Gavin Stone endured some struggles after making his MLB debut last season but rebounded well during Spring Training and won the competition to be in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting rotation on Opening Day this year.
Expectations weren’t anything extraordinary considering he was sharing a ration with Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who were expected to carry the brunt of the load for the Dodgers.
As the season has progressed, Stone’s continued to pitch well and become a starter the Dodgers can consistently depend on. His pleasantly surprising 2024 campaign continued last week at Coors Field, where Stone allowed just two runs in 5.1 innings and matched a season high with seven strikeouts.
Limiting hard contact has been Stone’s calling card this season and led to a lot of his success, but he has been able to add more strikeout ability. According to Jack Harris of the L.A. Times, Stone attributed that to ongoing work with Dodgers pitching coaches during bullpen sessions:
“It’s probably just the work [pitching coaches] Connor [McGuiness], Mark [Prior] and I have put in during bullpens and stuff,” Stone said of his growing swing-and-miss capabilities. “Just executing certain pitches a little bit better.”
Stone’s ability to induce soft contact has allowed him to smoothly navigate outings as he gains more experience and builds confidence on the mound. Being able to put batters away was the next step that could help him elevate his game.
Stone had a combined 27 strikeouts in his first seven starts of the season, and 30 in his past seven. But he has found more consistency and a higher rate than before with four of his highest strikeout totals coming in the past five starts.
His ability to get swings and misses has always flashed in the background, even when Stone wasn’t racking up an abundance of strikeouts. Stone’s changeup and slider have been especially deceptive with a 35% and 40.7% whiff rates, respectively.
Gavin Stone in MLB All-Star Game?
Even though he currently doesn’t qualify on the MLB leaderboard, Stone’s 3.04 ERA ranks inside the top-10 in the National League, slightly behind household names like Max Fried and Chris Sale.
Stone trails slightly in terms of innings pitched because of a slow start to the season that included some short outings, but otherwise his statistics compare well against the pitchers ranked above him.
If he can continue his current pace, Stone’s name will certainly be in the conversation when pitcher selections are decided for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.
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