Dodgers Pitching Prospect on LA's Radar for Call-Up Amid Mounting Injuries
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The Dodgers made it through the first three series of the year with a full pitching rotation. First, surprising standout Andrew Heaney (0.00 ERA in 10.1 IP) went down with a shoulder injury. LA plugged in Tyler Anderson to cover Heaney's innings and Anderson has been passable. Yesterday, Clayton Kershaw hit the IL with a SI join injury. The Dodgers do not have a seamless backup option.
LA has already shuffled the deck for the current Phillies series, but a doubleheader on Tuesday against the Diamondbacks looms. Which is why another Dodgers youngster could be making his MLB debut in the coming days.
MLB.com's Juan Toribio was one of the first to report the news that Michael Grove could be getting promoted in the coming days.
Grove has pitched in Double-A for the last two seasons. This year, he's posted a 2.76 ERA in five starts (16.1 IP) and has been mowing down opposing hitters. He owns a 12.1 K/9 thanks to improved velocity on his fastball that has scrapped the 96-97 MPH at times.
The former West Virginia Mountaineer was the Dodgers second-round pick in the 2018 draft. LA took a bit of a flyer on drafting grove. He suffered a major elbow injury in his sophomore year, but the Dodger still saw some upside with the righty and pulled the trigger on draft him.
FanGraphs provided the skinny on Grove prior to the minor league season kicking off.
"While Grove has a vertical arm slot, he tends to work with downhill plane toward the bottom of the zone. This helps him set up his plus slider, which looks like a fastball near the bottom of the zone until it bends beneath it. His curveball, which he tends to land in the zone, has big depth. His breaking ball utility is diverse enough that he has a starter’s repertoire even though he barely throws a changeup."
