PHOENIX –– For the Dodgers’ starting rotation this year, all that’s likely to really matter is who is healthy come October.
Still, as the team marches toward Opening Day, there are plenty of shorter-term questions to answer about who will fill out the group.
For now, only two Dodgers starters seemed assured of being fully built-up, and fully effective, when the campaign kicks off March 26.
One of them is Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who got an early start to his spring before departing for the World Baseball Classic to be Team Japan’s ace.
The other is Tyler Glasnow, the oft-injured right-hander who has raved about the feel of his mechanics through two Cactus League starts this spring, saying it’s the best his throw has felt in four years.
Beyond that, however, the rest of the rotation picture is more unclear –– thanks to Blake Snell’s slow ramp-up and Gavin Stone’s recent shoulder setback.
Thus, here are the names to watch for the rest of spring, as the Dodgers try to fill out the rest of their potential five- or six-man unit:
Roki Sasaki
Yes, the second-year Japanese phenom is still penciled into the Dodgers’ Opening Day rotation.
To this point, his tantalizing raw talent continues to outweigh his early-spring command woes –– which have seen him walk five batters and allow seven runs in 3 ⅓ Cactus League innings.
That doesn’t mean the Dodgers aren’t working to improve Sasaki’s delivery. Manager Dave Roberts has repeatedly noted that the 24-year-old is still developing as a big-league starter and said this week that “he still needs to be coached.”
Pitching coach Mark Prior, however, remains confident in how that process will turn out.
“We’re still learning him,” Prior said, noting the four months Sasaki missed with a shoulder injury last year before returning for the playoffs as the team’s emergency closer. “He missed a lot of time physically, so that (has had an impact). But we also missed a lot of time of getting game-to-game, inning-to-inning feedback on how to make adjustments.”
That’s why Prior pointed to the final two innings of Sasaki’s start earlier this week, in which he rebounded from a four-run first by retiring his final six batters, as a positive sign for the right-hander’s progress.
“Talked to him a little bit about being internal versus external, and concentrating on going out in compete mode,” Prior said of his midgame conversation with Sasaki. “And then he went out there and performed really well.”
Sasaki’s next test will come in a more controlled environment, with Roberts announcing Thursday that Sasaki will pitch four innings in a backfield B-game at some point next week. That will keep him on track to be fully built up by Opening Day, giving him another leg up on some other rotation candidates.
“You’re not going to always be synced up or the perfect mechanics,” Roberts said, while discussing what he wants to see from Sasaki moving forward. “But you still have to give us length as a starting pitcher.”
Shohei Ohtani
Though Ohtani has yet to pitch in a spring contest, and won’t get any game action off a mound until after he’s done serving as designated hitter for Team Japan in the WBC, the Dodgers expect him to be ready to make starts from the beginning of the regular season –– coming away encouraged by how he looked in a couple live BP sessions before departing Camelback Ranch.
Still, the unusual ramp-up leaves the two-way star unlikely to be fully stretched out for the start of the campaign. That means his first few regular-season outings could be on the shorter side, potentially necessitating another multi-inning option to piggyback with him to begin the year.
Emmet Sheehan
Sheehan is in a similar boat as Ohtani, but for a different reason. He was slow-played early in camp while battling an illness and didn’t make his Cactus League debut until Wednesday, when he pitched 1 ⅓ innings.
Both Sheehan and Roberts said Wednesday they are hopeful that the 26-year-old right-hander –– who is preparing for his first full season since returning from Tommy John surgery last June –– will be fully built up by Opening Day.
Alas, the clock is ticking. And while Sheehan seems like a safe bet to be in the rotation, the Dodgers might also need to plan for him having a slightly restricted workload when the season begins, raising the need for others to help eat innings behind him.
Justin Wrobleski
Given the uncertain status of Ohtani and Sheehan, Wrobleski could serve an important role when the campaign begins.
Last year, the left-hander excelled as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen, flashing improved velocity to go along with a reworked pitch mix. Now, the Dodgers are trying to stretch him out further –– which could make him the potential No. 6 starter in the rotation or a prime piggyback candidate for long-relief outings when needed.
Cole Irvin
A six-year MLB veteran who had to reinvent himself in South Korea’s KBO last year, Irvin returned to North America on a minor-league deal with the Dodgers this spring. He’s an “interesting” left-handed arm, Roberts said, and could be a candidate for spot starts this year.
But he didn’t help his case for Opening Day in a rough start Thursday, when he gave up three two-run home runs to the Reds. He’s been taken deep four times already this spring.
River Ryan
A former top prospect coming back from Tommy John surgery, Ryan remains the biggest wild card of this group.
He has pitched well in two Cactus League outings, combining for three scoreless innings with four strikeouts. His six-pitch arsenal has played up in camp, too, thanks to the 30 pounds he added during his recovery process last year.
“I thought he looked like a major-league pitcher today,” Roberts said of Ryan, who had a 1.33 ERA in four starts as a rookie in 2024, after he pitched two scoreless innings against the Guardians earlier this week. “And not just a guy with a lot of stuff.”
Still, the Dodgers will be mindful of Ryan’s workload this year, after he was sidelined for all of 2025. Thus, while a strong finish to the spring might make him a candidate for a potential No. 6 rotation spot, the Dodgers could also elect to save his bullets for later in the season and allow him to ease his way back into game action in Triple-A for at least the beginning of the year.