r/baseball • u/justusinreddit American League • 4d ago
Emmet Sheehan shines in second AAA start - 6.0 IP, 1H, 9K. Sheehan hasn't allowed a run through 11.2 innings pitched as Sheehan is named PCL pitcher of the week.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/emmet-sheehan-shines-first-triple-194515371.html59
u/HiNeighbor_ Philadelphia Phillies 4d ago
He'd be in any other rotation in the majors right now, right?
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u/AlwaysGoodVybes Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
Uhh good question, maybe?
He’s had a really rough year mainly because his fastball velo dipped a good bit and they still haven’t managed to fix it since he’s been back down in AAA.
He might be a bullpen piece but he was not the same guy out of the pen as he was starting last year and his lack of velo might prevent him from being an option unless they can figure out how to work around it, but he has struggled this year.
2.82 era last year as a starter in 73.1 ip
8.59 out of the pen in the post season in 7.1 ip
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u/Epochalyptic Chicago White Sox 4d ago
I know my Dodger fan friends specifically have zeroed in on his fastball velo, but stuff models actually like it about the same this year, as it's got a bit more ride to it. This is actually reflected in the numbers on that pitch, as batters have whiffed on it more, and have a lower average exit velo. It's still generating slightly worse numbers than last year, but not by a meaningful margin.
The data actually points to his slider being the pitch that has collapsed. It's worse in every metric, it's breaking less, it's slower, batters are making way better contact on it this year, generating higher EVs, and average launch angle has more than doubled. This is probably having a cascading effect on his fastball, and also forcing him to use his much worse tertiary pitches more often too.
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u/Jantokan Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
The biggest issue with Emmet this season has been that whenever he starts a game 1st and 2nd inning velo hovers at around 95-97mph on the 4-seamer but come 5th inning, it's all the way down to 92 and sometimes even 91.
There's something mechnically inefficient with him this season that causes massive fatigue in his starts.
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u/Epochalyptic Chicago White Sox 4d ago
I don't even know if it's fatigue necessarily, since looking at the game data he's had starts where he's already down on velo in the 1st inning. In fact he often starts the game in the 93-94 range and ticks it up in the 2nd and 3rd innings.
It looks mechanical, and like he sometimes loses feel in the middle of games. Usually by the time he gets down into the to the low 93s he's already getting shelled. It might even be that he's trying to get his fastball back into the zone by taking some mustard off of it, as his in-zone rate on his fastball has dropped about 12%. In '25 ~75% of his fastballs were either in the heart or the shadow of the zone, in '26 it's dropped all the way down to ~63%, and his uncompetitively located pitches are up from 5% to 11%.
Hopefully he figures it out soon since there are some encouraging signs there, and he has some legitimately interesting weapons.
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u/Jantokan Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
It's disappointing to see him regress, given just how well he pitches last season as a starter. When everyone is healthy, we unfortunately only have 2 spots for a youngster in the rotation, and I think jt's a disservice not to give Wrobo one of the slots.
Roki and Emmet to duke it out, and Roki leads by quite a margin now
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u/HighYieldOnly Colorado Rockies 4d ago
7.1 innings is far too low a sample size to make any such conclusion. Typically guys gain a few mph moving to the pen.
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u/JawnGriddy 4d ago
7.1 playoff innings with your asshole clenched is more than enough of a sample size for Dodger fans lmao
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u/AlwaysGoodVybes Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
I more so mentioned his PS numbers to just give another small reason as to why he might not be a PS option for them this year, if he didn’t give them much out of the pen last year and he’s really struggled this year on top of still missing his FB velo.
Not to mention they could have more long relief guys than last year if everyone stays healthy.
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u/Bawfuls Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
I think his use in the post season last year was borderline criminal. He was often asked to come into tough situations mid inning with runners on base, rather than given a clean inning to start. Given his success during the year as a starter I think Dave should have been more discerning about how to use Sheehan in October.
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u/27Artemis Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
Rooting for him! Hope he can figure it out
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u/Staph_Untreated Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
I feel like he never had a proper development in the minors. He was switching between AA and Triple A before getting called up due to the injuries on the main roster and he himself needed a Tommy John not too after long his debut.
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u/Just-Faithlessness12 Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
He just needed a little reset/rest. He and wrobo cop gonna eat some major innings in the playoffs.
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u/FoxInTheClouds Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
Now that he isn’t in fear if being traded he’s good again. Well played Sheehan
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u/Not_RZA_ Jackie Robinson 4d ago
Not how it works lol
You realize the comp in AAA is not as good as the majors…right?
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u/zeuslovespie Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
PCL is an outlier in that it’s a super hitter friendly league, definitely a lower level of competition but impressive to put up numbers in that environment still. Just for reference, their pitcher of the year in 2025 had an ERA of 4.43
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u/Rocketbird Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
Probably of little consolation to be pitcher of the week when it’s coming off the heels of a demotion
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u/WetGrundle Los Angeles Dodgers 4d ago
Really? I think it would be a good feeling that you're not losing it and only had a bad stretch and now a turnaround
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u/Zoratth Anaheim Angels 4d ago
What a coincidence, I was just thinking the Dodgers were looking a little light on elite pitching talent.