Los Angeles Dodgers: Dylan Floro will be the surprise arm of 2019
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Dodgers need to add some help to the bullpen in the offseason. However, one improvement will naturally occur with Dylan Floro.
The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the 2018 offseason as an unfinished project. While the team has made the postseason the last two seasons, there are questions that need to be answered this winter, especially considering the team came short in the World Series for the second consecutive year.
One of the biggest questions, demands rather, that the fan base will be directing towards the front office will undoubtedly be the bullpen. Despite having a decent bullpen all season long, it was Dave Roberts‘ mismanagement and Ryan Madson‘s World Series collapse that ultimately hurt the Dodgers.
Madson did not have a great regular season. In nine games with the Dodgers, Madson tossed eight and one-third innings, allowing six earned runs with 11 baserunners allowed. Yet, for some reason, Madson was the go-to guy in the NLDS and NLCS and that mini hot streak finally wore off in the World Series.
Madson is no longer a Dodger but the team’s need for that lockdown arm that can enter in big situations is still there. There is a possibility that the Dodgers add an arm on the open market, which they should do in some capacity this winter.
However, the team will have an internal arm emerge from the bullpen and become the lockdown guy for the Dodgers this season. Much like the Brandon Morrow‘s before him, this guy came out of nowhere and will be one of the best relievers in all of baseball next season.
That guy is Dylan Floro, who already showed all the signs of being capable of being an elite arm out of the bullpen. And while he was never Dave Roberts go-to guy in any situation, he thrived in the chances he did get.
Floro appeared in 29 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, throwing 27.2 innings in the process. Floro allowed only five earned runs (1.63 ERA) while striking out 31 and walking 11.
Floro finished eighth in HR/9 (0.42) last season for relievers with at least 60 innings pitched. Equally as impressive, Floro finished 13th in the MLB in left on base percentage, stranding 83.3% of runners on base.
That was better than Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel and Edwin Diaz last season.
Floro did not allow a run in the NLDS or NLCS for the Dodgers but was a part of that Red Sox’ massive ninth inning in Game 4 of the World Series that completely sucked the life out of the Dodgers for Game 5. While that is not pretty, nothing was pretty about that game.
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That does not take away from the impressive resume that Floro has to offer. Anyone that has watched Floro pitch knows how good his stuff is. As he continues to hone it, Roberts will get more comfortable with using him in big spots and he will continue to deliver.