Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin Will Remain as a Starter
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced that right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin will receive one more start after Sunday’s outing against the Atlanta Braves.
Gonsolin will make at least one more start after today, Roberts said.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) August 18, 2019
After Sunday’s outing Gonsolin has thrown just 18 innings at the major league level this season. Across 4 appearances (3 starts), Gonsolin has amassed 15 strikeouts and holds a solid 3 ERA and 2.44 FIP so far. Prior to Sunday’s start, in his previous two outings, he had fared well while tossing 10 innings with 10 strikeouts while allowing just one earned run.
Gonsolin, 25, is started in place of Dustin May on Sunday as the Dodgers shook things up with their pitching staff. The Cat Man receiving another start after today could hint at a secured spot in the rotation until other guys return from health and Julio Urías returns from a 20 game suspension. While the Dodgers do have options, Gonsolin could very well trickle into the postseason bullpen if he keeps his current level of performance up.
Dustin May will be assuming the bullpen role of Julio Urías going forward, which means he is no longer a threat to Tony Gonsolin’s rotation spot. Rich Hill is set to return eventually and Ross Stripling will be returning as a reliever.
If Gonsolin does in fact receive another start, it would likely come on August 24 against the New York Yankees at Dodger Stadium.
May should be a starter and Gonsolin a reliever. Gonsolin has done it before and May has not been a reliever in his young career. These two players should have had reverse roles yesterday and we would have won.Stop the experimenting as we are in pursuit of best record and a huge advantage in playoffs and World Series. We all saw how the Joc Peterson in season first base experiment turned out.
May is very young and needs experience. Any experience facing Major League bats will accelerate his growth.
I do agree that home field would help in the WS as Ryu and Buehler have performed better at home.
Getting to the WS is very difficult by itself. Figuring out which 25 players will be the most effective in each playoff is more important. The Dodgers will face two excellent teams in the NL playoffs they will be favored but in a short series Momentum and Luck have proven to be deciding factors.
Gonsolin has shown better control than May and more consistency. The Dodgers need to try to keep arms on the staff that can start and are not coming back from one or more injuries (Hill). May needs more time and hopefully will gain more consistency, but having him learn while holding down a starting rotation slot, basically means adding more “bull pen starts” to the Dodgers schedule.
Gonsolin starter
May reliever and spot starter
Let’s be looking ahead to playoffs and getting another starting slot nailed down now – Gonsolin.
I feel very confident in both Gonsolin and May in the starting rotation. TG would be my #4, and May would be starter #5. Our BP should solidify shortly with Strips, Urias, Jansen, Baez, Kelly, and whoever else the FO wants to add to the mix. Gonsolin has acquired more poise since his disastrous start a few months back; and May will come along very quickly. Yimi, Floro and Chargois may be heading to the train station at the end of September. Go Blue!!!