After an offseason in which they retained their top prospects and signed Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda, the past few days have given the Los Angeles Dodgers their first look at the organization’s collection of pitchers.
On top of evaluating options who will fill the starting rotation and bullpen, the front office is also using Spring Training as a performance check of sorts on young prospects like Jharel Cotton, Jose De Leon and Julio Urias, who are closing in on making their respective Major League debuts.
Thus far, Hyun-Jin Ryu has progressed without issue as he pushes forward — albeit at a closely monitored pace — in recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said recently Ryu is behind other pitchers in camp, but the left-hander is expected to take the mound at some point during Cactus League play.
Brandon McCarthy, who threw his first bullpen session with a catcher in the normal crouching position on Wednesday, has traversed the road to recovery from Tommy John surgery without any hiccups.
Although the Dodgers are dealing with some question marks, pitching coach Rick Honeycutt is satisfied with the pitching depth in the organization, according to Andy McCullough of the LA Times:
“It’s a very solid approach that we’re taking,” Honeycutt said. “You just cannot have enough pitching. It’s great to see our organization having youth that’s right on the verge of making that jump, and also bringing in some veteran presence. … The abundance of quality that we have here is extremely pleasant to be around.”
Part of Honeycutt’s tasks this spring include aiding Maeda’s transition to pitching in the Majors. The Japanese native said he will use Spring Training to test multiple routines and then stick to what best suits him once the regular season rolls around.
Honeycutt is entering his 11th season as the Dodgers’ pitching coach. He’s the lone holdover from Don Mattingly’s staff, with Dave Roberts becoming the fourth different Dodgers manager he’s coached under.
Along with Mattingly and now Roberts, Honeycutt was included on Grady Little’s and Joe Torre’s staff.
