Dodgers: Michael Grove Happy to Fill a Role and Learn on the Job
Dodgers pitcher Michael Grove isn't the most highly touted pitching prospect in the organization, but he has one thing guys like Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone don't have: He's on the 40-man roster.
Because of that, Grove has been one of the pitchers Los Angeles has turned to this season when they need someone to fill a hole in the starting rotation or they want to go with a sixth starter to give everyone an extra day of rest.
Grove has pitched pretty well in that role, posting a 3.09 ERA in five starts, averaging nearly five innings each time out.
Grove sat down with insider David Vassegh on Dodger Talk recently, talking about his experience as a rookie being surrounded by the great talent on the Dodgers pitching staff.
"I'm just trying to do my job. I'm the sixth starter and I'm just trying to give the team as many innings as I can. Really, that's my goal, to try and get five or six innings every game and really just give these guys a blow any way I can with the season winding down."
One of the cool parts of Grove's role is being surrounded by some of the best pitchers in baseball. Vassegh asked Grove how much he's trying to soak up from those guys.
"A lot. I try to just listen and hear the conversations that these guys have and the pitching staff and all these things these guys talk about are just a little bit different. And it's cool to take it all in and try to apply it the best I can to what I do. There's so much talent here and it's such a great organization and you can pick up plenty if you just listen. ... Any time you can listen to guys who have won Cy Young awards — and we have several on this staff, which is amazing. Even the guys who are hurt. Like, Walker (Buehler) is walking around and you can just pick his brain. It's a great experience for me and it would be great for any young pitcher as well. I definitely appreciate it."
Grove will probably get at least one more start this season, and while he's not really under consideration for a postseason role, the lessons he's learned in his rookie season are bound to help him going forward.
