It was one of those little things that occurred during FanFest 2016 – one of those things that generally goes unnoticed and rarely makes it to print. But in this case, it is something worthy of mention because it could very well come into play at some point during the 2016 season. It was a very brief interaction with Dodgers right-handed pitching prospect Ross Stripling and it went like this:

RC: “Hi Ross, my name is Ron Cervenka. I run a Dodgers blog site called ThinkBlueLA.com”

RS: “Hi Ron, pleased to meet you.”

RC: “So how’s your arm feeling [after returning from Tommy John surgery on March 5, 2014]?

RS: “It feels great! No problems at all.”

RC: “So youre ready to go?”

RS: “I’m 100 percent and ready to go.“

Boom. That’s it. Interview over. No lingering unanswered questions. Short, sweet and to the point.

But was Stripling being truthful or was this just your typical pre-spring training “I’m in the best shape of my life” hype? Truth be told, we won’t know for sure until after pitchers and catcher report to Camelback Ranch on February 19. But if you’re interested in my take on it, there wasn’t a more sincere person at 1000 Vin Scully Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (aka: Dodger Stadium) on Saturday.

The Dodgers thought highly enough of Stripling to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft this winter.
(Photo credit – Rich Crimi)

As many Dodger fans know, Stripling was on the very cusp of making it to the big leagues and, in fact, had a legitimate shot at making the Dodgers 2014 Opening Day starting rotation. That was until he felt something in his right elbow that caused him to be shut down after appearing in only one spring training game in which he allowed one run on five hits with one strikeout in a grand total of two innings pitched – this from a guy who was selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Texas A&M. In other words, there was zero doubt that there was something seriously wrong with the (then) 24-year-old Bluebell, Pennsylvania native.

Only days after reporting for spring training 2014, Stripling was shut down and underwent Tommy John surgery. He now says he’s “one hundred percent and ready to go.” (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Like most Tommy John surgery recipients, Stripling couldn’t wait to get back, knowing full well that his very baseball future was hanging in the balance. After what undoubtedly seemed like an eternity, Stripling returned to the mound on June 14, 2015 with the Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons – exactly 15 months and nine days after his surgery. In that game Stripling allowed no runs, one hit and two walks while striking out four in four innings of work and, as expected, was promoted to Double-A Tulsa two days later.

Stripling made 13 starts for the Drillers posting a 3-6 record and 3.88 ERA. In those 13 starts – which included a rain-shortened six-inning complete game win on August 14 – Stripling walked 19 while striking out 55 for a 2.89 K/BB ratio in a total of 67.1 innings pitched. Including his one start in Midland, Stripling finished the 2015 season with an impressive 1.16 WHIP.

On November 20, 2015, the Dodgers showed that they still have tremendous faith in the now 26-year-old right-hander when they added him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the December 10 Rule-5 Draft. Was this the right move? Here again, we won’t know for sure until the spring training dust settles. And though Stripling is a long shot to break camp on the Dodgers Opening Day roster, I wouldn’t bet against him making it to Dodger Stadium at some point during the 2016 campaign. In fact, I’m willing to bet he will.

How’s that for short, sweet and to the point?