The Los Angeles Dodgers have had a relief pitcher emerge seemingly out of nowhere as a primary setup man to Kenley Jansen in each of the last two seasons. It was Joe Blanton in 2016 and Brandon Morrow in 2017.
But the 2018 season has already reached August, and thus far no one has quite taken on that role yet. One option could be right-hander Dylan Floro, who was recently acquired from the Cincinnati Reds.
Floro has appeared in 10 games for the Dodgers and been extremely impressive. He has yielded a 2.19 ERA, 2.84 FIP and 0.49 WHIP while striking out 13 and walking just two in 12.1 innings.
Overall on the season between the Dodgers and Reds, he has pitched to a 2.59 ERA, 3.24 FIP and 1.17 WHIP with 40 strikeouts and 14 walks in 36.1 innings.
This is the first real opportunity Floro has gotten in the big leagues, and he believes that he can take on that high-leverage role in front of Jansen in the Dodgers bullpen, via Rowan Kavner of Dodger Insider:
“The big part is probably the confidence level is pretty high right now,” Floro said. “Last year I was going up and down, up and down. I want the ball. I want to be in the game. I want to pitch this year. I want to be on the mound in those situations.”
Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi recently said that the plan for the bullpen the rest of the way is to take an unconventional approach, not putting labels on any relievers other than Jansen.
But if Floro continues to dominate and get big outs the way he has in recent weeks, then his role certainly continue to increase.
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