Random Dodger of The Week: Luke Prokopec

I admit I was surprised that the name Luke Prokopec had been at least temporarily removed from the hard drive of my brain. How could I forget about the 1 of the 1-2 tandem of Aussie Dodgers in 2000-2001? Him and Jeff Williams were quite popular as two Australian Dodgers for the better part of 2 summers. It’s rare these days to see an Australian in the big leagues, much less two on the same team. Let’s look at some short Dodger history for Luke Prokopec.

Aussie Aussie Aussie

Luke Prokopec made his Dodgers debut on September 4th, 2000. He pitched 21 innings at the end of the season.

• 21 IP
• 3.00 ERA
• 4.80 FIP
• 1.333 WHIP
• 12 K’s.

Ok so not exactly setting the world on fire, but for a late September call up, he was worth bringing back in 2001.

2001

Luke pitched a full season in 2001. His first start was on April 6th. He got the win. Here was his line.

• 7.1 IP
• 4 hits
• 1 ER
• 7 K’s
• 0 BB’s.

Heck of a start for the kid’s season. He went on to win his first 4 starts before teams started to figure him out. At the end of 2001, he were his year end stats.

• 8-7 W/L
• 138 IP
• 146 H
• 91 K’s
• 40 BB’s
• 5.22 FIP
• 1.345 WHIP

Not exactly the phenom he appeared to be in the first few weeks, but even after a year like this, Dodger fans must have been excited for his future. Here’s some brief footage of his time in Dodger blue!

Aussie Goes To Canada

Luke Prokopec got traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on December 13th along with Chad Ricketts in exchange for Cesar Izturis and Paul Quantrill. It’d be easy to be upset about this but unfortunately for Luke, his career only lasted one more season in the MLB. He had a pretty terrible year on the mount in 2002. He ended the year with a 6.78 ERA. He then suffered a labral tear late into the season, and unfortunately he never pitched another pitch in MLB or MILB after that. He retired from the majors at age 24. He went home to Australia and became a coach.

Pitching Profile

In his career Luke threw a 4-seam fastball, a slider, changeup, and a curve. Dodgers will remember him and Jeff Williams as two Australian compatriots wearing Dodger blue, even if for a brief few summers.