Is Blake Snell the Dodgers’ Best Pitcher Right Now?
Snell's return has been nothing short of exceptional. With more injury concerns now looming, can he keep it going when it matters most?
The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again.
With the Dodgers’ win on Thursday afternoon, they officially clinched the NL West championship for the fifth consecutive year. This marks the Dodgers’ 13th NL West title out of the past 14 years, with their lone second place finish coming in 2021 behind an otherworldly season from the San Francisco Giants.
It has been an interesting season for this Dodgers team. After a scorching hot 56-30 start through June, the Dodgers slumped to a 26-25 record in July and August. Now hunting for the top seed in the National League for the postseason, the Dodgers have bounced back to an 11-5 record in September (as of Thursday).
A major factor in the Dodgers’ volatility this year has been their susceptibility to injury. This year alone, a whopping 27 players have seen time on the Dodgers’ injured list.
The majority of these players have made their way back from the injured list, to varying degrees of success. Of those who have returned to the active roster, one player stands above them all.
Starter Blake Snell has been on a tear since his return from the injured list. While his status moving forward is now in question following his early exit from his September 16 start against the Cincinnati Reds, his run of dominance has been a sight to behold.
Yet, for Snell, the journey to get to this point has been far from a walk in the park.
Stats as of September 17.
Celebrations and Setbacks
Snell came into the 2026 season as arguably the co-ace of the Dodgers’ starting rotation, alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The left-hander had been a pivotal part of the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series run, allowing just two runs over his first 21 innings of work. Snell cooled off significantly in the World Series, allowing 10 earned runs over 13 innings, but he was invaluable to the Dodgers nonetheless.
However, Snell’s heavy usage in October had some untoward downstream effects. Left with minimal recovery time between the end of the season and the beginning of spring training, Snell had difficulty getting ramped back up for the year. As a result, his offseason throwing progression suffered unanticipated delays.
Lingering shoulder fatigue kept Snell off of the mound through early May, missing the first 38 games. Finally, nearly a month and a half into the 2026 season, Snell was set to make his season debut. Unfortunately for Snell and the Dodgers, his return was interrupted almost immediately.
After three innings against the Atlanta Braves on May 9, Snell’s season debut was done. He allowed four earned runs, striking out five batters while allowing six hits and two walks. Unbeknownst to Snell, this would be his last start for over three months.
Snell was scratched from his next scheduled start. Just one day later, he underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. As a result, Snell missed another 78 games, finally making his return in early August. Since then, he seems to have unlocked a new level.
Second-Half Hero
Snell has long been known to elevate his game during the second half of each season. For his career, he has posted a 3.96 ERA in the first half and a 2.31 ERA during the latter half. As good as his career second-half numbers may be, he’s been even better in his return to the mound this year.
Over his last seven starts, Snell has pitched to an incredible 1.01 ERA, recording 47 strikeouts and 14 walks over 35.2 innings. Opponents are batting a measly .164/.254/.205 against him, and he has allowed no more than one run in any start during this span.
With a sample this small, it is difficult to quantify just how effective Snell has been compared to his Dodgers teammates. This is especially true given the run their starting rotation has been on in recent weeks.
Both Yamamoto and the Dodgers’ marquee trade deadline pickup, Tarik Skubal, have been dominant in their own right. Since Snell returned to the rotation on August 11, Yamamoto and Skubal have each posted an ERA under 2.10 over 30+ innings apiece.
Still, Snell’s ERA over the same span clears both of theirs by a full run. Though Skubal narrowly edges out Snell in fWAR (1.8 fWAR vs. 1.7 fWAR), Snell’s success is all the more unprecedented given this is his first sustained stretch of play since the 2025 postseason.
Expanding beyond just the Dodgers, Snell’s metrics stack up well among the league’s best. Among all qualified pitchers over the same span, Snell holds the second-best ERA, third-best FIP, second-best fWAR, and third-best K/9 rate. He is the only qualified pitcher to have yet to surrender a home run over this span.
What’s Been Working?
Since returning from the IL, Snell has demonstrated a number of improvements.
For one, his stuff seems to have jumped in effectiveness. Every one of Snell’s pitches has seen either a marginal or significant jump in induced movement.
In particular, his fastball has gained nearly an inch of both induced vertical break and horizontal break. This pairs incredibly well with his improved curveball, which has gained two inches of depth and over an inch of horizontal movement.
Factoring in his slider and changeup, Snell’s arsenal has looked remarkably effective as a whole. As a result, his two best pitches have played up in a big way. Though the sample is small, Snell’s fastball has allowed just a 5.6% hard-hit percentage. While batters hit .309 and slugged .426 against his heater in 2025, those figures have dropped to .179 and .232 so far this year.
The results on his curveball have been even more effective, as batters are batting and slugging .086 against it. In 37 plate appearances, hitters have recorded just three hits against Snell’s curveball compared to 20 strikeouts. He has yet to allow an extra-base hit with his curveball in 2026.
Beyond Snell’s improved arsenal, he has also located the ball well. A pitcher with Snell’s profile traditionally operates best working around the edges of the strike zone. This allows him to induce whiffs and chase swings, leading to a higher strikeout rate and more frequent weak contact, but also more walks.
Snell has leaned into this philosophy, attacking early while working around the edges later in at-bats. He has thrown fewer balls in the zone overall, improving his chase rate, but has also significantly increased his first-pitch strike percentage.
Room for Concern
Snell’s run of dominance has been impressive, to say the least. But, his most recent start brings a sobering point to the conversation around his performance.
Last year, the Dodgers leaned heavily on Snell at the end of the regular season and the postseason. He did not bounce back gracefully, missing over 100 games in the 2026 season.
This year, the Dodgers hope to lean on Snell heavily once again as they approach October baseball. As such, it is reasonable to air concerns around the volatility of his health, with his most recent start as an example.
Snell left after one inning against the Reds, citing a left groin issue. In years past, Snell has missed anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months battling the same issue.
However, he did frame his decision to exit the game as precautionary, rather than reactive. According to Snell, he felt the area tighten up during his pre-game bullpen, and he felt it was best not to push it. While he still hopes to make his next start, nobody can know for sure what the full impact of this issue will wind up being.
The Dodgers have yet to make any further announcements around the injury. At this time, Snell has not been placed on the injured list either. The first real test will be whether Snell ends up making his next start. Manager Dave Roberts has weighed the idea of delaying it, but any deviation from the norm will have an impact at this stage.
Whether Snell remains healthy through October is anybody’s guess. Regardless, his remarkable performance since coming back from injury is a testament to both his talent and resilience. Hopefully, fans can look forward to Snell making a comeback against the San Diego Padres next week.
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Written by
Ryan Murphy is a contributing writer for Just Baseball and graduate of James Madison University. The former Southern California native is an avid fan of the…