The Los Angeles Dodgers have dealt with a plethora of injuries to their pitching staff this season, which has required multiple pitchers to make their Major League debut.
Among the pitchers to make their MLB debut this season have been Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Landon Knack, Justin Wrobleski, River Ryan, Ricky Vanasco, Eduardo Salazar and Michael Peterson. On the position player side, they’ve been limited to Andy Pages and Hunter Feduccia making their debuts.
Now, a new pitcher is set to join the group of players to debut for the Dodgers this year. Prospect Ben Casparius is joining the Dodgers to provide some relief out of the bullpen, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
Dodgers will have Ben Casparius up tomorrow for length out of the bullpen. Would be his big league debut if he gets in – the 25-year-old right-hander has a 3.48 ERA in 18 starts in Double A and Triple A this season.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 18, 2024
Casparius is ranked as the Dodgers No. 39 prospect by FanGraphs, but he has pitched well in the hitter-friendly Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
The 25-year-old has made 13 starts for the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, posting a 3.54 ERA with a 25.7% strikeout rate and 4.34 FIP. He has struggled with his command throughout his career, and that has not been different this season with a 12.2% walk rate.
However, he has seen his velocity jump this season, which has made him an intriguing prospect as he already has a 70 grade slider, which is graded as an elite pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale.
His fastball now sits in the mid-to-upper 90s, and he’s hit 98 mph this season. He uses it roughly 60% of the time, while also mixing in a below-average changeup to go with his slider.
Casparius began the season with Double-A Tulsa before earning his promotion to OKC. He threw just 21.2 innings there while striking out 35.8% of hitters, walking 11.6% and posting a 3.32 ERA and 3.15 FIP.
Dodgers roster moves for Ben Casparius
The Dodgers will need to make a spot on the 40-man roster for Casparius, so it’s likely River Ryan will be moved to the 60-day injured list as he’s already out for the season.
To make room on the active roster, Bobby Miller will likely be optioned to Triple-A after another poor start on Saturday while filling in for Tyler Glasnow.
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