Dodgers Rumors: Is Chris Heston the Dodgers’ next diamond in the rough?

The latest Dodgers rumors focus on Chris Heston.

Last week, the Dodgers once again boosted their Minor-League depth with the acquisition of right-handed pitcher Chris Heston and infielder Mike Freeman from the Seattle Mariners.

With the deal, the Dodgers’ President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman added to a string of under-the-radar moves which could prove quite beneficial for a team that already boosts tremendous depth.

While Mike Freeman could easily become Chris Taylor 2.0, I am more intrigued by the signing of Heston.

I will go in depth on two of his starts with polar opposite results, one in 2015 with the Giants and one in 2017 with the Mariners.

In 2015, pitching for the San Francisco Giants, Heston had a breakout year. Tossing 177.2 innings in 31 starts, including a no-hitter against the Mets.

Then a 27-year old rookie, Heston exceeded expectations. He had a 3.95 ERA and a 4.02 FIP as well as a 2.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

But the one season proved to be an outlier, as Heston could not return to form in 2016. He was eventually released by the Giants.

Heston’s no-hitter showcased his potentially lethal arensal.

That night, Heston did not throw a pitch above 91 miles per hour. And of the 64 sinkers he threw that day, 48 were strikes.

His slightly lower velocity on the day, therefore assumedly gave him more control.

But as good as Heston was, he probably was more lucky than solid, like any no-hitter (probably except Clayton Kershaw’s 2014 gem).

Only 11 of the 48 strikes were swing-and-misses. Heston relied on 28 called strikes en route to 6 strikeouts looking.

All of this to suggest that Heston’s no-hitter was certainly aided by home-plate umpire Rob Drake’s rather generous zone.