Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
LOS ANGELES — In early May, Ben Casparius struck out seven Springfield Cardinals over 5.1 scoreless innings, leading the Double-A Tulsa Drillers to a dominant 11-0 victory. Five months later, he was ripping filthy sliders to close out Game 1 of the NLCS for one of the richest teams in the sport. This is life in the Dodgers bullpen at the moment.
After a cursed season for injuries, one where they’ve deployed Plans A, B, C, and D, their Plan E involves a trio of talented-but-unproven arms picking up more innings than Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would like. At points, it has worked out incredibly well — the Dodgers ripped off 33 consecutive scoreless innings between the end of the NLDS and the start of the NLCS, tying a postseason record.
But yesterday’s Game 2 revealed the downside of relying on Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, and a bevy of backup options. The designed bullpen game went off the rails early, as the Mets put up six runs in the first two innings and cruised for the remainder of the contest.
Out of necessity, the Dodgers have thrust pitchers like Casparius into the spotlight. According to RosterResource, the Dodgers currently have seven starting pitchers on the injured list, including Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, and Dustin May. That list does not include Bobby Miller, who was slated to be a big part of the rotation in April but was demoted to Oklahoma City in September after struggling with various maladies all year.
The newest inputs in the machine are three pitchers who were considered deep organizational depth at the beginning of this season. There’s Casparius, a 35+ FV prospect who Eric Longenhagen ranked 43rd in the Dodgers system in March. There’s Edgardo Henriquez, who Eric had as a 40+ FV prospect and who started the season in A-ball. And then there’s Landon Knack, a 40 FV guy who was supposed to be the bulk reliever for the Dodgers in a Game 2 victory but instead allowed five runs over two innings in a 7-3 loss.
None of these guys ranked among the organization’s top 20 prospects. And yet all of them find themselves on the postseason roster, handling innings for the odds-on World Series favorites. All three bring something special to the table — and also have flaws that keep them outside the Roberts circle of trust.
Casparius features one of the nastiest pitches in the playoffs: a hard sweeper. It averages -2 inches of induced vertical break and 11 inches of sweep, and Casparius can manipulate it to attack hitters both vertically and horizontally. Henriquez lights up the radar gun with 100-mph fastballs and hard breaking balls with glove-side action. Knack is a bit different, more of a high-floor backend starter type with a four-pitch arsenal.
Despite the challenges, Roberts remains optimistic and highlighted the importance of trust in navigating through difficult circumstances.
