Cody Snavely
LOS ANGELES— Entering the 2025 Major League Baseball season, one of the most significant question marks for the Los Angeles Dodgers was how right-handed pitcher Dustin May would look.
Upon reporting to camp in Glendale, Arizona, it was Dustin May’s first regular spring training since the 2023 season. However, nothing was guaranteed for the red-headed righty.
It had been nearly two seasons since May last appeared on a Major League mound, with his last appearance taking place in May 2023 before he was placed on the injured list and underwent his second career Tommy John surgery.
After he rehabs from elbow surgery, May was gearing up to return to the Dodgers pitching staff for the second half of the 2024 regular season, but that was halted due to a life-threatening esophagus accident due to a piece of lettuce that got lodged in his throat, nearly costing May his life.
The story is well known in Major League Baseball, especially around the Dodgers, who have been supporting and following May on his journey back to the mound since.
May, 27, had shown flashes throughout his career of elite arm talent that could be an anchor in the Dodgers’ starting rotation; however, injuries have derailed his career.
The COVID-19 60-game shortened regular season was Dustin May’s career high in innings at fifty-six and the righty. From the 2021 season until 2023, May would only make twenty starts and just over one hundred innings pitched, missing most of the 21′ and 22′ seasons, recovering from his first career elbow surgery.
Despite that missed time, May showcased some elite numbers, including a 3.24 ERA, 132 ERA+, and an 8.7 K/9, along with some fast velocity, but the injuries would force May to rethink his pitching philosophy.
Throughout spring training, Dustin May and fellow right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow expressed their desire to pitch a healthy season after both were cursed with injuries over the last several seasons.
Glasnow, in particular, stated this offseason was the most he had thought of his mechanics and trying to adjust his arm, recovery, and conditioning.
“It just seems like I can use a lot less effort and get the same stuff,” Glasnow said last month. “I think it’s the least I’ve thought mechanically in a long time,” continued Glasnow. “I feel athletic and free and good.”
Overall, Dustin May also incorporated this method this season, relying less on velocity and more on becoming a pitcher.
After a back injury to right-handed pitcher Tony Gonsolin and a dominant spring with a 3.60 ERA in ten innings pitched, Dustin May was rewarded the fifth spot in the Dodgers Opening Day rotation.
Fast-forward to today, after three starts in the regular season, and we’re seeing the hard work pay off for Dustin May, who is arguably one of the best starters in Major League Baseball so far.
With yesterday’s performance of six innings of one-run ball, Dustin May picked up not only his first win of the 2024 season but his first win since May of 2023.
Overall, May is 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in 17.0 innings pitched this season and ranks in the 97th percentile in Pitching Run Value, 89th in Fastball Run Value, and 99th in Breaking Run Value.
Early-season success is nothing new for May, as his next step is to not only shatter his career-high inning and start to talk but also help the Dodgers throughout the regular season and contribute in October.
However, what’s most important now is that May is healthy, and the righty hopes to continue the trend and requite his injury-plagued narrative.
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