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By Drew VonScio
Contributing Sports Writer
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Starting pitching depth is one of the strongest traits of the Los Angeles Dodgers roster. Even with Shohei Ohtani not pitching as often as he was expected to, the Dodgers can find a way to work around it.
One of those workarounds is Emmet Sheehan, who is fighting for a spot in the rotation out of spring training. With good performances, he can do just that. In anticipation of him making the team, Eno Sarris of The Athletic believes Sheehan can be a breakout candidate this year.
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"Last season, he was dominant in 73 1/3 regular-season innings," Sarris wrote on Friday. "But he wasn’t quite as good in the postseason, and he didn’t have a full starter’s workload in about half of his starts last year, so it’s worth wondering if the success will continue into this season, especially since the expectations are high. The 26-year-old righty checks all of the boxes, though. He has an out-pitch in the changeup that is also a great weapon against lefties. He commands his fastball well, and he has a decently wide arsenal."
Sheehan recorded a 2.28 ERA in 15 appearances for the Dodgers last season with 12 of those coming in the form of starts. He recorded 89 strikeouts last year and took a big step forward from his 2024 season when he made his debut.
Sarris noted that his slider is still a wild card in terms of how effective it can be to get outs. However, he also mentioned the 26-year-old pitcher can still have a breakout season even if the slider is a league-average pitch. If it is an above-average pitch, then Sheehan is well on his way to have a stellar season.
It's early in spring training, but Sheehan has a lot of work to do to win a spot in the rotation. Dodgers fans should keep an eye on his progress as Cactus League games continue.
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