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Jake Pilarski’s rapid ascent caught Dodgers pitcher by surprise

March 28, 2023

ANAHEIM ― The Dodgers’ hardest-throwing pitcher hasn’t had a locker in their major league clubhouse for most of spring training. He won’t have one after the exhibition season ends Tuesday, either.

For Jake Pilarski, that’s OK.

When he signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in December, he said, “I did not think I’d be standing in the Dodgers’ clubhouse (Sunday) and the Anaheim clubhouse today.”

At 24, Pilarski’s journey in professional baseball is just beginning. An undrafted free agent out of The Citadel, Pilarski spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons pitching in the independent Frontier League. Last season with the Washington (Pennsylvania) Wild Things was his first as a relief pitcher. With a new role, Pilarski said, came a new mentality that brought him one step closer to the big leagues.

“It really helped,” he said. “Instead of navigating 100 pitches, it was ‘throw 25 as hard as you’ve got.’”

Last year, the hardest Pilarski’s fastball could muster with regularity was 95 to 97 mph. Occasionally, he said, it would reach 98. Pilarski posted a 4.30 ERA across 23 appearances for Washington, unhelped by issuing 23 walks across 28⅓ innings.

After the season, Pilarski paid his own way to Tread Athletics, a training facility in North Carolina. The next step beckoned.

“I got to a point in my career where, with my lifting experience, I didn’t know where to go,” he said.

Listed as a sturdy 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, strength was less of an issue for Pilarski than mobility. His relative inability to bend at the waist was preventing him from unlocking pitch velocity. Exactly how much velocity wasn’t clear at the outset. By the time he left Tread, he had established a new radar gun record at the facility: 101.4 mph.

An amateur scout for the Dodgers, Jonah Rosenthal, was among those who were impressed. He and Will Rhymes, the Dodgers’ director of player development, worked quickly to hammer out a minor league contract. Exactly what they were getting wasn’t clear, particularly given Pilarski’s short track record as a pro.

“He’s had an excellent camp,” Rhymes said. “(Fastball velocity of) 99-101, improved slider, changeup is a weapon. Probably one of the biggest surprises in camp.”

Rhymes wouldn’t say where among the Dodgers’ minor league affiliates Pilarski would begin the regular season, but he suggested the right-hander might not be there long.

“We’re going to give him a chance to get off to a good start, and because of his age he’s a guy who could move quickly depending on how he’s performing,” Rhymes said. “We’ll let his performance dictate it.”

Already, Pilarski has been impressed by how quickly his career has accelerated. He appeared in two Cactus League games in spot appearances with the Dodgers, faced four batters, and struck out three.

“A lot of my friends from college are like ‘dude, what the hell?’” he said.

MINOR MATTERS

Pilarski is one of 14 players who are expected to begin the season in the minor leagues who have had a locker for the first two games of the Freeway Series.

Why are they here?

“It’s a great opportunity for these guys,” Rhymes said. “It’s a nod to their hard work and to the springs they’ve had. It’s just a great experience for them to feel what it’s like to be in a major league stadium, to feel that environment.”

INJURY UPDATES

Pitcher Tony Gonsolin (sprained left ankle) threw a bullpen session, Manager Dave Roberts said. Via pitching coach Mark Prior, Roberts relayed hope that Gonsolin can throw another in the days to come. Gonsolin is on track for a late-April return.

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The timeline isn’t as clear-cut for relief pitcher Daniel Hudson (knee), who remains at the Dodgers’ Camelback Ranch facility in Arizona. He continues to experience discomfort after pitching, Roberts said.

“We didn’t shut him down – we tapered, backed off a little bit, and even when we did that there was that feeling that he wasn’t recovering well,” Roberts said.

Pitcher Jimmy Nelson, who will begin the season on the injured list, is with the team through Opening Day but will return to Arizona afterward, Roberts said.

UP NEXT

Dodgers (RHP Ryan Pepiot) vs. Angels (LHP Reid Detmers) at Angel Stadium, Tuesday, 6 p.m., Bally Sports West, SportsNet LA, 830 AM, 570 AM

Orange County Register

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Jake Pilarski’s rapid ascent caught Dodgers pitcher by surprise

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