Los Angeles Dodgers star Blake Snell is finally healthy and looks better than ever, perhaps even good enough to shoulder a major burden for the team in the postseason.
Over his year and a half as a Dodger, Blake Snell would admit that he has not played enough for his liking, dealing with shoulder and elbow problems, two of the more common pitcher injuries.
He missed a big portion of 2025 with shoulder inflammation, and then he started the season on the injured list to ease his shoulder into action.
Then, once he had finished his ramp-up, Snell suffered another setback — bothersome loose bodies in his elbow.
Snell went through surgery on his right elbow, taking him out for around three months, but on Tuesday, August 11th, he finally returned, and he looks every bit his former Cy Young winner self.
Through six innings of work, just 84 pitches, he got 10 strikeouts, allowed only three hits, and, more importantly, only one earned run.
To make things even better, he had just one hard hit allowed and kept the bat on the hitter’s shoulder 16 times, alongside 15 whiffs.
It was absolute magic from Snell, very much the vintage version of the southpaw — elite command and top-tier stuff.
While he helped the team win Tuesday’s game and keep their small bit of momentum rolling, Dodgers fans can’t help but wonder what he will deliver this postseason, after an already elite 2025 playoff run.
Can Blake Snell carry the Dodgers in 2026?
A healthy Snell is one of the best pitchers in MLB, and if he were to put another full season together, Snell would be a Cy Young Award contender.
The Dodgers, though, don’t need him to pitch a ton of innings; they need him to step up during the fall, and the exciting news is that Snell felt like he had a lot more in the tank despite throwing 84 pitches.
“To be able to do that for six innings and feel like I had more left, I’m excited about that,” Snell said to the media, including Dodgers Nation.
Even with the swing-and-miss, a 41% chase rate outside the zone, and a 77% first-pitch strike game, he thinks there is more to come.
“I think I could be a lot better. But yeah, definitely for game one, I’m happy with it.”
If there is still another gear for Snell, the Dodgers will have someone to lean on if their bullpen struggles continue or the offense goes through a sustained funk.
2 Responses
Awesome job Snell! Now if we could just get the offense going. Very happy to win the last 2 against the last place Royals and to see Mookie hit as well. Is it possible we can not struggle offensively against a last place team?
Maybe beating doormats like the Royals will restore some confidence in the team’s hitters. Otherwise, we will just have to wait around until we get to play the Rockies again. Certainly, seeing Mookie hit yesterday is consoling. The recent performance from Freeman and Muncy have been almost bizarre. When Freeman is not getting hits, he is striking out on pitches out of the zone. When Muncy is not winning games for us, he is also swinging at bad pitches, which is very UN-Muncy, who knows how to take walk. Time will tell. Hey, when do we get to play the Rockies? I’d bet we can hit off of them, too.