Emmet Sheehan had a mini-breakout season in 2025 for the Los Angeles Dodgers upon returning from Tommy John surgery.
That set expectations pretty high for what he could do in 2026, but Sheehan allowed eight runs in nine innings of work through his first two starts.
However, Sheehan has made steady gains over his last three outings and looks much more like he did in 2025. The right-hander said his delivery has felt a lot better compared to how it did in his first two starts.
“I think there’s still a lot of work to be done, so we’re going to stay on it, but yeah, feel better for sure,” Sheehan said.
The most encouraging aspect of Sheehan’s performances is that he has improved with each outing. He started Spring Training behind schedule in part due to an early illness that limited him at the outset of camp. The 26-year-old never looked right on the mound during his Cactus League appearances or his first couple of starts of the season.
It now appears he is back on track with his mechanics after that early-season hurdle. Sheehan said he has seen incremental progress with his mechanics with each appearance.
“Yeah, we kind of figured out what to work on, and I think now it’s just continuing to work on that and staying on the gas with that,” he said.
The goal moving forward is to take a holistic approach to maintain the improvements he has made.
“I don’t know if it’s just one thing. We’ve talked about a lot of stuff,” he said regarding mechanical changes. “I think it’s just trying to get everything synced up a little bit better.”
Emmet Sheehan focused on command over velocity
Walks and fastball velocity were the two biggest aspects of Sheehan’s game he struggled with early on this season.
He averaged 93.9 mph on his fastball through his first two starts. For context, his fastball averaged 95.6 mph during the 2025 season.
Sheehan previously attributed the issue to poor mechanics rather than health. As his mechanics improved over the past handful of games, so has his velocity.
The right-hander averaged 94.3 mph and topped out at 96 mph in his last start on April 24.
His focus over the last few starts has been on locating his pitches, and the increased velocity is just a byproduct of the mechanical changes he has made.
“I think first and foremost, it’s spotting the pitch and getting it to where it’s supposed to go. But then also, obviously, it’s going to play a little better when it’s a couple miles an hour harder,” he said.
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