Ryan Pepiot was expected to be a key contributor in the Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation this season, but a left oblique strain sustained at the end of Spring Training has prevented him from throwing a pitch to this point.
Pepiot was initially optimistic that his stint o the injured list would be brief, but a setback has delayed his return until sometime after the All-Star break.
“I’m just kind of happy we caught it pretty early so hopefully it doesn’t mean I’m out for too long,” Pepiot said on Opening Day. “Once the symptoms are pretty much gone, then I’ll pick it back up. Hopefully it’ll only be a couple days until I can pick a ball up again.”
Pepiot has slowly made progress in his recovery as he began throwing on flat ground last month. The right-hander has now advanced to starting a throwing program at Camelback Ranch, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Right-hander Ryan Pepiot has begun a throwing program at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch complex, according to President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman.
After an impressive showing in Spring Training, Pepiot was named the fifth starter in the Dodgers Opening Day rotation, because of Tony Gonsolin’s injury. However, the 25-year-old ended up being placed on the 15-day IL and was replaced on the roster by Michael Grove.
The Dodgers transferred Pepiot to the 60-day IL on April 21.
Pepiot had a modest showing in his first season with the Dodgers last year, going 3-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over nine games (seven starts). His struggles stemmed from failing to consistently throw strikes as he walked 27 batters in 36.1 innings.
Ryan Pepiot among injured Dodgers starters
Pepiot is among a long list of injured Dodgers starting pitchers. Also sidelined at present time are Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Noah Syndergaard and now Clayton Kershaw.
Of that group, Kershaw is expected to return soonest, although that still will not come until after the All-Star break.
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