1 critical stat raises Dodgers concern over Tony Gonsolin

Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin came off the mound after five innings against the Astros with his velocity down near a recent career low.

In his first nine starts for the Dodgers this year, Tony Gonsolin managed an ERA of 1.93. Something has changed in his last two starts, and it should have LA on high alert.

On Sunday, Gonsolin left the mound after five innings and just 61 pitches. He allowed four earned runs and gave up two home runs as the Dodgers fell to the Astros in extra innings.

It wasn’t a terrible outing, certainly not compared to June 18 when he had a disastrous showing against the Giants, giving up seven earned runs in 5.2 innings. However, it was certainly a continuation of a concerning trend.

As Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic pointed out, Gonsolin’s average fastball velocity was down to 91.4 mph, the second lowest mark of his career.

Tony Gonsolin’s velocity remains down as concern rises

All four of Gonsolin’s June appearances have seen his average fastball velocity sit below 92 mph.

Gonsolin’s overall velocity has been down all season but he’d picked things up in May with the fastball flying out of his hand more consistently. He averaged 93.6 mph against the Padres on May 14, 92.9 mph against the Cardinals on May 19 and 93.2 mph against the Braves on May 24. Since then, his velo has dipped, even while putting in a few excellent performances.

The Dodgers don’t need to hit the panic button on Gonsolin just yet, but his best performance of the year came on June 13 on extra rest and his fastball velocity hit a career low. The next start he gave up seven runs. Now he’s gone back-to-back with worrying starts.

Considering his low pitch count on Sunday, injury is always a possibility, but it doesn’t look like that was the story against Houston. Ardaya noted that Gonsolin didn’t speak to trainers after coming off the mound.

With other injuries straining the pitching staff, LA can ill afford Gonsolin being injured or in a slump. Nor can they sustain such heavy use of the bullpen forever.