Hunter Dobbins appears to have earned a permanent place in the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting rotation after the club traded right-hander Dustin May to the Milwaukee Brewers before Monday’s MLB Trade Deadline. The 26-year-old now joins Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy, and Andre Pallante as part of the Cardinals’ rotation.
The opportunity comes after Dobbins spent much of the season moving between the majors and the minors. Whenever he was called up, he filled whatever role the team needed, whether it was making a spot start or serving as a bulk reliever out of the bullpen. Despite the uncertainty, he posted a solid 3.74 ERA across seven appearances.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol praised Dobbins for embracing every assignment.
“We have asked him to do some different things, and he has handled all of it well,” Marmol said.
Dobbins has never taken his role for granted and remains focused on proving he belongs.
“I’m a young guy. I haven’t earned the right to stay up here,” the 26-year-old said. “I just try to stay ready when they do call me. I want to be available and want to perform for the guys here. I’m getting closer and closer with the guys in this locker room. I’m looking to try to stay up here to keep rolling for these guys.”
Just one day after May’s departure, Dobbins got the start against the New York Yankees and turned in his longest outing of the season despite the Cardinals falling 2-0 at Yankee Stadium. He worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four.
Dobbins effectively commanded his fastball throughout the game, taking advantage of an aggressive Yankees lineup to generate quick outs while handling a lineup loaded with left-handed hitters.
“Hunter Dobbins was really good against us tonight, staying unpredictable and changing speeds,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.
The only damage against Dobbins came on two solo home runs. Jazz Chisholm Jr. connected in the second inning before Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. hit his first Major League home run during his debut in the fifth.
“The first at-bat [against Dobbins], he started out with some hard stuff and then tried to spin me away,” Lombard said. “I missed my pitches early in the at-bat, but had seen him well and knew there was a good chance he was going to come with spin away. Just left it a little bit up.”
Dobbins credited both hitters for taking advantage of quality swings rather than dwelling on the results.
“I’m not overly upset about the locations. They made two great swings – Jazz hitting that curveball. It was where I wanted to go with it [during] that count,” Dobbins said.
“Then Lombard made a great swing on a sweeper. … A hitter of his caliber, you make a mistake, he is going to hit it, whether it is his debut or not. He is the [Yankees’] No. 1 prospect for a reason. He took a big swing. Congrats to him on his first knock. I just have to clean that up a little bit.”
One of Dobbins’ most impressive moments came in the fourth inning when the Yankees put runners on first and second with nobody out. He escaped the jam without allowing a run, ending the threat by striking out Chisholm.
“It was good, especially in this environment. Any time you can limit damage by keeping them stranded, that’s key,” Marmol said.
With May gone, Dobbins is expected to take the ball every fifth day. Still, he isn’t treating the opportunity as guaranteed.
“It feels good. But at the end of the day, you have to go out there and perform,” Dobbins said. “If I get complacent and try to sit back and enjoy it, this game can turn on you quickly. Just go get better every day. Treat every start like you are trying to earn your way to stay here.”