Dodgers Top Prospect Flamethrower Poised for Breakout Season After Tommy John Surgery

Los Angeles Dodgers top prospect River Ryan is looking to pick up right where he left off after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Ryan's first season in the big leagues in 2024 was derailed by an elbow injury. He posted a 1.33 ERA with 18 strikeouts across 20.1 innings pitched before undergoing surgery.

The right-hander missed the entire 2025 season, but worked hard to get where he needed to be for camp this spring. Ryan revealed he gained 30 pounds over the offseason, which has helped him throw harder with ease.

“Before I got hurt, I think I was 195 pounds and now I’m hovering around 225. That’s helped a lot,” Ryan said in February. “I just ate a lot of calories and I lifted like an animal. I put on 30 pounds in like five months.

“I’ve always been able to throw pretty hard, but for me right now, I’m able to throw a lot harder a lot easier. Putting on some weight has really helped me in that process.”

The bulk up has seemingly helped Ryan's return as he had an impressive showing this spring as he sported a 1.86 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 9.2 innings. Despite the solid performance in camp, the Dodgers opted to option him to the minor leagues to begin the season.

Dodgers Maintaining Caution with River Ryan's Workload

The Dodgers rotation is currently occupied by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki. The five-man rotation will transition to a six-man rotation with Justin Wrobleski being added to the unit for the team's road trip against the Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays.

The rotation is still missing one of its staples with Blake Snell opening the season on the injured list. The Dodgers have a plethora of talent with their pitching staff and the team knows what it has in Ryan.

However, the Dodgers are being cautious with Ryan's workload as he returns from Tommy John surgery.

“It’s hard, because as a competitor, he wants to go wire-to-wire,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ryan. “He’s put in the work. He looks great. But you look at the history of guys that have had those types of injuries, to think he’s gonna take down 30 starts [in his return this year] is unrealistic … So for us, speaking for the organization, it’s letting him continue to build up and see where that takes us.”

The MLB season is a long and arduous one, which means the Dodgers will use several starters throughout the year. As injuries and other unknowns unfold in 2026, there will likely be an opportunity for Ryan to spend time in the big leagues.

Ryan has joined the Oklahoma City Comets in Las Vegas and is scheduled to make his season debut Saturday night. His performance at Triple-A may also play a role in how early or late he is called up this season.

Ryan is ranked as the Dodgers' No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.