RADIO
Hyun-Jin Ryu enjoyed two successful seasons after coming over to the Dodgers from Korea. A shoulder injury that the Dodgers were apparently aware of prior to signing him led to surgery which kept him from pitching during the 2015 season. The hope is that Ryu will come back pain-free for this upcoming season and re-establish himself as a solid second starter. After posting a 3.00 ERA in 2013 in 192 IP, Ryu pitched to a 3.38 ERA in 2014, but a much more impressive 2.62 FIP.
Historically, shoulder surgery is one of the toughest injuries to return from, but Ryu has the track record to do so. He has proven that he can be a front end of the rotation starter if healthy. While he gives up enough hits to cancel out any talks of him being “dominant,” his strikeout rate did increase to 8.2/9 in 2014, up from 7.2/9 in 2013. All signs point to a solid stat line in 2016 as long as Ryu can maintain his health. If he can manage to pitch a full season, he will have numbers comparable to pitchers 10-15 spots ahead of him.
