Gavin Stone’s MLB debut signals next wave of Dodgers pitching prospects

Back in 2020, the Major League Baseball draft dipped from 40 rounds down to five. The pandemic forced high school and college seasons to end abruptly. Teams drafted with limited or, in some cases, no experience at all of having watched the players they were drafting in person. 

Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino relied mostly on video, area scouts and player-development staff as he selected a bevy of college power arms, only one of which he had gotten to see up close. That player, first-round flamethrower Bobby Miller, is now widely considered the top pitching prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system. 

Despite the dearth of selections that year, the Dodgers appear to have mined some gems. At some point this season, Miller is expected to make his mark on the major-league roster. Before that happens, another debut from the 2020 class will transpire. 

Gavin Stone, who was selected four rounds after Miller, is set to make his major-league debut Wednesday afternoon against the Phillies, marking the arrival of the next wave of Dodger pitching prospects.

"This is something we’ve all been anticipating," manager Dave Roberts said of Stone, who was at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. "I think I can speak for everyone in the clubhouse." 

While Miller is built like the prototypical ace — a hulking, 6-foot-5 right-hander with a 70-grade fastball that can touch triple digits in velocity — Stone is packaged in a more diminutive frame. The fifth-round pick didn’t rise the prospect ranks as quickly as Miller — Stone said that’s not something he paid attention to, anyway — but that changed as the former Central Arkansas closer began to develop a changeup to go with his fastball and slider. Pitching coach Ryan Dennick showed him how to grip the pitch, which he picked up quickly. 

Stone was still primarily a fastball pitcher when he got to Great Lakes in 2021. By the end of that year, he had struck out 138 of the 378 batters he faced. His changeup soon became his most lethal offering. 

"He was able to just turn the pitch into a weapon for him by just having insanely good feel," Dodgers director of minor-league pitching Rob Hill said. "The upping of the usage I would say is what took it over the top."

In 2022, Stone could no longer fly under the radar. He ascended from Single-A to Double-A to Triple-A, striking out more than 10 batters per nine innings with a sub-2.00 ERA at each level. Stone always exhibited strong fastball command, but perfecting the changeup took him to new levels. 

"Even when guys know it’s coming, it’s hard to square up," Roberts said. "He can throw it at any point in time. Obviously, a lot of confidence in it. But to be able to keep guys at bay, keep them honest with his fastball that in the mid-90s and commanded, it’s pretty impressive for a young ballplayer."

Stone finished last year with a 1.48 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 121.2 innings. He boasted the sixth-best strikeout rate and ninth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio of all minor-league pitchers. The 6-foot-1 right-hander added weight, getting up to around 190 pounds, which helped him add a couple ticks in velocity. He said this spring he’s still working on keeping his slider in the zone more often, but it’s hard to poke holes in his performance. In August 2022, Stone was named the Dodgers’ minor-league pitcher of the year. 

"He doesn’t care who’s in the box," Hill said. "He’s not scared." 

Two months later, Stone’s manager learned about that mettle when Stone was brought to Dodger Stadium for live work, helping the Dodgers get hacks in preparation for the postseason. 

"He got rolled," Roberts recalled. "We rolled over the first inning with the pitch count [rising]. He got hit a little bit. I wanted to see how he responded to that. He went into the dugout, came out and went three up, three down with a couple punchouts. It fired him up. It was good for me to see that from him." 

This spring, Stone hardly looked overmatched. In four appearances during Cactus League play, he struck out 14 batters in 6.2 scoreless innings. His call-up at some point this year was inevitable. 

"Outside of looking at the baby face, I guess the boyish look, he looked like he’d been around for a lot longer that way he carried himself," Roberts said. "There’s a confidence. There’s a curiosity. There’s an openness. And also, now, when he’s on the mound, there’s that bulldog in him." 

Stone’s presence belied the pressure he felt coming into this spring, knowing how close his major-league dream was to coming true. The Arkansas native did everything he could to hit the ground running. He went to Arizona in early January to be around the club’s spring facility. 

"I know if I put up zeroes," Stone said in February, "it’s going to happen eventually." 

Now, that chance is on the horizon, despite an early, rare stumble to start the year at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Stone allowed six runs in 2.2 innings in his first start of the season. The Dodgers noticed some delivery issues with his back leg that Stone fixed with the help of Hill, Triple-A pitching coach Doug Mathis and Oklahoma City’s strength and medical staff. In his last three starts, Stone posted a 2.08 ERA with 17 strikeouts and five walks in 13 innings. 

He exhibited enough for the Dodgers to put him on their taxi squad early this week, getting him one step closer to the dream he had always talked about with Miller and his fellow 2020 draftees. 

"I think we’ve all helped each other out just by pushing each other," Stone said. 

In Stone, Miller and Ryan Pepiot, another changeup maestro who would have earned a spot in the Dodgers’ rotation to start the year if not for an oblique issue, each of the Dodgers’ top three pitching prospects are expected to make their marks in the big leagues at some point this season. 

Miller battled some shoulder soreness this spring, but his delay to the minor-league season was mostly precautionary. The extra time in Arizona allowed him to do some fine-tuning. The Dodgers moved him from the first-base to the third-base side of the rubber, which helped him land and command his changeup and curveball. Miller said this spring that pitch sequencing and the mental part of the game — namely, staying calm on the mound — are the final steps for him. He made his 2023 Triple-A debut on April 29. If he continues to progress, he could soon join Stone on the Dodgers’ roster. 

For the 2020 draft class, and the next wave of Dodgers pitching talent, Wednesday is just the beginning. 

"I’m just super excited for the rest of the world to see what we’ve been seeing for a couple years now," Hill said.

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. He previously was the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.