When the Dodgers signed 30-year-old free agent right-hander Joe Kelly on December 21, 2018, it received a great deal of attention from Dodger fans everywhere, and understandably so. I mean, who can forget how the Southern California native (Anaheim) and 2009 third-round draft pick (by the St. Louis Cardinals out of UC Riverside) completely dominated their beloved team during the 2018 World Series when he allow no runs on four hits, while walking none and striking out 10 of the 22 total batters he face in his 6.0 innings pitched while a member of the 2018 World Series-champion Boston Red Sox?

But five days later, on December 26, 2018, the Dodgers made another pitching acquisition, one that received very little attention from Dodger fans – that of yet another Southern California native (La Verne) when they acquired just-turned 26-year-old (on December 31) left-hander Adam McCreery from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations.

It is certainly understandable how Dodgers fans might have missed the McCreery acquisition; he had a grand total of exactly one inning pitched at the major league level while with the Braves, which came during a game against the Washington Nationals on August 9, 2018 at Nationals Park.

It did not go well.

In his one (and only) major league inning pitched, the extremely polite 6′-9″ / 250-pound (that’s not a typo) left-hander faced seven batters, allowing two runs on four hits, while walking none and striking out two. And while McCreery did not figure in the decision in the eventual 6-3 Braves loss, he comes to the Dodgers with an unattractive 18.00 ERA … albeit after making only 30 pitches at the major league level, of which 19 were strikes.

McCreery was on-hand at the third annual Daniel Robertson Family Foundation FanFest event in Upland, California this past Sunday, where he told ThinkBlueLA that he is absolutely stoked to be a Dodger.

“Man, it’s great to be home,” McCreery said. “And to play for the team that I grew up watching? I am so excited!”

What is it that the Dodgers saw in McCreery that sparked their interest enough for them to designate switch-pitcher Pat Venditte for assignment to create a spot on the Dodgers 40-man roster for him, you ask?

Prior to making his MLB debut with the Braves on August 9, McCreery split time between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett, where he posted a combined 2-5 record with a 3.62 ERA over his 54.2 innings pitched. During that time, he struck out 71 while walking 37 for a K/BB ratio of 1.92. And while these are not even remotely close to Randy Johnson-esque numbers, they certainly justify giving McCreery a close look by the reliever-hungry Dodgers when pitchers and catcher report for spring training in six short weeks.

Asked if being back home in Southern California where he now has the luxury to grab a double-double from In-N-Out Burger pretty much at will, the gentle giant said: “I’m from here, I grew up on In-N-Out. I know what they’re all about.”

Welcome home, Adam.

Play Ball!

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UPDATE:

Shortly after posting this article, I received this graph of Adam McCreery’s pitch quality from @qopbaseball (via Twitter). This most definitely explains what the Dodgers saw in him and further adds to his likeness of Randy Johnson: