Brusdar Graterol has the “best stuff in the world”. Why isn’t he closer yet?

The combination of nitro-powered fastball and nicknames doesn’t just suggest that the Dodgers’ sidekick Brusdar Graterol has the ability to get a big league closer. it screams it

The powerful right-hander has a bad-sinking two-seam fastball that averaged 99.8 mph with a 20-inch drop and a 15-inch left-to-right break last season and a four-seam that averaged 99.4 mph and 102.5 touched mph.

“He’s got the best stuff in the world,” said Dodgers loanee Alex Vesia.

And an appropriate nickname. Graterol’s Minnesota Twins teammates nicknamed him “Bazooka” when he broke into the majors in 2019 because the ball appears to explode out of his hand like it was shot from a rocket launcher.

“I think it’s the perfect nickname for me,” Graterol said.

But until Graterol can hit left-handers with more consistency, develop a more effective slider to keep hitters off his fastball, and avoid the nagging injuries that have derailed him over the past two seasons, he won’t be called a “closer.” .

Graterol had right-handers averaging .202, a .512 on-base plus slug percentage, and two homers in 292 at bats in four big league seasons, but left-handers hit .294 with .847 OPS and five homers in 183 at bats against him.

The 24-year-old Venezuelan threw a fastball—usually to left-handers—at an average speed of 95.6 mph and dropped 22 inches, but had virtually no horizontal break last season, giving batters a .302 (13 for 43). touch. the cutters they bring into play.

“He definitely has the mindset and the closing stuff, but there’s a neutrality to being a committed closer,” said manager Dave Roberts, citing the need for ninth-inning specialists to counter both the left and the right to be effective. “We’ll continue to work on making him a more neutral pitcher.”

The Dodgers open the season without a designated closer. Right-hander Evan Phillips, her most efficient and long-lasting helper of the past season, will appear in key situations. Daniel Hudson will also be an important part of the squad, although he will probably not be ready for the start of the season due to ongoing knee and ankle injuries.

Graterol and left-handers Vesia and Caleb Ferguson will appear in high-leverage situations, but Graterol could also play a role in the ninth inning.

“Yeah, it’s right there in front of him, so go ahead and grab it,” assistant coach Connor McGuiness said. “His ceiling is as high as he wants it to be. He’s a very hard worker. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. He hit so well he could win a gold glove. For him it’s all about going out and perform.”

Graterol had the first four saves of his career last season. Roberts isn’t ruling out Graterol’s possibility, but the manager often prefers to use him against a line-up of tough right-handers regardless of the innings.

“The bottom line, I trust Brusdar in any situation,” Roberts said. “You could argue that some of the points where I used him have more impact than a three-run situation in the ninth. People are very stuck in a role and feel that this is their value. That’s something I have to navigate and understand as a coach.”

The 6-foot-1, 262-pound Graterol has looked good this spring, giving up five hits, striking out four and walking every fifth inning in five games, including Saturday’s scoreless inning against the Chicago White Sox, in which his slider was better. Depth.

The Slider averaged 90.6 mph last season with a 30-inch drop and a 7-inch right-to-left break, and Graterol held opponents to a .158 average (six for 38) in innings ending in the field. But Roberts believes a better slider will improve Graterol’s modest strikeout rate of 7.2 per nine innings.

“He was looking for the right shape on that breaking ball,” Roberts said. “Hopefully he finds something he likes and can be consistent with because Fastball Commando is elite. Hopefully he can find something he can rely on to go on a big run and give him that speed differential that we’re looking for .

“When he is on the mound, everything is difficult. If you have something to slow down the hitters a bit to get them off the fastball and cutter, there’s more upside.

Despite all the tinkering and filing this spring, Graterol has one goal for the season: “Stay healthy all year,” he said. He didn’t do it in 2021 and 2022.

Acquired from Minnesota for starter Kenta Maeda in February 2020, Graterol avoided injury in his first season in Los Angeles, went 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA and added three in 23 games of a pandemic-shortened 2020 earned runs in 7⅔ pitched innings of nine playoff games to help the Dodgers win the World Series.

He went 3-0 in 34 games in 2021 with a 4.59 ERA, missing three weeks in April to COVID-19, all of May to a stiff right forearm, and all of June to a downgrade to Triple A before that, which Roberts then called the ” finished school”.

Graterol oriented through October, serving eight of twelve postseason games in 2021, giving up one run and four hits, scoring seven and not setting foot in nine innings.

He went 2-4 with a 3.26 ERA and hit four in 46 games in 2022, hitting 43 and batting 10 in 49 ⅔ innings pitched, but missed two months with shoulder and elbow injuries.

It is speculated that because Graterol has a shorter stride and generates much of his torque with his upper body, he puts more pressure on his shoulder and elbow. But the Dodgers have no plans to change the mechanics.

“It’s hard to say that a mechanical change will prevent injuries when a guy throws 100 mph,” McGuiness said. “I think you run down a slippery slope to change someone’s step or something, especially given their throw.”

Graterol didn’t think his weight was an issue, but he changed his winter training routine—he worked out three times a day most days, with more stretching and cardio—and his diet helped drop him from 285 pounds to 262 pounds.

“My weight was up, but my bike was there — I was throwing 102-103 mph,” said Graterol. “But I feel a lot better. I feel like I can make everything easier.”

Teammates immediately noticed the weight loss. “I saw him on the first day of spring training,” said Vesia, “and I said, ‘You’re ready to go this year.’ Roberts said the weight loss doesn’t necessarily show greater commitment. “I would say it shows its maturity,” Roberts said.

McGuinness isn’t sure if or how Graterol will benefit from being lighter.

“It could help him build a good foundation for the whole season and recover a little bit better,” said McGuiness. “But there is an argument that being a bit heavier in the year can also be an advantage. So there are two sides to this coin.”

The Dodgers had an established closer for ten years as Kenley Jansen held the role from 2012–21, and they entered 2022 with veteran closer Craig Kimbrel as their ninth-inning specialist.

Late game decisions this season will be based more on matchups than defined roles, but whether he’s close, setup man or shortstop, Graterol will be an important part of the mix.

“Dok will continue to put him in big situations and we need him healthy all year round,” Vesia said of Graterol. “He’s going to be a big part of our bullpen whether it’s in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning.”