With his strong outing on Tuesday evening against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and with (possibly) four more starts before the end of the regular season, 26-year-old Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling has put himself in an excellent position to be included on the Dodgers playoff roster – if / when the Dodgers clinch a playoff berth, that is.

Even though Stripling allowed only two runs on three hits while walking none and striking out five, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him after only five innings and 66 pitches on Tuesday, causing some to speculate that perhaps the Bluebell, Pennsylvanian native may have suffered an injury. Thankfully, this was not the case.

“I didn’t want him pushing it,” Roberts said after the game. “I saw his velocity dip down in the fourth. It was more the crispness of the pitches.”

But Stripling himself didn’t notice a velocity dip, and with good cause.

“I heard my velocity was down,” Stripling said. “That’s not something I look at when I’m throwing. Maybe a weird day.”

But regardless, the extremely polite right-hander understands that Roberts and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt have his and the team’s best interest in mind on such decisions.

“I’m happy to get through five when you’re not working with your normal stuff,” said Stripling. “I know I’m probably approaching some version of an innings limit that I had before the year, similar to what Julio (Urias) is doing. That could have had something to do with it.”

Stripling continues to prove that he belongs on the Dodgers postseason roster if/when they clinch a playoff berth. (Photo courtesy of @SportsNetLA)

Then again, there could be something else to do with it, say… like… saving his bullets for the postseason.

Although it is taboo to even discuss the playoffs with players when there are still 24 games left to play – including six head-to-head games with the second place San Francisco Giants – you can bet that the Dodgers’ brain trust are already mapping out a game plan, including a potential playoff roster. And though four starters are generally not needed for the short best-of-five Division Series (assuming that the Dodgers win the Division and do not have to use ace Clayton Kershaw in a one-game Wild Card playoff), Stripling’s experience as both a starter and long reliever might come into play if Kershaw, Rich Hill or Kenta Maeda run into trouble in the first round.

Granted, the Dodgers could insert Julio Urias in this same role for the Division Series, but in all likelihood they may be looking to use the 20-year-old rookie left-hander as their possible number four starter should the Dodgers advance to the (seemingly) ever-elusive National League Championship Series and, of course, to the World Series.

While all of this is nothing more than pure speculation and heaven knows things can change in a heartbeat, there is every reason to believe that right-handers Bud Norris and Brandon McCarthy, and left-hander Brett Anderson are probably out of the postseason equation. And though extreme long shots anyway it’s also probably safe to say that Brock Stewart and Jose De Leon won’t make the playoff roster either. That being said, it’s reassuring to know that the Dodgers have these two options available to them should the unthinkable happen.

But all of that aside – for now, at least – it’s a pretty safe bet that you will find Ross Stripling’s name on the Dodgers 25-man playoff roster on October 7.

Play Ball!