The Dodgers Don't Rebuild, They Reload
Next. Man. Up.
Twenty-six-year-old, Landon Knack is getting the call-up from the Dodgers Triple AAA affiliate in Oklahoma City and will start today against the Washington Nationals. The move makes all the sense in the world as Knack has been patiently waiting his turn for the call and the Dodgers can’t seem to avoid the injury bug…at least within its rotation. RHP Bobby Miller just landed on the IL due to a shoulder issue and RHP Emmet Sheehan was shut down from throwing just in the last week or so.
The good news is Walker Buehler looks like he will be ready sooner rather than later as he returns from Tommy John surgery. Clayton Kershaw continues to be the “ace on the hole” and by that I mean he will return from injury at some point following the All-Star break and ensure the Dodgers of another quality veteran arm down the stretch. The bad news is right now the Dodgers are going to have to continue running out pitchers who have question marks.
Gavin Stone has a 6.14 ERA and Yamamoto is at a 4.50 ERA as we speak. Tyler Glasnow isn’t exactly an innings eater. Right now thirty-five-year-old James Paxton owns the lowest ERA of the Los Angeles rotation which is concerning even though it is VERY EARLY in the season. If I were a Dodgers fan, I wouldn’t be worried, but I would definitely be on high alert as we have seen what happens to teams who lack pitching depth, especially in making deep post-season runs. Now this is not a doomsday article about the rotation as I do believe Yamamoto is going to get on track as well as Buehler coming back is massive for this team.
Let’s turn our attention to tonight’s star of the show and that is Landon Knack. I have tried a couple of times to get him to interview with us at The Skipper’s View…so far unsuccessful but we still wish Landon all of the luck in the world tonight as he makes his major league debut.
The Tennessee native has looked impressive so far this season in AAA. He was riddled with hamstring issues during his first couple of years in professional baseball. The velocity on his fastball has improved since his 2nd-round draft selection back in 2020 and I am excited to see him get on the bump tonight and do his thing. His arsenal contains a Fastball, Curveball, Slider, and Changeup and the name of the game for Knack is precision. He owns a 60-grade control according to MLB.com and their scouting grades on the Dodgers prospect.
Hopefully, that control can get him through his first major league outing without running into too much trouble. Good luck Mr. Knack, I hope we get to watch you throw baseballs for a long, long time.
2024 MiLB Stats:
0-1 | 4.02 ERA | 3 G | 3 GS | 15.2 IP | 16 SO | 0.96 WHIP
MiLB Career Stats:
14-13 | 3.44 ERA | 58 G | 53 GS | 243.0 IP | 277 SO | 1.15 WHIP