Tanner Scott will end up being a major player for the Los Angeles Dodgers down the stretch.
There’s a reason the Dodgers — who are often reticent in offering free agent relievers multi-year deals — gave him a four-year contract worth $72 million this offseason. Scott was brought in to be a lockdown arm in the postseason.
Thus far, inconsistency coupled with various injuries has resulted in a subpar year by Scott’s standards. He currently has a 3.97 ERA with a career-high seven blown saves.
More news: Dodgers’ Alex Vesia Provides Major Injury Update, Return Timeline
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic recently wrote an article diving into several topics pertaining to the team at this given time. Scott was brought up as someone who has been a relative disappointment in his inaugural season with the Boys in Blue.
As Ardaya noted, Scott’s slider — one of his most noteworthy pitches — was down from a velocity standpoint. Since returning from the injured list, the velocity on Scott’s slider has increased by two miles per hour on average. While the minor jump in velocity might not seem like a lot, it has positively impacted Scott’s ability to get hitters out.
“The pause on Scott’s season allowed the Dodgers’ staff a chance to find a way to get Scott back to his 2024 form,” Ardaya wrote. “With it, they noticed Scott had been opening up his hips too quickly before driving down the mound, making him force the power behind his pitch rather than let it happen naturally. That, in part, can explain why his fastball velocity has been 96.4 mph this season compared with 97.0 mph a year ago. It can also explain why a tight, firm slider from a year ago was producing worse results.”
Scott himself talked about a possible mechanical issue that he’s ironed out with the time away from the mound.
“My slider’s always been like 88 to 91. But now that I have my delivery back, it’s easier to throw it that hard again,” Scott said. “It was something so small you wouldn’t really notice, and it was creating something small into something bigger.”
There’s no question the Dodgers will be relying on Scott to be a wipeout lefty once the postseason rolls around. With respects to Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer, and Anthony Banda, Scott has the best stuff of the left-handed bunch.
In high-leverage situations against the likes of Christian Yelich, Jackson Merrill, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Kyle Tucker, and Juan Soto (among others), Scott likely will get the call.
More news: Michael Conforto Reveals Dave Roberts’ Message to Dodgers as September Nears
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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3 Responses
It didn’t help him last night.
Scott is no longer a high leverage reliever. The guy can’t be trusted with a one run lead, let alone a 3 run lead.
Yates hasn’t been any better. These two Asshats allowed 6 runs in 2 innings against Arizona…Not acceptable.
Hopefully, they are traded in the offseason. I have more faith in the younger guys than these two.
Hey Kirk ….. it doesn’t matter …. we got Andrew Heaney !!!!!!!!!