2012: On the Mound
Nathan Eovaldi
While some would argue that Rubby De La Rosa is the real difference maker among the youngsters, Eovaldi is the pitcher with the greatest chance of contributing at the big league level soon.
As a pleasant surprise for the Dodgers last season, Eovaldi made six starts and posted an ERA of 3.09 as a starter.
Eovaldi, 22, was an 11th round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2008 and wasn’t even listed among the team’s top 20 prospects heading into last season. Despite his relative anonymity, Eovaldi allowed more than two earned runs in just one of his six starts last season. He also fanned a surprising 25 batters in 32.0 IP.
His ability to impress has continued throughout the spring, as Mattingly has even compared his development and ability to that of Kershaw.
Some more good news for Eovaldi is that he enters 2012 among the top 5-10 Dodgers’ prospects on almost every list out there, but the question is whether that will translate into a spot in the opening day rotation.
Rubby De La Rosa
Like Eovaldi, De La Rosa was another young arm that flashed some serious major league potential in 2011.
While Eovaldi was an 11th round pick, De La Rosa, 23, was signed as a free agent in 2007 out of the Dominican Republic. In 13 games (10 starts) last season, De La Rosa posted a 3.71 ERA with a K/9 of 8.9.
The bad news with De La Rosa is that he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and was not expected to be available at all this season, but it appears he is currently ahead of schedule and could be available at some point in 2012, perhaps as soon as after the All-Star Break according to Rubby himself.
There you have it – the Dodgers staff for 2012. Other names to watch out for include Zach Lee, the Dodgers no. 1 prospect, Chris Withrow, their first round pick in 2007, and whoever the 2012 mystery pitcher of the year (a la Eovaldi and De La Rosa) may be.
