Clayton Kershaw
On Thursday night, Dodgers prospect Clayton Kershaw was pulled from his start after just one inning. He’s healthy, he’s pitching well, and the Dodgers need a fifth starter exactly five days from last night. Putting two and two together, it’s becoming obvious that Kershaw will be making his major league debut next Tuesday in Wrigley Field.
So, what should Dodgers fans expect from Kershaw?
Let’s start with his stuff. Kershaw features a 93-96 MPH fastball from the left side and a knee buckling 72-78 MPH curveball that is a true knockout pitch. He’s fiddled with a change-up, but I wouldn’t expect to see much of it on Tuesday; 20 year olds making their major league debut often stick with what they’re comfortable with, and Kershaw’s most comfortable with his top two offerings. Command had been his primary concern heading into this season (he walked 15.9% of batters he faced in Double-A last year), but he’s improved his fastball location and is learning to pitch more efficiently. However, he’s still not a great bet to work deep in games right off the bat.
Kershaw’s fastball/curveball combination gets him plenty of strikeouts, drawing comparisons from Dave Righetti to Josh Beckett, though he adds in the wrinkle of being a southpaw as well. His minor league career strikeout rate is right around 30%, and even when matched up against Double-A hitters, his inexperience hasn’t stopped him from ringing them up left and right. Kershaw’s stuff is good enough to get a lot of swings and misses, no matter what caliber of hitter he’s facing.
Generally, when a kid this good comes up from the minors, the adjustment period isn’t a long one. He will take some lumps as he grows, but let’s not confuse him with good but not great pitching prospects who have come up before their time and struggled. Kershaw has all the skills to be a legitimate major league starter right now, and the Dodgers are making the right call by sticking him in their rotation. The race for the N.L. West is a two team sprint, and the Dodgers are on the verge of adding a pretty significant horse.
Tuesday should be a lot of fun.
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I’ve been hearing Kershaw’s name for a long time, but have yet to see him pitch. He’s got once-in-a-generation stuff for a lefty, they say, so I will do my utmost to catch him next week.
Is it a good idea to have him debut against probably the best righty-heavy lineup in the majors? I don’t know these things.
I wouldn’t say once-in-a-generation stuff. He’s on the same plane as guys like Kazmir, Beckett, and a healthy Verlander. Top shelf stuff, but not once in a generation.
I was just thinking about how Clayton Kershaw’s inexperiance might be a bad thing for the Dodger’s rotation. Like MLB.com said earlier today, he’s only going to be able to give them about 4 or 5 innings a start (if even that much). It’s really not a wonder that the Dodgers have been pushing for veterans to start over him at several junctures of this season.
if you saw or followed kershaw in spring training you would know why people drool over him.
also you cant compare his stuff with beckett and verlander because their righties while kershaw is a lefty which makes his stuff more valuable than theirs.
as for kazmir. when has he lasted a full year? he’s never won more than 13 games in his 1st 3 full years. he also isnt playing on as good a team as kershaw is. he’s more prior’s dl buddy than a stud sp.
Bfadds, the myth that veteran pitching is necessary to stabilize your rotation is just now starting to lose sway. Why have some 35 year old “proven” innings-eater making $8 million (in this market) when you could get the same performance out of quite a few run-of-the-mill Triple A starters (not to mention an uber prospect like Kershaw)?
as for kazmir. when has he lasted a full year?
Last year. And 2005. He’s pitched full seasons two out of his three years in the bigs so far.
he’s never won more than 13 games in his 1st 3 full years.
You’re really judging a pitcher based on wins? Have you seen the Rays teams he played for in the past three years? How is that his fault?
he also isnt playing on as good a team as kershaw is.
This is completely irrelevant to the discussion, since we’re trying to evaluate how good a pitcher is, not how good his teammates are. But are the Dodgers even better than the Rays this season? It’s pretty close, but I’d say no.
he’s more prior’s dl buddy than a stud sp.
Kazmir is a stud, with awesome stuff, and he’s been healthy most of his young career.
How about the fact that he is jumping from AA to the majors. All of the recent high profile rookies (Liriano, Lincecum, Gallardo, Weaver) dominated in AAA. I spent my waiver on a recently cut Cueto rather than waiting for Kershaw.