At back end of rotation, Pepiot able to absorb Opening Day

ANAHEIM -- Alongside a Major League debut, one of the biggest milestones for any ballplayer is making his first Opening Day roster. That moment has arrived for a handful of young Dodgers, including Tuesday night’s starter, Ryan Pepiot.

Pepiot, whose overall strong Spring Training earned him the Dodgers’ fifth starter job to begin the 2023 season, started the team’s final exhibition game, a 13-5 loss to the Angels at Angel Stadium. Pepiot stretched out to 86 pitches, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks while striking out five. In 17 1/3 innings this spring across six starts, Pepiot led Dodgers pitchers with 24 strikeouts.

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The next time Pepiot takes the mound will be to start L.A.’s fifth game of the season, the opener of a two-game set against the Rockies on Monday at Dodger Stadium.

“It's up there,” Pepiot said when asked where making an Opening Day roster rates for him as a life event. “Probably right behind debut. Wedding No. 1, then debut and then Opening Day. That will be a pretty special day.”

Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Dodgers’ No. 6 prospect, Pepiot made his Major League debut last season as a May callup, then spent the year shuttling back and forth between the Majors and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He posted a 3.47 ERA in nine MLB games (seven starts).

“Having a little bit of time to prepare will be nice,” Pepiot said. “And a little bit of time to just sit there, actually to sit in the dugout and watch a couple games before a start should be actually pretty nice. But having some time to prepare would be a little different than just showing up a day or two before and just trying to cram everything in one night.”

Tony Gonsolin’s left ankle sprain in Spring Training created the rotation vacancy that went to Pepiot. Gonsolin’s eventual return -- which manager Dave Roberts suggested could come in late April -- means that this stint in the Majors for Pepiot could also be limited. But for however long Pepiot is here this time around, he’s going to try to establish himself as the go-to guy for the next time the Dodgers need a starting pitcher fill-in.

It’s a chance he’s embracing, one that Roberts noted has given the 25-year-old noticeable added confidence.

“He's got to go out there and be himself, go out there and compete, execute pitches, and everything else will take care of itself,” said Roberts. “But, certainly, it's an opportunity that he earned and he belongs here. He went through a lot last year. And so to kind of get to the other side was a credit to him.”

Besides Pepiot, Miguel Vargas, James Outman and Andre Jackson each made the Opening Day roster for the first time. While Vargas, the No. 37 prospect in baseball, entered the spring as the favorite to take over the Dodgers’ starting second-base role, things were less certain for Outman and Jackson. But another outstanding spring from Outman made him impossible for the Dodgers to deny, and Jackson pitched well enough to earn the final bullpen spot created by Daniel Hudson’s slow rehab from a torn left ACL.

As momentous as it is for players to make the Opening Day roster for the first time, it’s also fun for the manager, who gets to be the one to break the news. Roberts had separate conversations with Pepiot, Outman and Jackson, saying that the players responded with shock and excitement but, above all, “handled it really well.”

When it came to Vargas, however, Roberts admitted that he “dropped the ball” a bit. With Vargas’ spot on the roster essentially a lock throughout the entirety of Spring Training, the Dodgers’ skipper forgot to actually make it official -- until Vargas brought the matter to his attention.

“[Vargas] was asking about what his status is going to the Freeway Series,” Roberts said. “So I said, ‘Hey, you’re starting at second base. So, congratulations.’ And he just kind of said, ‘Great, thanks.’”