Several Extremely Careful Dodgers

 

The problem with employing 6 guys who famously all throw really hard is that they're gonna be much more likely to spend copious amounts of time on the IL. 

None of Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Noah Syndergaard have made all of their starts this year. Some of them have pitched beautifully and then gotten injured, like Kershaw and May. Some have spent weeks rehabbing and hit the scene late, like Urias and, eventually, Buehler. And the most disheartening thing is the guys who've been injured so frequently that they're playing what I have begun to refer to as 'careful-ball', where instead of actually throwing smoke like they used to, they're doing as much as they can within the capabilities of their diminished arm power. 

Noah Syndergaard may be the prime example of 'careful-ball', in that he was an incredible strikeout artist, missed multiple seasons due to injuries, and has been too conservative of a pitcher ever since. Last year, while he did keep a low ERA, his control was already cooked, he gave up too many walks, and became a liability for the Phillies heading into October. This year the tendencies bit at him even more, with a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts before the inevitable return to the IL. Dodger fans were turning on him even before he got hurt, and were bummed that someone who'd once been so powerful could be this fragile. This, ultimately, is the risk you take when you throw that hard every night. 

Tony Gonsolin is similar, because since his return he was playing a lot of careful-ball, taking shorter starts and not striking out as many. He's been decent this year, with a 3.72 ERA and a 5-3 record in 14 starts, but, like Thor, his strikeouts are down at only 57. The joy of someone like Gonsolin is that he already could fool you without throwing too hard, but last year he was getting the hang of striking people out, and you worry that his 'careful-ball' tendencies might dull his ultimate appeal. He's still good, but he's a bit easier to hit now, as evidenced by his last start.

This team still has enough good pitching for the current moment, thanks to Urias, Gonsolin, and the new kids like Bobby Miller and Emmett Sheehan who haven't learned how ill-advised it is to throw this hard. And their hitting has put them in 1st for the time being, with Outman heating back up and Freeman, Betts and Martinez still fantastic. I'd think this team could get even stronger if the hurt pitchers return relatively unharmed, but this is the modern era of 'throw yourself out' pitching we're talking about, so we really can't be sure.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who started for the AL All-Star team, then helped his team slide into 1st place.