Everything looked shiny on the West Coast when the Dodgers won a 20-team sweepstakes to sign a 23-year-old phenom with a 2.10 ERA across four seasons and a 102-mph fastball. But the hype quickly faded when his velocity dipped and a shoulder injury then sidelined him for two long months just after eight starts with a 4.72 ERA. His highly anticipated return to the mound on a rehab assignment only raised more questions as he posted a 7.07 ERA, giving up 11 runs in just 14 innings in his last 4 outings, with a velocity around 93-96 mph.

So, when manager Dave Roberts said, “like I said a couple weeks ago, we’ve got to go with our best guys…this is the time, right now…again, Roki has gone through a lot this year. And he still has a ton of talent. We just want to see more,” after that stretch,

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