Cardinals' rehabbing righty registers solid start in return from injury

The St. Louis Cardinals have made it a time through their starting rotation and the results have been solid, if unspectacular. The initial five that currently make up the rotation are the ones most of us expected the team to break camp with, but that was not without conversation about a potential competition for later in the season. Beyond spring darling Richard Fitts, the Cardinals have plenty of options looking to make their move up the ladder to the majors.

Hunter Dobbins looked sharp in his first rehab start with Memphis.

Kicking off the winter, Chaim Bloom began his organizational revamp by dealing away veterans for cost-controlled, solid young arms. In the Sonny Gray trade, the Cardinals received Fitts and in Bloom's second call with the Red Sox, he was able to grab Hunter Dobbins as part of the return for Willson Contreras. Dobbins was rehabbing from an ACL tear at the time of the deal, but his small major league sample size was intriguing enough to view him as a depth piece for the future rotation.

Now healthy from the knee tear that happened fielding his position, Dobbins is in Memphis working in the rotation. There was some conversation about him starting as a reliever for him to build back up, but I agree that the best way to handle Dobbins would be to stay consistent as a rotation option. After being prevented from fielding during spring, Dobbins is now back on the mound in game situations and figures to be a main part of the Memphis rotation before finding his way to St. Louis this season one way or another.

His regular season debut went about as well as it could have for game one. Announced as being on a rehab assignment, Dobbins has 30 days to show his health, but also wait for an opening on the major league roster. The 26-year-old righty flashed some big fastballs in his five inning outing that ended with him striking out three and only allowed three hits. Unfortunately, one of those three hits was a homer to former Cardinal Jose Barrero. All of the runs were scored in the third inning before Dobbins recorded an out. Dobbins walked two in his start, but the command has been something he has been working on throughout his career. He bounced back well from the third inning, though, retiring the side in order each of the next two innings with some help from a strike him out throw him out double play to end his fifth and final frame. Memphis was able to hang on for the victory, giving Dobbins a win in his return to the mound.

The Cardinals opted against optioning Dobbins and chose the rehab assignment path because it, for now, saves one of his two remaining option years. After his 30 days are up, the Cardinals will then have to make the decision to either activate him from the injured list and onto the major league roster, or keep him in Memphis and use one of those options. The pitching staff could make the decision for St. Louis easy in a month, but it could also be healthy and productive, leaving Bloom with no choice but to keep Dobbins stretched out in Memphis. The next 30 days in Memphis could create a pecking order of sorts for a "next man up" if something were to happen at the major league level.