The Los Angeles Dodgers’ prospect farm is not drying up. After Bobby Miller, another monster rookie pitcher burst onto the scene in Emmitt Schoen, 24. Straight from Double-A to the big leagues, the 24-year-old earned his first win with two consecutive quality starts, signaling a star in the making.
The Dodgers won a 3-2 home game against the Houston Astros on April 24. Making just his second career start, Xu shut down the 안전놀이터 Houston offense with six innings of three-hit ball (two homers), two walks and four strikeouts to lead the Dodgers to their third straight win.
After starting the game with a triple in the first inning, Scherzer walked a pair of batters and promptly retired the side in order. He gave up a leadoff single to Chas McCormick in the third, but retired the next three batters to keep the momentum going.
After giving up back-to-back homers to Mauricio Dubon and Kyle Cutter to tie the game at 2-2 with one out in the fourth, Scherzer gave up a walk to Alex Bregman but retired the next nine batters. He got through the sixth inning without allowing another run. He threw a mix of sliders (30) and changeups (3) around a four-seam fastball (54) that topped out at 97.9 mph (157.6 km/h) and averaged 95.7 mph (154.0 km/h).
Selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round (192nd overall) of the 2021 draft, the 6-foot-4 right-hander continued his development this year with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, going 4-1 with a 1.86 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 12 games (10 starts-53⅓ innings). With a string of injuries to established starters including Dustin May, Julio Urias, and Noah Syndergaard, the Dodgers called up Schoen from Double-A, bypassing Triple-A.
He made his major league debut on April 17 against the San Francisco Giants, allowing just two hits over six innings while striking out three in a no-hitter. He gave up two runs in his second start in a week, but earned his first win and lowered his season ERA to 1.50.
Speaking to local media, including MLB.com, Xu said, “I feel good. I think my pitches have gotten a little better as I’ve gotten used to the big league ball. I gave our team a chance to win, and that’s what I was trying to do.” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts noted that he settled down after the back-to-back homers in the fourth inning, saying, “That was impressive. “That was impressive,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, noting the settling down after the back-to-back homers in the fourth inning.
Two games is a small sample size, but none of the 113 four-seam fastballs Schoen has thrown have resulted in a hit. Zero walks on four-seam fastballs. “The fastball is exceptional,” Roberts said. He’s throwing it on both sides of home plate and up and down, so it’s essentially three or four different fastballs. It’s a special fastball.” Duvon, who homered off Sheahen but retired the next two batters on infield grounders, said, “He had a really good fastball, and he pitched well against us, who didn’t have a lot of information on him. Props to him.”
The Dodgers have another big-name rookie in Shea less than a month after Miller, a rookie right-handed fireballer called up on March 24, went 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA and 28 strikeouts in five games (28⅔ innings), establishing himself as a one-two punch with Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers have been buoyed by the emergence of their prospects despite the loss of their top starters.
The Dodgers, who rebounded from a three-game losing streak with three straight wins, are 42-33, three games behind the first-place Arizona Diamondbacks (46-31) in the National League West. The return of injured players and the contributions of the rookie duo of Miller and Schecter will help rebuild a mound that has dropped to 23rd in team ERA (4.50). Once the mound is stabilized, the offense will have plenty of firepower with the fourth-best team OPS (.768) and could be in the mix for first place at any time.