Dodgers’ Nick Frasso Continues To Progress

The Dodgers knew what they wanted when they dealt righthander Mitch White to the Blue Jays last August.

“We had really liked him out of the draft,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said of righthander Nick Frasso, adding that manager Dave Roberts had seen him a lot and liked him. Roberts’ son Cole played with Frasso at Loyola Marymount. 

The Dodgers felt Frasso “would be a Top 100 Prospect and a real impact pitcher if he continued to progress,” Gomes said.

The 24-year-old has continued to progress. 

The Blue Jays’ 2020 fourth-round pick, Frasso’s pro debut with Low-A Dunedin in 2021 lasted just five innings before he had elbow surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament with an internal brace.

He returned to play in May 2022, making 16 appearances and reaching Double-A Tulsa after the trade. Frasso returned to the Texas League this season and through five starts had a 1.23 ERA with 30 strikeouts and five walks in 22 innings.

When Frasso came to the Dodgers last season, the organization wanted him to emphasize the development of a changeup and a slider with a different profile to add to an “elite” fastball.

“He’s been super fastball-heavy . . . and that speaks to how good his fastball quality is,” Gomes said. “But the odds of that continuing to hold as he gets to the big leagues is probably not all that likely . . .

“Now, as he’s starting to mix in these secondary pitches with some frequency, it feels real.”

Part of what makes Frasso so effective, according to Gomes, is his extreme cross-fire angle.

“(He has) shockingly good command for what is a very odd release,” Gomes said. “It’s almost like a Jake Arrieta, where it doesn’t make any sense that this guy has as good command as he does with that throw.”

LA CONFIDENTIAL

— When Michael Busch made his big league debut with the Dodgers on April 25, he became the 100th alum of Great Lakes to reach MLB since the Loons became a Dodgers affiliate in 2007. The first player to go from Great Lakes to the big leagues was Clayton Kershaw, who made 20 starts for Great Lakes in that initial season and was pitching for the Dodgers a year later.

— After experiencing some shoulder soreness late in the 2022 season, righthander Bobby Miller was handled cautiously by the Dodgers this spring and spent some time in extended spring training. He was finally assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and made his season debut on April 28. Miller’s workload doubled from his first pro season in 2021 (56.1 innings) to 2022 (112.1).