Outfielder Cody Bellinger (2017) and shortstop Corey Seager (2016) were the most recent Dodgers position players to receive the National League Rookie of the Year award. Since the award was initiated in 1947, eighteen Dodgers have been recognized as ROY; ten position players, starting with the first recipient Jackie Robinson (for whom the prestigious award is named), and eight pitchers.

The most die-hard (old) Dodgers fans will remember the last pitcher that came through the team’s minor league pipeline to be named ROY. It wasn’t right-hander Hideo Nomo or right-hander Tim Belcher, neither pitcher came up through the team’s minor league system. Nomo won the1995 award, but he came to the Dodgers after a successful career in Nippon Professional Baseball. Belcher won the award in 1988, but he was acquired from the Oakland A’s on September 3, 1987 as the “player to be named later” to complete the August 29, 1987 trade that sent left-hander Rick Honeycutt to Oakland.

After pitching for the Dodgers Class-A team in Lodi, California in 1979, and San Antonio, Texas in 1980, beloved left-hander Fernando Valenzuela was the 1981 ROY. Forty-five seasons have passed since Fernandomania, but 2026 could be the season when a Dodgers pitcher takes home the coveted Jackie Robinson ROY Award.

Twenty-seven year old River Ryan is starting the season in Triple-A Oklahoma City as he finishes his rehabilitation from his August 2024 Tommy John surgery. Nevertheless, Ryan has demonstrated the talent and ability to be an effective starting pitcher, he only needs the opportunity.

MLB can be a fickle mistress to players who are trying to find their way into a tough and unforgiving business. Twenty-four-year-old Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki’s lack of pitch command may give Ryan his opportunity sooner rather than later.

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