Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Dodgers recall former top prospect Chris Withrow from Triple-A

The Dodgers recalled former first-round pick Chris Withrow on Tuesday to help a beleaguered bullpen.

Withrow was drafted with the 20th pick in the 2007 MLB Draft out of Midland Christian High School in Texas.

The Dodgers moved Withrow to the bullpen halfway through last season, and he's fared much better as a reliever than he was as a starter.

It's not good when a former first-round pitcher ends up being a reliever, but a least he has the ability to succeed.

His fastball sits in the mid-90s an has touched as high as 98 MPH. He also boasts a mid-80s slider that gets him a bunch of strikeouts.

Withrow used to have the system's best curveball, but he scrapped it late last season.

The 24-year-old has a 1.93 ERA, a 2.17 FIP and an 11.6 K/9 rate with Triple-A Albuquerque.

Walks have alway been Withrow'a bugaboo. He has a BB/9 of 5.0 in his career (4.6 this year). He'll need to keep that under control (no pun intended) to have success.

The Dodgers also recalled outfielder Alex Castellanos and optioned Justin Sellers back to Albuquerque.

After Brandon League shat the bed again last night, the Dodgers need some kind of change in the bullpen. I'm not saying Withrow is going to be the savior, but it couldn't hurt to give him a shot.

Photo credit: SD Dirk, Flickr

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