Ross Stripling – Page 3 – Dodger Thoughts

By Jon Weisman

There are moments, moments that take you by surprise in their purity and beauty, moments where you’re trudging uphill with your head down and then, reaching the crest, you find the most beautiful valley unveiled before you.

On a damp, sometimes rainy night in San Francisco, in his Major League debut, with the Dodgers and their fans on his shoulders, Ross Stripling reached that wondrous, unexpected summit.

In his first Major League start — his first game above Double-A — and two years after Tommy John Surgery, the 26-year-old Stripling threw 7 1/3 no-hit innings, the most that any pitcher in his debut has taken to the clubhouse in more than 100 years.

Cruelly, the first batter after Stripling exited the game, Giants backup catcher Trevor Brown, hit a game-tying home run off Chris Hatcher, and amid a furious debate over his removal, Stripling would take a no-decision as San Francisco and Los Angeles took each other into extra innings. At the same time, it took nothing away from the rookie right-hander.

Maeda, Stripling to join rare group of 26-and-older starting pitchers to debut with Dodgers

By Jon Weisman

On April 6, 2016

In History, Pitching, Pregame

Hideo Nomo and Kaz Ishii each pitched shutout ball in their Dodger debuts.

Dodgers at Padres, 6:10 p.m.
Chase Utley, 2B
Corey Seager, SS
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Carl Crawford, LF
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Kenta Maeda, P

By Jon Weisman

Kenta Maeda, who turns 28 on Monday, tonight will be the 18th Dodger starting pitcher in the past 100 years to make his Major League debut at age 26 or above.

And 48 hours later, barring anything unforeseen, 26-year-old Ross Stripling will become the 19th in that group on Friday.

That list includes such Asian pitchers as Hyun-Jin Ryu, Hiroki Kuroda, Kazuhisa Ishii and Hideo Nomo, who combined to pitch 24 innings and allow only two runs while striking out 26.

Ross Smiling: Stripling describes his big-league arrival

By Jon Weisman

On April 1, 2016

In Transactions

By Jon Weisman

In his own words, here’s Ross Stripling on being named the Dodgers’ No. 5 starter:

Pedro Baez, Yimi Garcia clinch spots on 25-man roster

By Jon Weisman

On April 1, 2016

In Health/injuries, Pregame, Spring Training, Transactions

Yimi Garcia and Pedro Baez in October 2015. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Angels at Dodgers, 7:10 p.m.
Kiké Hernandez, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Carl Crawford, LF
A.J. Ellis, C
Joc Pederson, CF
Corey Seager, SS
Kenta Maeda, P

By Jon Weisman

Ross Stripling has been named the Dodgers’ No. 5 starter and will take the mound April 8 at San Francisco, Dave Roberts announced, adding that Carlos Frias will be optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

We’ll have more on Stripling shortly in a separate post. In the meantime, here are some more news and notes …

Read More

Ross Stripling falters near finish but stays on radar

By Jon Weisman

On March 29, 2016

In Pitching, Postgame, Spring Training

Ross Stripling in February (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

Ross Stripling had an interesting day today — not as interesting as the 11-9 final score of the Dodgers’ loss to the Padres would suggest — but interesting nonetheless.

In case you missed it: Dodgers option Liberatore, hone in on bullpen

By Jon Weisman

On March 29, 2016

In Bullpen, Health/injuries, In case you missed it, Postgame, Pregame, Spring Training, Transactions

Adam Liberatore has struck out 11 in nine Cactus League innings this year.

Dodgers at Padres, 1:10 p.m.
Carl Crawford, LF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Chase Utley, 2B
Kiké Hernandez, SS
Joc Pederson, CF
A.J. Ellis, C
Ross Stripling, P

By Jon Weisman

The Dodgers are down to two left-handers in their Major League bullpen after optioning Adam Liberatore to the minors following the team’s 5-4 victory Monday over Texas.

The question now is, will they go down to one?

Since we last checked in on the bullpen, it has been whittled in predictable fashion, leaving the following:

Urias, De Leon among seven sent to minors

By Jon Weisman

On March 17, 2016

In Minor leagues, Transactions

Ross Stripling pitching on March 6.

By Jon Weisman

Pitching prospects Julio Urias, Jose De Leon and Ross Stripling are among seven players the Dodgers sent to minor-league camp this afternoon.

From the 40-man roster, the Dodgers optioned second baseman Micah Johnson and pitchers Yaisel Sierra, Ian Thomas and Stripling. Non-roster players who were reassigned include De Leon, Urias and catcher Jack Murphy.

Johnson has made no errors despite leading Dodger infielders in playing time so far with 66 defensive innings, and is a likely callup at some point during the regular season.

Urias and De Leon have made the most noise among the pitchers, combining for eight strikeouts in nine innings, though it was actually Stripling who has had the best month. The 26-year-old right-hander, nearly two years removed from Tommy John surgery, pitched two shutout innings with four strikeouts in the Dodgers’ 5-1 loss to Kansas City today, and has six innings with a 0.00 ERA in Cactus League play.

Dave Roberts ruled out Ross Stripling breaking camp as 5th starter, but added "He's impressed us" #DodgersST

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) March 17, 2016

None of the aforementioned pitchers, however, was destined to start the season in the Majors — least of all Sierra, the recent Cuban signee who has yet to appear in a game.

Still alive in the competition for the fifth spot in the Dodger starting rotation (behind Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda and Alex Wood) are Brandon Beachy, Mike Bolsinger and Zach Lee. The Dodgers have only two off days in April after the regular season starts.

Making his first appearance today since March 7, Wood pitched three innings, allowing a run on five baserunners with one strikeout.

“It felt good, it was good,” Wood said, according to MLB.com’s Barry M. Bloom. “I had one goal and that was to be efficient, which was a little different from the last time out. I was happy I was able to do that.”

Another Dodger pitching highlight today came from Kenley Jansen, who struck out the side in his inning.

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Justin Turner makes Cactus League debut today

By Jon Weisman

On March 14, 2016

In Health/injuries, Pregame, Spring Training

Brewers at Dodgers, 1:05 p.m.
Micah Johnson, 2B
Yasiel Puig, RF
Justin Turner, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Austin Barnes, C
Alex Guerrero, DH
Trayce Thompson, CF
Charlie Culberson, SS
Rico Noel, LF
(Mike Bolsinger, P)

By Jon Weisman

The Iced Man cometh.

In the Dodgers’ 13th Cactus League game of 2016, Justin Turner will make his first appearance.

Turner, who has been recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee, is scheduled to play approximately five innings at third base.

The 31-year-old Turner made it back into the lineup exactly three weeks before Opening Day at San Diego.

Alex Guerrero, who pinch-hit Sunday in his first game in eight days, gets his first start in that span at designated hitter.

Today’s game is preceded by a “B” game, slated to go no more than five innings, in which Scott Kazmir of the Dodgers is pitchinh against Chris Sale of the White Sox. Yasmani Grandal, who has been sidelined with a forearm contusion, is catching Kazmir.

In case you missed it: Infield candidates step up

By Jon Weisman

On March 13, 2016

In In case you missed it, Pregame, Spring Training

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Dodgers at Rockies, 1:10 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Chase Utley, 2B
Andre Ethier, LF
Scott Van Slyke, RF
Kiké Hernandez, SS
A.J. Ellis, C
Cody Bellinger, 1B
Charlie Culberson 3B
Clayton Kershaw, P

By Jon Weisman

Charlie Culberson, Elian Herrera and Brandon Hicks, whose roles as reserves could increase over the next two weeks of Spring Training – if not Opening Day – while Corey Seager recovers from his strained left knee, each enjoyed spotlight moments Saturday for the twice-victorious Dodgers.

In a pair of topsy-turvy games Saturday, the Dodgers scored the winning runs in the bottom of the ninth against the Cubs and in the top of the 10th against the Mariners.

In case you missed it: Young pitchers continue to excel

By Jon Weisman

On March 6, 2016

In Health/injuries, In case you missed it, Postgame, Spring Training

By Jon Weisman

Just like Jose De Leon and Chris Anderson on Saturday, homegrown Dodger pitching prospects Zach Lee and Ross Stripling each threw two shutout innings today.

Chase De Jong, acquired from Toronto in 2015, added two zeroes of his own in the Dodgers’ 5-2 road Cactus League victory over San Francisco, recapped by MLB com.

The first two Giant batters against Lee reached base on a single and an error, but the 24-year-old righty retired the remaining six batters he faced, striking out one and allowing only one more ball out of the infield.

Stripling, 26 and just about two years removed from Tommy John surgery, allowed three baserunners in his two innings, striking out one. De Jong did almost the same — just subtract one baserunner.

If you’re wondering where Julio Urias is in all this, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that he is about a week behind the rest of the staff because of a tight groin muscle. After three days off, Urias threw a bullpen session Friday and is expected to throw another before entering Cactus League play near the end of this week.

The Dodgers are 3-0-1 through four games, with a team ERA of 1.75.

Cotton, Stripling added to 40-man roster

By Jon Weisman

On November 20, 2015

In Minor leagues, Transactions

By Jon Weisman

Minor-league right-handed pitchers Jharel Cotton (left) and Ross Stripling have been added to Dodgers’ 40-man roster today, as expected, ahead of the deadline to protect them from other MLB clubs in the Rule 5 draft.

Cotton, who turns 24 in January, pitched primarily for Double-A Tulsa, with 71 strikeouts and a 1.12 WHIP in 62 2/3 innings, before gaining 7 1/3 innings of Triple-A experience at the end of the year.

Returning from April 2014 Tommy John surgery, Stripling (who turns 26 Monday) had 55 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP in 67 1/3 innings for Tulsa.

The Dodgers now have 39 players on their 40-man roster, 23 of them pitchers.

Dodger minor league report No. 18: Winning time for Julio Urias

By Jon Weisman

On August 20, 2015

In Minor leagues

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By Jon Weisman

Because of the careful way the Dodgers have controlled his innings at a young age, 19-year-old Julio Urias only had five wins in his first 50 career starts. Thankfully, no one judged him on that.

For the record, Urias has picked up career victories No. 6 and No. 7 in the past two weeks, most recently with six innings of one-run ball in Double-A Tulsa’s 2-1 victory Wednesday over Frisco.

Urias struck out eight and allowed six baserunners in a slender 81 pitches. In August, Urias has a 2.53 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 22 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings, and he hasn’t allowed a home run. For the season in Double-A, Urias has a 3.03 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 71 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings.

For comparison, at age 19 with Double-A San Antonio, Fernando Valenzuela had a 3.10 ERA and 1.30 WHIP with 162 strikeouts in 174 innings. In a much different era, Valenzuela completed 11 of his 25 starts in 1980 before his callup to the Dodgers, for whom he pitched 17 2/3 innings in relief without allowing an earned run, striking out 16.

Now, let’s take our tour of the system …

Dodger minor league report No. 12: Scott Schebler’s turn and Zach Lee’s return

By Jon Weisman

On July 2, 2015

In Minor leagues

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By Cary Osborne

In the June edition of Dodger Insider magazine, we profiled outfield prospect Scott Schebler. The theme of the story was how Schebler was a notoriously slow starter who takes off once the summer months hit.

When the story was written, Schebler’s numbers were subpar. The No. 8 prospect in the system, added in the offseason to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, was hitting .208/.299/.377 for Triple-A Oklahoma City entering June with six doubles, one triple, six home runs and 14 RBI.

Then June arrived, and true to form, Schebler turned it on. The 24-year-old was one of the best hitters in the Dodger chain last month. He batted .321/.389/.595 with four doubles, five triples, three home runs and 17 RBI.

A year after leading the Double-A Southern League in triples and home runs, Schebler ranks tied for second in the Pacific Coast League in triples. He is mere percentage points from Corey Seager’s OPS in OKC (.780 to Seager’s .783).

We talked to Dodger director of player development Gabe Kapler about Schebler this week, who said, in reality, Schebler’s early swoon was less that met the eye.

“Scheb all along was performing well. He just wasn’t having a lot of luck,” Kapler said. “He was striking the ball with real authority. He was doing a good job from a number of perspectives. He just wasn’t showing the results in the traditional counting numbers. Now you’re starting to see that. A lot of that is completely out of your control. Scheb’s actually been doing a good job all the way through.”

Here’s more from the past week in minor-league action …

Ross Stripling returns to action after Tommy John surgery

By Jon Weisman

On June 15, 2015

In Draft, Health/injuries, Pregame

By Jon Weisman

Back on the mound after Tommy John surgery, Dodger pitching prospect Ross Stripling made his first official start since August 2013, pitching four shutout innings for Single-A Great Lakes on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Stripling allowed a single and two walks, while striking out four. Across two levels in 2013, Stripling had a 2.82 ERA, 117 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP in 127 2/3 innings in 2013.

Stripling began throwing in January, he told Dodger Insider, nine months after his operation.

* * *

The Dodgers announced the following signings from the 2015 draft:

Dodgers at Rangers, 5:05 p.m.
Joc Pederson, CF
Yasiel Puig, RF
Adrian Gonzalez, DH
Howie Kendrick, 2B
Justin Turner, 1B
Andre Ethier, LF
Yasmani Grandal, C
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Alberto Callaspo, 3B
(Carlos Frias, P)

Catchers (3 of 6): Matthew Beaty (12th round), Jacob Henson (21st round) and Gage Green (35th)
Second basemen (3 of 3): Willie Calhoun (fourth), Chris Godinez (18th) and Jordan Tarsovich (22nd)
Shortstops (1 of 2): Nick Dean (32nd)
Outfielders (3 of 5): Logan Landon (10th), Kyle Garlick (28th) and Edwin Drexler (38th)
Right-handed pitchers (12 of 22): Tommy Bergjans (eighth), Kevin Brown (ninth), Andrew Istler (23rd), Cameron Palmer (24th), Marcus Crescentini (26th), Ivan Vieitez (27th), Corey Copping (31st), Adam Bray (33rd), Drayton Riekenberg (36th), Charles Mulholland (37th), Chris Powell (39th) and Isaac Anderson (40th).
Left handed pitchers (2 of 3): Michael Boyle (13th) and Robert McDonnell (25th)

In addition, the club signed third baseman Nicholas Sell, the NCAA Division II most outstanding player, and pitcher Wes Heslabeck as non-drafted free agents.

Garrett Gould, Ross Stripling on road back from Tommy John surgery

By Jon Weisman

On January 10, 2015

In Health/injuries

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By Jon Weisman

Right-handed pitching prospect Garrett Gould, the Dodgers’ second-round draft choice in 2009, had Tommy John surgery in November but said “everything is going great” with his recovery.

“I’ve just about gotten all of my range of motion back, so now I’m trying to strengthen my arm and get it moving again,” Gould said Friday. “It’s been tough knowing that I might not play baseball at all this year, but it’s something I try not to think about. Right now I’m just trying to do what my trainers ask and work hard every day to get back on the field as soon as possible.”

Gould never really got untracked in 2014, finishing his season in June with a 7.34 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings.

“I’m not sure exactly (when it happened), but I knew something was wrong for a little while,” Gould said, “but I thought it was something that I could pitch through and be all right.”

“I started my rehab down in Arizona with our trainers, and now I’m doing it at a place back home in Wichita,” he said. “I’ll be heading back to Arizona at the start of February to continue it down there with our trainers.”

Ross Stripling (68) works out at Spring Training in 2014. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

Ross Stripling (68) works out at Spring Training in February 2014. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

During his time in Arizona, Gould has crossed paths with minor-league teammate Ross Stripling, who had Tommy John surgery in April. The 25-year-old Stripling, who had a 2.78 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 94 innings for Double-A Chattanooga in 2013, said that he has done the majority of his rehab in Frisco, Texas — in the Dallas metropolitan area.

Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Tag: Ross Stripling (Page 3 of 4)

Ross Stripling throws 7 1/3 no-hit innings in debut, but Dodgers lose

Maeda, Stripling to join rare group of 26-and-older starting pitchers to debut with Dodgers

Ross Smiling: Stripling describes his big-league arrival

Pedro Baez, Yimi Garcia clinch spots on 25-man roster

Ross Stripling falters near finish but stays on radar

In case you missed it: Dodgers option Liberatore, hone in on bullpen

Urias, De Leon among seven sent to minors

Justin Turner makes Cactus League debut today

In case you missed it: Infield candidates step up

In case you missed it: Young pitchers continue to excel

Cotton, Stripling added to 40-man roster

Dodger minor league report No. 18: Winning time for Julio Urias

Dodger minor league report No. 12: Scott Schebler’s turn and Zach Lee’s return

Ross Stripling returns to action after Tommy John surgery

Garrett Gould, Ross Stripling on road back from Tommy John surgery

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