When the Dodgers traded Juan Pierrein December for a couple of no-name prospects, intelligent Dodger fans were elated. The fact is, we would have been happy with a bucket of sunflower seeds and batting practice balls for lil' Fivel.
Instead, the Dodgers might have stolen a quality starter from the White Sox in John Ely.
The 24-year-old came to the Dodgers with Jon Link, and Ely has been nothing but spectacular.
He doesn't have the best or most overpowering "stuff," but he gets the job done.So far, he's 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA and team-low 1.00 WHIP (for starting pitchers). His fastball tops out at 90 MPH and he has a slider, curveball and changeup - a classic repetoire for a starter. However, it's his command that is the most impressive.
Coming into today's start against the Cubs, Ely had walked four batters in his previous five starts. He ended up walking two against the Cubs and suffered a tough-luck 1-0 defeat.
While Clayton Kershaw, Hiroki Kuroda and Chad Billingsley are the headliners of the rotation, Ely has firmly entrentched himself as the team's No. 4 starter.
Photo credit: Malingering
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