With many obstacles entering the 2017 season, one issue the Los Angeles Dodgers weren’t worried about was starting pitching.
Along with their staples at the top, manager Dave Roberts had an influx of pitchers battling for the final spots in the starting rotation. One of those battling for a spot was southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu, returning to the spotlight after battling shoulder and elbow injuries that caused him to miss all of 2015 and all but one start in 2016.
Ryu began the 2017 season a part of the starting rotation, albeit on somewhat of a pitch count. However, the southpaw had a tough time adjusting back to the Major Leagues with a difficult start to the season.
He suffered four consecutive losses to the begin the season, including a difficult loss at AT&T Park, where he allowed just one run and five hits over six innings pitched.
Ryu then spent some time on the disabled list with a hip issue, and after coming back the Dodgers experimented with him out of the bullpen. He notched a four-inning save against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing just two hits and a walk during a scoreless outing.
The 30-year-old would then have his second injury of the season towards the end of June, suffering a foot injury after taking a comebacker during the Freeway Series. He would miss close to a month of the season, returning to the team at the end of July.
Ryu’s third nuisance of the season came towards the end of the season, during a Sept. 23 outing. He was struck on his left arm on a line drive, which put serious doubt into his postseason possibilities. It stunted most of his final auditions towards a possible spot on the postseason roster, leaving one final start to end the season.
It would end in disappointment, as he permitted five runs in two innings against the Colorado Rockies.
When analyzing whether he could have a possible bullpen role, Ryu stated that he wasn’t entirely comfortable coming out of the bullpen, thus ending a chance at the postseason roster.
Overall on the season, Ryu went 5-9 with a 3.77 ERA, 4.74 FIP and 1.37 WHIP in 25 games (24 starts). He struck out 116 and walked 45, pitching a valuable 126.2 innings.
2017 Highlight:
On Aug. 6, Ryu delivered his best outing of the season at Citi Field against the New York Mets. He pitched to the tune of seven scoreless innings, including eight strikeouts. He permitted just one hit in those seven innings, which was a soft line drive while issuing zero walks.
2018 Outlook:
2018 marks the final year of Ryu’s six-year, $36 million deal he originally signed with the Dodgers. While at first in a cultural shock coming over from his home of South Korea, Ryu has jelled with his team and formed many friendships, most notably Yasiel Puig.
Ryu will definitely be in the mix as a back-end starter entering Spring Training, with a chance to fully heal from the series of small injuries he faced. With yet another offseason to improve his mechanics with the Dodgers, the southpaw could be poised for another strong season.
