After battling for a rotation spot in Spring Training and starting out as more of an opener than starter, Tony Gonsolin has been the ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching staff thus far in 2022.
In his last outing against the San Diego Padres, Gonsolin pitched 7.2 innings and gave up just one run on four hits while striking out eight with no walks. That lowered his season ERA to 1.54 in 81.2 innings.
“I don’t think it surprises anybody anymore,” Dodgers manager Roberts said. “I think he’s in such a good place mentally and physically. Like I’ve talked about, he knows who he is as a big league pitcher.
“He’s making pitches and when there is potential stress, he finds a way to make pitches to get out of a jam.”
In his 15 starts, Gonsolin is 10-0 and he has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any outing. Roberts’ trust in Gonsolin has “grown a ton,” but he still wants to be cautious of overwork the right-hander.
“I think there’s a trust factor, he’s continuing to do it time and time again, but also understanding this is going to be the most he’s ever pitched by far this season,” Roberts said. “So just still trying to balance the, ‘I trust you,’ but also understand we still have a lot of baseball left.”
Roberts can also see Gonsolin is becoming more confident in himself after each start, which can only add to the skipper’s trust.
“There’s some artificial confidence that players try to create, and there’s some real, tangible confidence that comes with performance,” Roberts said.
Roberts believes Gonsolin has a case to start All-Star Game
With the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium in less than two weeks, Gonsolin leads all MLB pitchers in ERA, batting average against (.156) and wins with 10. Roberts believes Gonsolin has put himself in a good position to start the 92nd Midsummer Classic.
“He’s making a case,” Roberts said. “He’s got a couple more starts and just want him to continue to pitch well, and whatever Brian Snitker decides. Tony’s making a great case for himself.”
However, Roberts isn’t going to make too much of a pitch to Snitker, the Atlanta Braves manager who will be skipper of the National League.
“I’ve had that opportunity to manage the All-Star Game a few times and I don’t recall any manager lobbying for his pitcher to start the game,” Roberts noted.
“I think it sort of plays out the way it should and it’ll be a pretty obvious choice.”
Other options to start the game include Braves’ southpaw and Santa Monica, Calif. native Max Fried and the Miami Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
