Up until this season, the career of Dodger pitcher Chris Withrow had stalled to the point that many questioned whether he would ever amount to anything as a major league pitcher. Drafted 20th overall in the first round by Logan White in the 2007 First Year Player Draft, his live arm was coveted and considered to have top tier starter potential.

On the night he was drafted, White raved about his first round pick: “I’m excited. We got a tall, rangy athletic kid with outstanding mechanics and his arm action is as good as I’ve seen. He’s a player with a very high ceiling, a front line starter that we just need to develop in the right way.”

Comparisons were made to John Smoltz. There was talk of bloodlines as Withrow’s father, his high school pitching coach, had pitched in the minors for the White Sox organization.

When you are being compared to John Smoltz, you definitely have something going for you.
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Five years later, Withrow’s career was at a standstill, as he had continuous problems with control. His career stalled for three years as he hit a few bumps in the road in his early development.

As an 18 year old, the Dodgers took a cautious route and limited him to 9 innings following a long high school season in which he had pitched a lot of innings. In year two of development, Withrow broke his leg which kept him from really starting out his professional career until his third year of development at age 20.

Even though he was toiling in the pitching rich Southern League at AA Chattanooga, his career stalled as he couldn’t seem to shake control problems as a starter. The setbacks with injury in his second year put him at a disadvantage as he appeared a bit over-matched at times with experienced second and third year players at AA ball. As a number one pick, his ascendancy in the organization was expected, and that had to put additional pressure on him as he watched pitchers in the organization that were drafted after him (or lower on the depth chart), move up on the organizational chart, (Eovaldi, De La Rosa, Lindblom come to mind).

At Chattanooga he had a couple of lackluster seasons. In 2010 he was 4-9 with a 5.97 ERA in 27 starts and in 2011, 6-6, 4.20 ERA, 24 starts. Withrow welcomed a move into the bullpen the next year to shift the focus of the direction his career would move. It looks like it may have been a change that was long overdue. His command and control improved and he finished the season in the bullpen posting a 3.25 ERA in 25 innings of relief last year.

Before the 2013 season started, setbacks returned. Withrow and his wife were in an auto accident where their vehicle was struck at 70 MPH that sent them into a roll over accident. Miraculously, they survived unscathed, aside from some shattered nerves and bruised ribs. The accident kept Chris from participating in the Puerto Rican Winter League. As Spring Training started, a bulging disk in his back shut him down again. An epidural injection followed.

“I wanted to come in and make a positive impression on everybody especially going from starter to relief,” he told Baseball America’s Kevin Baxter at the tail end of Spring Training, “now my goal is just to get healthy for the season.” He started the year in AAA Albuquerque and he got healthy. It showed in his performance.

In 24 games of action with the Isotopes, Withrow struck out 32 batters in 25 innings, going 4-1 with a 1.78 ERA. Those stellar numbers have continued with the Dodgers now in over 14 innings of work. He has 18 strikeouts, 6 walks and a 2.51 ERA.

Withrow made his MLB debut on June 12, 2013 and promptly struck out Arizona Diamondbacks centerfielder A.J. Pollock looking. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The transformation with the right-handed fireballer has been amazing. The fact that the Dodgers have faith in Chris to enter a 1-0 game with one out and the bases loaded is amazing. It’s something that they would have never have considered 14 months ago, when Withrow couldn’t find the strike zone.

‘WhiffThrow’ (as he has been affectionately nicknamed by fans) occasionally hovers around the century mark with his fastball but seems to have better control when he backs off just a bit. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But find the strike zone he does now, retiring hitters with an assortment of 96+ MPH fastballs, 86 MPH sliders and off speed stuff that kept hitters off balance. Withrow’s arsenal is nasty and he has found his niche as a relief pitcher at the Major League level. Chris Withrow is another piece of the puzzle this season that has admirably filled his role in the bullpen. If they needed innings, he provided them. If there was a crucial situation where they needed a punch out, he complied. If you really think about it, the transformation in the last year for him is quite amazing.