The Great Lakes Loons, High-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, dropped their matchup to the South Bend Cubs, 7-3, but prospect Justin Wrobleski pitched an immaculate inning.
In the second inning, Wrobleski started with a three-pitch strikeout of Casey Opitz. The right-handed batter took the first pitch, but swung through the next two fastballs at 93 and 92 mph, respectively.
The next batter, Kevin Made, opened his at-bat with a swinging strike against the changeup. Wrobleski then went back to the changeup for a called strike and finished off the at-bat by getting Made looking on a 95 mph fastball for strike three.
The final batter of the inning and the only left-handed hitter, Ethan Hearn, took a slider for a called strike on the first pitch. Hearn then chased a 94 mph fastball up and out of the zone.
One strike away from an immaculate inning, Wrobleski went back to the fastball and got Hearn to chase above the zone once again, this time at 92 mph, to strike out the side on just nine pitches.
9 pitches, 9 strikes, 3 punchouts!@Dodgers' No. 29 prospect Justin Wrobleski spins an immaculate inning for the @greatlakesloons: pic.twitter.com/5eIqtB5NPK
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 21, 2023
Wrobleski ended up pitching four innings while striking out eight hitters. He allowed three runs on five hits while walking one to earn the loss.
Wrobleski has three quality pitches with his fastball, curveball and changeup and above-average command. His fastball sits around 92-95 mph and tops out at 96 mph.
With his collegiate experience and age, he could be pushed fairly quickly through the Minor Leagues, and he projects as an eventual middle-of-the-rotation arm.
Dodgers draft Justin Wrobleski
Wrobleski was selected by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2021 MLB Draft but needed to recover from Tommy John surgery.
Wrobleski began his collegiate career in 2019 with the Clemson Tigers, but transferred to State College of Florida the following season. After his sophomore year, he transferred to Oklahoma State, where he pitched 40.2 innings and would eventually be drafted from.
He returned to the mound last year with some success, posting a 2.91 ERA across 13 games in the lower levels of the Minor Leagues.
This season, the 22-year-old owns a 6.55 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across 11 innings, but he has struck out 16 hitters compared to three walks.
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