March 2nd, 2020 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There is so very much to like about the 2020 Dodgers through their first two weeks of Spring Training. Chief among them, of course, is the addition of four-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, three-time Silver Slugger, 2018 AL MVP, former MLB Player of the Year and 2018 World Series champion Mookie Betts to an already World Series-caliber roster.
And then there’s a 100 percent healthy Clayton Kershaw, a 100 percent healthy Corey Seager, and a plethora of minor leaguers who will begin the 2020 season at Triple-A Oklahoma City with a minor league team that could rival most major league teams.
And then there’s Kenley Jansen.
As every Dodger fan knows, the 32-year-old Willemstad, Curacao native and three-time All-Star Dodgers closer is coming off the worst of his 10 major league seasons in 2019. As every Dodger fan also knows, his bread and butter money pitch was his cut fastball, or cutter, as it is commonly called.
Was.
Beginning late last season and thus far this Spring, Jansen has been working on – and perfecting – a mid-90s two-seam fastball and an absolutely filthy slider. How has the 6′-5″ / 265-pound ‘Big Man’ (as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts often refers to him as) done thus far?
Glad you asked.
In his 3.0 innings pitched thus far this Spring, Jansen has faced a grand total of nine batters and has retired all of them, six via strikeout.
Perfect indeed.
“You gotta keep working, man, keep grinding, get better every day,” Jansen said, after his perfect inning of work on Sunday. “I feel a little bit… not that great on the mound, but that’s just Spring. You have to use your head and use your secondary pitches and just get better.
“My timing was a little off, just gonna watch some tape tomorrow and figure out things, and continue to get better,” he added.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
Now granted, three innings pitched through 10 Spring Training games is a ridiculously small sample size. But you’ve got to admit, what we have seen thus far from the Dodgers soft-spoken gentle giant closer has been far beyond what most of us expected.
Perfectly so.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
He certainly does look great.
You’re right small sample size, but it’s almost time to sing praises for Driveline Baseball, the common denominator for Kershaw and Jansen training this offseason.
It’s huge if these two guys earn their salaries. I know, understatement.
Small sample size caveats apply of course, but this is much more encouraging than the opposite would have been (3ip 14.5 ERA or what not). He’s a very large human, so it’s been great to hear his emphasis was on mechanics with Driveline. The bullpen has a chance to be the most improved part of the team. Graterol sounds like a monster on the rise. I think Ferguson will benefit from strictly being a reliever. Kelly and Treinen are probably due for positive regression. Baez lulls ’emsleep then blows ’em away. Let’s Go Dodgers!
Beyond the numbers:
The swagger is back, big time! He looks totally confident in every pitch he throws.
That “victory lap” after a K is not “Wow, I did it!”, it’s “Yeah, I did it.”
Welcome back, Kenley.