May became the youngest Opening Day starter for the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers right-handed pitcher, Dustin May, the 22-year-old young sensation out of Texas has been showing some real promise so far this 2020 season.
Fortune struck for May on Opening Day when he replaced scheduled starter Clayton Kershaw who injured his back before the game. May became the youngest Opening Day starter for the Dodgers since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.
But May didn't pick up his first win until his third start versus the San Diego Padres on August 4 and struck out eight batters in six innings. And he hasn't allowed more than two runs in a game for his six starts.
"Dustin's doing nothing but show his value to our ball club," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "He's still establishing himself as a big-league pitcher and understanding how to navigate lineups."
Kershaw has been back in the starting rotation, but Alex Wood is still on the IL which has kept May in the rotation and giving him valuable time and experience to prove his worth.
Wood returning from the IL would in all likelihood bump May out of the rotation, assuming the Dodgers are healthy. But the better May pitches, the harder that decision might be for Roberts. Maybe have Wood and Julio Urias come out of the bullpen as an experiment.
"He's making a case right now," Roberts said. "We always talk about the depth of the starting (pitching) staff. Dustin is making a claim, and that's a good thing. He's stepping up when given the opportunity."
In May's pitching arsenal, he's got some pretty creative stuff. Especially his two-seam fastball with tricky movement and his nasty slider.
"It's pretty impressive what Dustin can make a baseball do," Roberts said. "It's going to be fun and it's exciting to watch Dustin mature as a big-league ballplayer."
As it stands right now, May is 1-1 on the year in his six starts and has tossed a combined 29 innings and struck out 20 en route to a 2.79 earned run average.
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