The talent Dustin May possesses is undeniable. The issue has been an inability to stay on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Of his four full seasons in the Majors, the pandemic-shortened 2020 season has been the only time he’s completed a full season in his career.
But when May has been healthy, there have been flashes of brilliance. With a career 3.10 ERA and some of the nastiest stuff in the league, May has all the makings of a true ace—if he can stay healthy.
The 2021 season is the most obvious point of divergence when imagining an alternate history of May’s career.
He continued to improve upon a very strong, albeit shortened, rookie season in 2020 with a 2.74 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and an absurd strikeout rate of 37.6% over five starts. Then came the first of many injuries—a UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery—quickly putting an end to what appeared to be a breakout campaign and possible Cy Young-quality season.
After watching May face batters in live batting practice on Monday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is expecting big things from the 27-year-old despite any possible reservations about his durability.
“It’s been five years of Major League service that he’s spent a lot of time not participating,” Roberts said. “That’s been a frustrating road, but he is 100% healthy right now. Yesterday he threw the ball extremely well.
“He’s had success at the big league level, and I do feel this year is going to be his best year. I think there’s a lot of excitement to be a full participant.”
The biggest issue the Dodgers have to face regarding May at this point is keeping him healthy.
The organization is one of the most proactive in the league when it comes to attempting to protect the arms of its pitchers, but it obviously hasn’t yielded the results they’d hoped for, especially in May’s case. And it also hasn’t been limited to May, as keeping starters healthy has been a major problem for the Dodgers lately.
The Dodgers are still going to make decisions with May’s best interests in mind, but it is not going to make them based on fear of what happened in the past.
“He looks really good physically,” Roberts said. “I think we’ve tried to manage him as best we can; certainly hasn’t worked out.
“I think right now, where he’s at, he’s a competitor and wants to be out there. So just continue to be mindful he’s coming off surgery, but this guy has waited a long time to pitch in a big league game, so you’ve got to let him go out there and do it.”
The Dodgers are planning to employ a five-man rotation until Shohei Ohtani is ready to pitch again, so Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki form the core four of the rotation as it stands right now.
After that, the final spot is up for grabs.
Dustin May competing for final spot in the rotation
Bobby Miller, Tony Gonsolin, and May are in a competition for the final spot in the rotation, according to Roberts. Gonsolin seemingly has the edge, but any of the three could end up winning it.
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