Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Where my cat lovers at? Tony Gonsolin, the “Cat Man,” is becoming famous for much more than his feline appreciation. Simply put, the guy has been the best pitching story in baseball in 2022, and in fact is off to one of the best starts in Dodger history. A better start than Walker Buehler ever had. Better than Julio Urias. Better than Clayton Kershaw. Hell, better than Sandy Koufax.
It sounds unreal, but it’s true. Sarah Langs, MLB stat maven tweeted it out after last night’s 6.1 innings of shutout ball against the Angels.
“It feels good,” Gonsolin said when told he’s the first NL pitcher to eight wins this season. “I know I’ve struggled in years past to go deeper into games and even qualify for a win, so it feels good knowing that I’m getting deeper into games and giving us a chance to win.”
Gonsolin credits Kershaw for change in pitching philosophy
So why is Gonsolin so good in 2022? According to him, it’s because he pays attention in the dugout. And of course, when it comes to picking other pitcher’s brains for ideas, there is no better source than three-time Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw.
“I’ve just been trying to get some early contact,” Gonsolin said recently. “Talked with Kersh a lot about how to go deeper into games, what works and what doesn’t work, and trying to figure out a way that works for me. Mainly just being able to throw off-speed stuff for strikes and throwing a lot of strikes,” Gonsolin said of takeaways from conversations with Kershaw. “Not throwing non-competitive pitches, figuring out what pitch works for me to get weak contact early in counts.”
In addition, Goose has been working deep into ballgames. Where once he was piggybacking with Tyler Anderson early in the season, he is now working well into the sixth or seventh inning. Last night, he took his shutout into the seventh on just 86 pitches. And it seemed like he had plenty left in the tank when Dave Roberts lifted him in favor of Caleb Ferguson to finish the inning.
All Star game starter?
There’s a lot of politics that goes into who gets to start the All Star game, but Gonsolin has made a case that he deserves that spot. He is first in MLB in wins (8), first in ERA (1.42), first in average against (.147) and second in WHIP (0.82), trailing only Justin Verlander in that last category.
Is all this sustainable? Who knows? But for now, if you ask me who I want to pitch in a game that the Dodgers absolutely, positively have to win. Right now, I’m giving the ball to Tony Gonsolin.
Who’da thunk it?
