Inbox: How much will Dodgers lean on youngsters?

February 16th, 2023
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This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- Wednesday marked the first day of Dodgers Spring Training as pitchers and catchers reported to Camelback Ranch.

It’ll be an interesting camp for Los Angeles, which has some questions to answer heading into this season. Speaking of questions to answer, this felt like a perfect time to take some questions from all of you on Twitter. Let’s get to it.

How much runway should we expect for the young guys like Bobby Miller, Gavin Stone, James Outman and Miguel Vargas? With the Dodgers' apparent commitment to utilizing their younger talent this year, will they have limits set for them or will they get a long leash?
-- @pinano_man_

You can expect a lot of opportunities for the young players, but it’ll happen at different points in the season. Vargas will be on the Opening Day roster, as he’s expected to handle the everyday duties at second base. A guy like Outman could make an impact out of the gate, but it’s far more likely he starts the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City and makes an impact later in the summer. Miller and Stone still need some seasoning in the Minors before they make their way to the big league level. Of those two, Stone appears to be the one closest to making an impact.

Who is the early favorite to be the Opening Day starting pitcher?
-- @gaustin70

This is always tough to predict because so much can happen over the next six weeks, but it’s safe to assume that it’ll be either Julio Urías or Clayton Kershaw. Urías has never started on Opening Day, so it could be a cool honor for the Mexican left-hander. Having Kershaw on the mound that day also feels right.

What is the best thing the Dodgers can do to attract a talent like Shohei Ohtani to join the team next year during free agency?
-- @Ricky_davis13

There’s really nothing else the Dodgers can do to try to attract top talent. They’ve won consistently and have a pretty good track record of optimizing production. But Los Angeles won’t be alone in its pursuit of Ohtani, who will likely not be a free agent for the remainder of his career.

Do you think the Dodgers might employ a six-man rotation at some point this season?
-- @WAWA_EA

They’ll go into the season with a five-man rotation, but I think they could definitely consider this to start the year, especially since they’ll have a few starters participating in the World Baseball Classic. Right now, I’ll say they go with a five-man, though.

With the signing of David Peralta, does that mean CF is set for Chris Taylor? If they are giving Vargas some runway at 2B, what would CT3's role be?
-- @kbmamba11191

Peralta won’t get much playing time against lefties, so his signing doesn’t necessarily cement Taylor in center. But it does make it more likely he’ll be in center more, especially against righties.

Any news on Urías and the Dodgers working out a long-term extension? Know Urías at Fan Fest said he had WBC on his mind.
-- @winelouis

Both parties are going to sit down at some point and see if an extension makes sense. But as of now, it seems more than likely that Urías will be a free agent at the end of the season. Of course, things can change very quickly.

Which of the young arms in the OKC rotation can we expect to see the soonest in the bigs?
-- @dodgerserg

There are many good options, but assuming he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster -- which is the most likely outcome -- I would guess Ryan Pepiot gets the first crack at getting some big league starts.

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