Justin Wrobleski has been a bright spot for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, filling an important role as an innings eater at the back of the rotation.
But Wrobleski isn’t just eating innings; he’s also limiting runs at an elite rate. The left-hander is 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA across 30 innings while posting a 0.97 WHIP.
He’s thrown at least six innings with one run or fewer in three consecutive starts, and he’s allowed just two runs across his four starts. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shared that confidence is allowing Wrobleski to thrive as a younger pitcher.
“Confident,” manager Dave Roberts said of Wrobeski on SportsNet LA after his start against the Chicago Cubs. “Today, there were two stressful innings, a lot of it brought on by himself, as far as the walks and things like that.
“But to bear down that first inning and then come back and do the same thing in the second inning. Then, after that, he got into a good rhythm and got back to his pitch count. But for a young pitcher to go through stress, be consistent, and be able to manage stress, limit damage and things like that, that’s certainly a lot of growth.
“It’s just a sign of a really competent pitcher, and he’s done a great job for us. Early on, I didn’t see him going six innings, shut out, but he found a way to do it.”
Wrobleski wasn’t particularly sharp in his start against the Cubs, but still managed to keep them off the scoreboard by working out of several jams.
“It’s big,” Roberts said of Wrobleski escaping trouble. “A lot of young pitchers are trying to find their identity, and I think with Justin, the one thing with him is that he knows who he is as a pitcher, and that’s important.
“And then you take your stuff and layer that in on how to get hitters out. And there’s real confidence, which I think sometimes young players don’t have. But with the confidence, with the success, with the knowing who he is as a player, that’s led to that consistency.”
Justin Wrobleski learned from Clayton Kershaw
Wrobleski has heavily relied on his fastball and slider this season with the thought process of keeping it simple. That’s somnething he learned by watching Clayton Kershaw while they were teammates.
“I’m not saying we’re the same guy, but at the same time, you can learn from the greats in that respect,” Wrobleski said. “They keep it simple. There was nothing overly special. He wasn’t trying to trick anybody. I think that’s something I’ve learned, even with watching Yama, Snell, and all these guys. They’re not trying to trick people. They’re just executing pitches with great stuff and letting the results happen.”
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