Brusdar Graterol has elite stuff, however he is not but Dodgers’ nearer
The mixture of nitro-fueled fastball and nickname doesn’t merely counsel that Dodgers reliever Brusdar Graterol has the makings of a giant league nearer. It screams it.
The burly right-hander has a nasty two-seam sinking fastball that averaged 99.8 mph with 20 inches of drop and 15 inches of left-to-right break final season and a four-seamer that averaged 99.4 mph and touched 102.5 mph.
“He’s got the best stuff on the planet,” Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia stated.
And a moniker to match. Graterol’s Minnesota Twins teammates dubbed him “Bazooka” when he broke into the majors in 2019 as a result of the ball appears to blow up out of his hand as if shot from a rocket launcher.
“I think it’s the perfect nickname for me,” Graterol stated.
But till Graterol can get left-handed hitters out with extra consistency, develop a more practical slider to maintain hitters off his fastball and keep away from the nagging accidents that derailed him the final two seasons, he won’t be referred to as “closer.”
Graterol has held right-handed hitters to a .202 common, .512 on-base-plus-slugging share and two homers in 292 plate appearances over 4 massive league seasons, however left-handers have hit .294 with an .847 OPS and 5 homers in 183 plate appearances towards him.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan threw a cut-fastball — largely to left-handers — that averaged 95.6 mph with a 22-inch drop however nearly no horizontal break final season, which is why batters hit .302 (13 for 43) on the cutters they put in play.
“He certainly has the mindset and the stuff to close, but there’s a neutrality to being a dedicated closer,” supervisor Dave Roberts stated, alluding to the necessity for ninth-inning specialists to be efficient towards each lefties and righties. “We’re continuing to work on making him more of a neutral pitcher.”
The Dodgers will open the season and not using a designated nearer. Right-hander Evan Phillips, their only and sturdy reliever final season, will pitch in an important conditions. Daniel Hudson can even be an important a part of the group, however he isn’t more likely to be prepared for the beginning of the season due to lingering knee and ankle accidents.
Graterol and the left-handed Vesia and Caleb Ferguson will pitch in high-leverage conditions, however Graterol may additionally seize a ninth-inning function.
“Yeah, it’s right there in front of him, so go ahead and take it,” assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness stated. “His ceiling is as high as he wants it to go. He’s a very hard worker. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. He fields so well he could win a Gold Glove. For him, it’s just a matter of going out and executing.”
Graterol notched the primary 4 saves of his profession final season. Roberts wouldn’t rule out the opportunity of Graterol closing, however the supervisor usually prefers to make use of him towards a run of powerful right-handed hitters whatever the inning.
“The bottom line is I trust Brusdar in any situation,” Roberts stated. “You could argue that some of the spots I’ve put him in are more leverage than a three-run save situation in the ninth. People get caught up a lot in a role and feel that’s their value. That’s something as a coach that I have to navigate and understand.”
Brusdar Graterol pitches towards the San Diego Padres in Game 2 of the National League Division Series in October.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The 6-foot-1, 262-pound Graterol has regarded sharp this spring, giving up 5 hits, putting out 4 and strolling one in 5 innings of 5 video games, together with Saturday’s scoreless inning towards the Chicago White Sox by which his slider had higher depth.
The slider averaged 90.6 mph with a 30-inch drop and seven-inch, right-to-left break final season, and Graterol held opponents to a .158 common (six for 38) in at-bats ending with the pitch. But Roberts believes a greater slider will enhance Graterol’s modest strikeout price of seven.2 whiffs per 9 innings.
“He’s been searching to find the right shape of that breaking ball,” Roberts stated. “Hopefully he can find something he likes and can be consistent with because the fastball command is elite. Hopefully he can find something he can trust to go to in a big spot, that gives him the velocity differential we’re looking for.
“When he’s on the mound, everything’s hard. If you have something to slow the hitters down a bit, to get them off the fastball and cutter, it creates more upside.”
For all of the tinkering and fine-tuning this spring, Graterol has one objective coming into the season: “To stay healthy all year,” he stated. He didn’t in 2021 and 2022.
Graterol, acquired from Minnesota for starter Kenta Maeda in February 2020, prevented damage in his first season in Los Angeles, going 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 23 video games of pandemic-shortened 2020 and yielding three earned runs in 7⅔ innings of 9 playoff recreation to assist the Dodgers win the World Series.
He went 3-0 with a 4.59 ERA in 34 video games in 2021, dropping three weeks of April to COVID-19, all of May to proper forearm tightness and all of June to a demotion to triple A for what Roberts referred to as, on the time, “finishing school.”
Graterol discovered his bearings by October and pitched in eight of 12 postseason video games in 2021, permitting one run and 4 hits, putting out seven and strolling none in 9 innings.
He went 2-4 with a 3.26 ERA and 4 saves in 46 video games in 2022, putting out 43 and strolling 10 in 49 ⅔ innings, however missed two months due to shoulder and elbow accidents.
His ceiling is as excessive as he needs it to go. He’s a really arduous employee. He’s among the finest athletes I’ve ever seen. He fields so effectively he may win a Gold Glove.
— Connor McGuiness, Dodgers assistant pitching coach, on Brusdar Graterol
There has been some hypothesis that as a result of Graterol has a shorter stride and generates a lot of his torque together with his higher physique, he’s placing extra stress on his shoulder and elbow. But the Dodgers haven’t any plans to alter his mechanics.
“It’s hard to say that a mechanical change is going to prevent injuries any time a guy is throwing 100 mph,” McGuiness stated. “I think you run down a slippery slope trying to change someone’s stride length or anything like that, especially given his throw.”
Graterol didn’t suppose his weight was a problem, however modifications to his winter coaching routine — he labored out 3 times a day most days, with extra stretching and cardio — and his food plan helped him trim down from 285 kilos to 262.
“My weight was up, but my velo was there — I was throwing 102-103 mph,” Graterol stated. “But I do feel much better. I feel like I can do everything easier.”
Teammates observed the load loss instantly. “I saw him the first day of spring training,” Vesia stated, “and I said, ‘You came ready to go this year.’ ” Roberts stated the load loss didn’t essentially present an elevated dedication. “I would say it shows his maturity,” Roberts stated.
McGuiness isn’t positive whether or not or how Graterol will profit from being lighter.
“It can help him potentially build up a proper foundation to withstand the full season and help him kind of recover a little better,” McGuiness stated. “But there is an argument that being a little heavier coming into the year can be beneficial as well. So there are two sides of that coin.”
The Dodgers had a longtime nearer for a decade when Kenley Jansen held the function from 2012 to 2021, they usually entered 2022 with veteran nearer Craig Kimbrel as their ninth-inning specialist.
Late-game pitching choices might be primarily based extra on matchups than outlined roles this season, however whether or not he’s nearer, setup man or brief reliever, Graterol might be an necessary a part of the combo.
“Doc’s gonna keep putting him in there in big situations, and we’ll need him to be healthy the whole year,” Vesia stated of Graterol. “He’s gonna be a huge part of our bullpen, whether it’s in the seventh or eighth or ninth inning.”