Stephen Fife, who was slated to start, was placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to 4/22) with right shoulder bursitis.
Magill, 23, was my No. 6 prospect coming into the season and had a 2.84 ERA in his first 19 Triple-A innings. While he struck out 23, which was great, he also walked 14 batters. The biggest knock on him is his command/control. So far, he hasn't done much to prove the scouting reports wrong.
However, Magill did answer the critics regarding his velocity. Once considered to have a fringe-average fastball, Magill now routinely works in the low-90s and touches 94-95 MPH at times. He also boasts a knockout slider in the low-to-mid-80s and an average changeup.
His repertoire isn't the question -- it's the finer points of pitching.
Magill is going to have to learn on the fly, as the Dodgers don't have any other realistic options to fill a starting rotation spot at the moment. He isn't as ready as I'd like, but he's definitely a better option than Zach Lee, who was my No. 1 prospect coming into the season.
Magill will be the Dodgers' ninth starting pitcher of the season. This is the team's 23rd game, and this isn't how the brass planned the first month of the season. Things will eventually even out. Might as well get all the crap out of the way early rather than having to deal with it in August and September. There's no guarantee things will even out, but the Dodgers' luck couldn't possibly be this bad for a six-month stretch.
I know this: tonight's game (on MLB Network at 6 p.m.) just got a lot more interesting.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Evan Chavez, I Bleed Dodger Blue 2
No comments:
Post a Comment