Impact While the Dodgers' five-man rotation appears set, the team doesn't yet have a clear option for its long-reliever/sixth-starter role. Pepiot is among the candidates to fill that slot, and he no doubt helped his case with a strong spring debut during which he threw 16 of 21 pitches for strikes and touched 94 mph with his fastball, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. The right-hander did fine over 36.1 innings in his first taste of the majors last season, posting a 3.47 ERA and 26.3 percent strikeout rate, but his 1.46 WHIP and 16.9 percent walk rate were less encouraging. He'll need to improve his command to be a successful big-league starter, so Monday's outing was a step in the right direction, though a one-inning appearance at the start of spring shouldn't be overhyped.
FEBRUARY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE