It’s not hard to argue that the Dodgers have the best rotation in the Major Leagues entering 2026. With a rotation of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers are, frankly, stacked when it comes to their starting staff. But as Los Angeles has been reminded seemingly so often in recent years, stuff happens.
In 2025, Snell, Glasnow and Sasaki all required long stints on the injured list. Ohtani didn’t make his pitching debut until mid-June and needed plenty of time to stretch out. Seventeen pitchers started at least one game for L.A. during the regular season, tied for the third most of any club.
But if injuries or ineffectiveness befall any of the Dodgers’ starters in 2026, the back-to-back World Series champions are well insured. Three young right-handers -- Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone and River Ryan -- form L.A.’s first line of defense behind its elite starting rotation, and the trio could play a major role as the Dodgers seek MLB’s first “three-peat” since the 1998-2000 Yankees.
Sheehan excelled in a similar role in 2025, while Ryan and Stone each missed the entire season while recovering from significant injuries. Here’s what to expect from each of the three in what could be a crucial 2026.
Emmet Sheehan
Sheehan’s return from May 2024 Tommy John surgery couldn’t have gone much better. The right-hander made his 2025 debut in mid-June and from there held down a key spot on the roster. Sheehan started 12 games and worked as a bulk reliever in his other three appearances. He hit his stride from late August on, finishing the regular season with a 2.82 ERA and 89 strikeouts in just 73 1/3 innings of work before pitching out of the bullpen during the postseason.
The 26-year-old first flashed his stuff at the MLB level with an electric debut, no-hitting the Giants for six innings on June 16, 2023, in his first taste of the Major Leagues. But after finishing the year with a 4.92 ERA, he started 2024 on the injured list with right forearm inflammation before undergoing Tommy John. A little more than a year after the surgery, he was able to return to the mound.
Along with his impressive 30.6% strikeout rate, Sheehan shined in 2025 in many Statcast categories, including expected ERA (3.00), expected batting average (.206), chase rate (32.8%, in the 91st percentile of MLB pitchers) and whiff rate (32.9%, in the 93rd percentile). A slider primarily thrown to right-handed batters and a changeup mostly thrown to lefties each had impressive results. Fully built up as a starter, Sheehan figures to be the Dodgers’ top option outside their principal five-man rotation.
Gavin Stone
After undergoing major shoulder surgery in October 2024, Stone is in the midst of a regular offseason and should be ready to go in 2026. That’s big news for the Dodgers: As a rookie, Stone was a major part of the club’s 2024 rotation, pitching to a 3.53 ERA in 25 starts with 116 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings. He held down a spot on the starting staff from Opening Day until Aug. 31, when Stone made his final start before being placed on the IL with right shoulder inflammation.
Stone’s surgery knocked him out of action for more than a year, so some struggles might be expected as he gets back in the swing of things. But the right-hander has already proven himself as a mid-to-late-rotation arm, rating out as average or better in nearly all of Statcast’s principal metrics. His 20% strikeout rate was one of the few exceptions, but Stone limited walks, didn’t allow much hard contact and prompted batters to chase outside the strike zone at a 31.1% clip (77th percentile).
The 27-year-old features a seven-pitch arsenal, highlighted by a changeup he actually threw more (26.7% usage rate) in 2024 than his four-seam fastball (25.7%). Stone held hitters to a .178 batting average against his changeup, his best swing-and-miss offering (37.2% whiff rate). His slider, his curveball and his sparingly used sweeper were his other top pitches. With plenty of weapons with which to get outs, Stone found success as an MLB starter as a rookie and could reprise that role if needed.
River Ryan
Entering 2025 as the Dodgers’ No. 9 prospect, Ryan rates as the best right-handed pitching prospect in Los Angeles’ top-ranked farm system. He showed why during a four-start introduction to the Majors in 2024, allowing just three earned runs in 20 1/3 innings (1.33 ERA) with 18 strikeouts. His best outing came July 28 in Houston: Ryan struck out eight Astros in 5 2/3 innings, allowing just two hits and one run and picking up his first MLB win.
But Ryan left his final outing early with right forearm tightness and needed Tommy John surgery in August 2024, sidelining him for the rest of the season and for all of 2025. Ryan is expected to be ready for Spring Training 2026, giving him a chance to build up as a starter and shake off rust ahead of a potential return to the Dodgers. He’ll need to stay healthy and prove he can handle a Major League workload over a larger sample, but Ryan has plenty of ability.
The 27-year-old showed off a six-pitch repertoire -- featuring a four-seamer, slider, curveball, sinker, changeup and cutter -- in the Majors in 2024. He excelled at limiting hard contact, holding opposing hitters to an average exit velocity of 84.3 mph (the lowest qualifying mark in MLB in 2025 was 84.8 mph) and an impressive 27.8% hard-hit rate. If he can even approximate his debut-season production in 2026, he’ll gladly be welcomed back into the fold, no matter his role.