Latest news with #Casparius
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Dodgers' offensive struggles continue in loss to Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — The Dodgers' offensive woes went from worrisome to a five-alarm emergency Saturday when they were lost their second game in less than 24 hours, falling 2-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Nolan Gorman started the winning rally with a ground-rule double leading off the ninth. He gave way to pinch-runner Jose Barrero, who moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Nolan Arenado's pinch-hit single off Dodgers reliever Ben Casparius (4-1). The Cardinals appeared to have won the game in the eighth when Alec Burleson hit a one-hop comebacker that ricocheted off Casparius with two out. Casparius chased after the ball and made a hurried throw to first that pulled Freddie Freeman off the bag, allowing Masyn Winn to race home. But the Dodgers matched that in the ninth on consecutive one-out singles by Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Freeman then struck out swinging, but the ball got away from catcher Pedro Pages, allowing Ohtani to score to tie the game. The Dodgers left 12 runners on base and were hitless in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position. They are one for 25 with runners in scoring position in their two games in St. Louis. The slump couldn't come at a worst team for the Dodgers, who begin a three-game series Monday in San Diego. The Padres entered Saturday a game back of the Dodgers in the National League West. The Dodgers wasted a splendid performance from starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who allowed four hits while striking out nine in six scoreless innings, lowing his earned-run average to 2.20. No Japanese pitcher has ever led an American major league in ERA; the Cubs' Yu Darvish came closest when his 2.01 mark in the COVID-shortened 2020 season was second-best in the National League. Only two NL pitchers have better marks than Yamamoto this season. The right-hander won four ERA titles in seven seasons with Orix in the Japanese Pacific League. Only Kazuhisa Inao, who debuted in 1956, won more. Three times Yamamoto had ERAs under 1.69 and his career mark in Japan was 1.72 in 188 starts.
NBC Sports
28-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Ben Casparius embraces the chaos of his integral role in the Dodgers' bullpen
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending World Series champions and current odds-on favorites to hoist the trophy again in 2025. They added two of the most high-profile pitching free agents this offseason when they signed Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki. Yet, for all of their big names and having the second-best record in the National League, the pitcher that has emerged as a key cog in this potential title run is rookie reliever Ben Casparius. Now, Casparius isn't a reliever by trade. The 26-year-old pitched in 21 games in the minor leagues last season, and 19 of them were starts. And pretty good starts too. In his 88.2 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A last year, Casparius posted a 3.35 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, and 106/46 K/BB ratio. However, when the Dodgers' starting pitching depth started to dry up, and they needed a little more length out of their bullpen, they turned to Casparius. After making his two relief appearances in Triple-A, he was promoted to the big league roster and pitched 8.1 solid innings over three appearances for the Dodgers in the final weeks of the season. While he initially believed he would come into the 2025 season as a starter, he was, yet again, thrust into a hybrid role in the bullpen to help the team navigate starting pitcher injuries. 'It's about not ever getting too comfortable in a certain situation,' Casparius explained before the series finale against the Mets last weekend. 'That's the biggest key, just the preparation being pretty similar day to day, whether I'm starting the game, coming in the ninth inning, eighth inning, throwing innings four through six, whatever that might just being able to be thrown into different situations and not necessarily give it a label. Obviously, I'm a reliever by trade right now, and it's something that I'm completely fine with, being able to help the team as much as possible in whatever they need.' What the Dodgers need in 2025 is depth from their bullpen. Injuries to Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, and Emmet Sheehan, plus Shoehi Ohtani not yet being able to pitch mean that Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin have all been thrust into spots in the starting rotation despite barely pitching in 2024. With the Dodgers being cautious of how deep any of those pitchers can go in a given game, they have frequently needed multiple-inning appearances from their relievers throughout the week. Something that has been a common occurrence for the Dodgers in recent years with all their pitching injuries. 'It's kind of a similar story to last year,' recalled Casparius. 'I wasn't a part of it until mid-August, but just the versatility that needs to happen in order to get through games with some of the injuries we've been having. You know, be able to step up and fill a role where it's not necessarily anything set in stone. It's a little bit more chaotic. But I've really just bought into that. I enjoy it. It's been great. I feel like I'm in a good spot.' There's no question that Casparius is in a good spot. He has pitched 35.1 innings in 18 appearances this year, posting a 2.80 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 41/6 K/BB ratio. He has recorded an impressive 15% swinging strike rate and allowed just a 27% hard-hit rate on the season. While Casparius has had success in the minor leagues, some of his level of production this season can be attributed to a mechanical change he made in the off-season, raising his arm angle from 42 degrees to 47 degrees, which is a pretty drastic change. 'It was a feel thing,' he explained about raising his arm slot. 'I honestly didn't look at any metrics in terms of release height or extension or anything like that, leading up to spring training. I think it was more optimizing. For me, it's 'smooth is fast,' and trying not to get robotic or force deeper positions. It's more just thinking, 'Let's be fluid and when it's time to turn on the jets at the very last second, that's when it is.' I think it's just forcing me to stay upright a little bit longer, or at least get over the top of my throw a little bit longer.' That mechanical change has led to some shifts in Casparius' pitch shapes, including his cutter, which added almost 2.5 inches of horizontal movement and slightly more 'rise' as it approaches the plate. 'I would say [the movement change is due to] arm slot,' admitted Casparius. 'I think the conviction of the pitch is definitely higher too. I'm not necessarily trying to shape it. I'm kind of letting the grip take care of itself.' That added confidence in the cutter has led to Casparius using it 21% of the time in 2025, as opposed to just 4% in his small sample in 2024. Last year, he didn't throw a single cutter to right-handed hitters at the MLB level, but he's now using it nearly 16% of the time, primarily attacking the outside part of the plate with it and using it to set up his slider for swinging strikes. 'To put it simply, I think [the cutter] is just my pitch that I am in the zone a lot with that's not a fastball, you know? It's just another option that I'm throwing more in the zone than I am my fastball, and it's not straight. These guys can all hit fastballs. If it's a day where I'm leaving my curveball a little bit arm-side, or I'm pulling off the slider a little bit, it's just another option where it's something in the zone that's got a little bit of movement to it. Traditionally, it's a soft contact type pitch, not necessarily a swing and miss. I've had a few outings this year where I've gone out there and thrown a few cutters, and you're looking at a five or six-pitch inning.' True to his word, Casparius' cutter has allowed just a 28% Ideal Contact Rate, which is the 85th percentile in baseball. It has just a .194 batting average against with a .223 wOBA and 83 mph average exit velocity. However, it has also missed bats, primarily to lefties, with a 20.3% swinging strike rate on the season. Part of that success is because Casparius does a good job of jamming lefties inside with his cutter and running it off the plate after he attacks inside with a four-seam fastball that has also changed shape in 2025. The higher arm slot has caused Casparius' four-seamer to jump from 15 inches of Induced Vertical Break (iVB) to 18.1 inches of iVB while cutting almost two inches of horizontal movement. That means his four-seamer appears to 'rise' more as it approaches home plate, fighting gravity and becoming a flatter pitch. 'I think it's because of the mechanical change,' guessed Casparius. 'Also, in Double-A, you're using a different ball, so the metrics are going to be inflated with the ball they're using. And then in Triple-A, that was the first time I had used the big league ball in a long time, so I think, just getting more comfortable with it takes time. I don't think there's anybody who makes the switch that quickly, and it's like, 'Oh, my stuff is in a really good spot.' You kind of have to figure that out. Being a little bit more north-south this year, with a higher arm slot, is helping me to stay behind the fastball.' That added vertical movement on the fastball also means that it should succeed more up in the zone than it had in the past. A flatter fastball drops less with gravity as it approaches the plate. That gives it the sensation that it's rising as it approaches the batter, so when those types of fastballs are thrown up in the zone, it's very easy for a hitter to swing underneath it. Casparius has a 20% swinging strike rate on his four-seamer to lefties this season in part because he uses it up in the zone 65% of the time to them. However, he throws it up in the zone just 45% of the time to righties, and his swinging strike rate to them on the four-seamer is a little over 16%. Both are still above league average, but the pitch has been a little more successful as a two-strike pitch to lefties this season. 'We have very advanced reports on every guy,' explained Casparius. 'So, for my arsenal, this is how I'm gonna typically attack this type of hitter, or this lefty handles off-speed in the zone well, so we need to do this. 'I think it's more of a matchup type thing. There are certain teams that are going to hunt fastballs up in the zone more than they are down, where I can get away with throwing some fastballs down in the zone. So I think it just bounces from approach to approach, and a team philosophy for what they're trying to do.' Those types of strategic adjustments are something that Casparius is continuing to learn as he shifts his focus from being a starting pitcher to being a reliever. 'I think the relief side of things has helped with some of my starts too, in just focusing on one pitch at a time and not projecting or looking ahead towards the next inning, or who I have to face if I walk this guy. It's just gotten me into a mindset of, every inning here's my best stuff. Attack guys. Mix it up. Don't be too predictable. Just being able to go out there and trust everything has really helped me with every single role.' Yet, the role that Casparius still longs to fill one day is that of MLB starter: 'At some point, I do think that I have the durability and the arsenal to be an effective starting pitcher, but it just depends on what the team needs at the right time.' If the Dodgers do eventually give Casparius a chance to operate as a more traditional starter, the right-hander knows that will mean adapting from the approach that's currently allowing him to have so much success. 'When there were conversations about potentially moving back into the rotation. It was like, 'Hey, how do we tease the inside part of the plate?' First time, second time, third even, you can get away with some stuff. But, you know, they're the best hitters in the world. They're here for a reason. They make adjustments on the fly, so it's something that was in discussions about how we can utilize the inner half too.' On the season, Casparius is throwing inside to right-handed hitters just 15.8% of the time. Much of that has to do with an arsenal that is dominated by a slider, cutter, and four-seam fastball, but it's also the luxury of not having to attack all quadrants of the plate when you only face a hitter one time. Starters don't have that luxury, which is why, for comparison's sake, his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto throws inside to right-handed hitters 33% of the time, and Dustin May throws inside to righties 39% of the time 'Traditionally, I think starting pitchers do a good job of utilizing the inside part of the plate or at least showing that they can get it in there to open up what works away pretty well,' admitted Casparius. 'The attack plan would be a little bit different [as a starter]. It's, 'Hey, we're gonna go six innings here. I'm probably facing at least part of the lineup three times through,' and that's where you need to potentially back-pocket a pitch. Guys that are able to go off the book a little bit, be unique, and maybe throw some stuff that you don't necessarily throw a lot to a certain type of guy. I think once you can go off script a little bit and be comfortable with that, it's when you can find when you can find some success.' That could mean that Casparius simply utilizes the fastball inside more often. It could also mean attacking the inside part of the plate with a pretty north-south curveball that he has already thrown inside 61% of the time to righties in a small sample size. But all of those adjustments remain a challenge for another day. For now, Casparius remains a key cog in the Dodgers' bullpen, and that's more than enough for him. 'I want to win here, and whether it's what I'm doing right now, if it's in the rotation, whatever it is, I'm cool with it. At the end of the day, it's whatever gives the team the best chance to win, and best chance to win over the course of a season.'
New York Times
19-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
'The blessing and the curse' of being a young Dodger on a team packed with stars
PHOENIX — When Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ben Casparius reported to spring training last year, his own manager did not know his name. After a $1.4 billion offseason spending spree, there was little reason for Dave Roberts to recognize him. Casparius was not invited to big-league camp. He did not expect to earn a big-league promotion in 2024. He could never have predicted how the season would unfold, as he rose from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City to a place on the injury-ravaged big-league roster, throwing meaningful innings and even starting a World Series game for the eventual champions. Advertisement A year later, here was Casparius' reward after his make-believe October: A return ticket to the minors. After another $450 million splurge this winter, he will be waiting in the wings for a franchise that signed free-agent pitchers Blake Snell, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, landed Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki, brought back future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw and continued to prepare for Shohei Ohtani's return to the mound. Even with Ohtani on the shelf, Casparius resides somewhere around 10th on the organizational depth chart for starters. Such is what Casparius called 'a blessing and a curse' of being a young Dodger. As Opening Day approaches, no team has more available talent and less available playing time. The players bound for the minors in 2025 after tasting major-league success in 2024 know this best. 'We're all pulling for each other, but at the same time, we're competing for very limited spots,' Casparius said. 'So it's an interesting concept. Honestly, I think it pushes us to a level that we might not be able to get to if we weren't in an organization like this.' Roberts likes to refer to situations like this, which only befall organizations overflowing with talent like the Dodgers, as 'high-class problems.' He has stressed to players the importance of fixating on individual improvement rather than one's place within the organizational hierarchy. To do the latter, both players and Dodgers officials agree, might send someone into a spiral. 'When you have a roster that's arguably the most talented roster in history, one through 40, playing time is hard,' Roberts said. 'All guys want to play, should want to play. But it takes some buy-in to their teammates and the organization.' Landon Knack understands how Casparius feels. He posted a 3.65 ERA in 12 starts last season. He figures to spend April with Casparius in the Pacific Coast League. The OKC center fielder could be Andy Pages, who hit 13 homers with a .712 OPS last season for Los Angeles, only to get squeezed by the team reuniting with utility man Kiké Hernández and outfielder Teoscar Hernández while acquiring outfielder Michael Conforto and infielder Hyeseong Kim. Joining Pages in the Triple-A outfield will probably be James Outman, who finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 before losing his roster foothold last summer. Advertisement 'On any other major-league roster,' Roberts said about Outman and Pages, 'they would have a job.' The competition for the fifth starter spot, the one being kept warm as Kershaw recovers from offseason surgeries and Ohtani increases his workload, features Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller. Gonsolin was an All-Star in 2022. May was once the team's finest pitching prospect. Miller started a postseason game in 2023. The players understand that big-league opportunities will emerge through injuries and attrition. They also understand those opportunities may not last very long. 'Being a young guy, you can't help but want to be able to break in and be able to stick and be able to have your service time and get your money,' Knack said. 'But at the same time, you also have the blessing of being around a ton of Hall of Famers who you can learn from and then take that experience for the rest of your career. And having the chances to win championships — a blessing and a curse is a great way to describe it, but still, this is a great place to be.' An overstuffed 40-man roster is not new for the Dodgers. The club has prioritized its depth since president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman arrived in the fall of 2014. The players on the margins could always sense the congestion. In the spring of 2019, pitchers Brock Stewart and Ross Stripling donned wigs and entertained the clubhouse with a song that parodied 'Kryptonite' by 3 Doors Down: I watched the world float to the dark side of the moon, I can't wait to watch [Cody] Bellinger get platooned, I really don't mind what happens now and then, As long as I don't spend the whole year in the 'pen. If I throw seven [shutout innings], will I get sent to Triple-A? And how much time is left until my job's taken by Dustin May? Advertisement Back then, the pressure came from within the organization, as the Dodgers rolled players off a minor-league pipeline. That has changed in recent years as some of the organization's highest-touted prospects fizzled. Diego Cartaya, a catcher rated baseball's No. 18 prospect heading into 2023 by Baseball America, was recently designated for assignment amid ongoing back problems. A slew of injuries demolished the team's pitching depth last season, with talented youngsters like River Ryan, Gavin Stone, Emmitt Sheehan and Kyle Hurt all requiring surgery. The onslaught created openings for players like Casparius and Knack. 'Our depth, from what our minor leagues have done to plug holes for us over the last few years, has been exceptional,' pitching coach Mark Prior said. But the ailments also reinforced to Friedman the importance of bolstering the roster during the winter. A receipt for the World Series appeared in the form of injuries to relievers Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol. Rather than rely upon the minor-league system, the Dodgers inked Scott to a four-year, $72 million contract and signed Yates on a $13 million deal. To explain the spending, Friedman has cited both the organization's commitment to its fanbase and his distaste for making moves at the trade deadline. 'We feel really good about the talent we have under this roof right now,' Friedman said last week. He added that he was 'really excited not just about the talent but the depth and how these guys are wired.' For pitchers like Casparius, Knack and Justin Wrobleski, that means not feeling deflated when starting a new season back 'in the bushes,' as Knack called it. 'If you fall too far into that, you're likely to never bring yourself back out,' Knack said. Added Casparius, 'Take care of what you can on the field. Opportunities are going to be present.' The rotation is loaded with stars, but all come with concerns. Yoshinobu Yamamoto hurt his shoulder last summer and Tyler Glasnow missed the postseason with elbow problems. Ohtani is returning from a second major elbow surgery. Sasaki has never pitched in the majors. Even Snell has averaged only 135 innings across the past four seasons. The youngsters on the doorstep do not know when the door will open. But they figure it will. On Monday afternoon, Roberts stood in between Yamamoto and Wrobleski as they threw bullpen sessions. Wrobleski, a 24-year-old left-hander, spent most of 2024 shuttling between Oklahoma City and the majors. He learned to tweak his routine on the fly and prepare for the unexpected. He understood he needed to prepare for something similar in 2025. Advertisement 'As far as trying to chart where I'm going to be in two years, five years — I'm just trying to make sure I throw the ball well tomorrow,' Wrobleski said. 'That's what you have to do, especially when you go out and get guys like Snell and all these guys who are really, really good. As a young guy, you've just got to roll with it. Trust that if you throw the ball well, you're going to be in the big leagues, at some point.' (Photo of Knack: Brandon Sloter / Getty Images)
