he shared on Twitter:
We’re one step closer, my friends ⚾🙏🏽 #Health #GodFirst #Gasolina 🔥#PoundingTheZone #ElLatigo👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/njuNy4M5cl
— Dennis Santana (@DennisSantanaRD) August 21, 2018
Santana began the 2018 season with Double-A Tulsa, where he pitched to an impressive 2.56 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 38.2 innings pitched with 51 strikeouts against 14 walks. In two starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City, he yielded a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 11 innings with 14 strikeouts.
Santana could conceivably rejoin Los Angeles in September, assuming he’s cleared to return to game action. Along with the right-hander, the Dodgers could also soon see the comebacks of Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields and Julio Urias, among others.
