Jerming Rosario Defies Odds: Wins AFL Pitcher of the Week Despite Not…

Jerming Rosario was not added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster on Tuesday, which will expose the right-hander for the Rule 5 Draft. But Rosario was named pitcher of the week for the final week of the Arizona Fall League.

Left-hander Jack Dreyer was the only player added to the Dodgers’ roster on Tuesday, as many of the no-doubt additions already joined the 40-man roster over the final three months of the regular season.

Rosario started the season in High-A Great Lakes and ended in Triple-A Oklahoma City, putting up a 4.47 ERA in 27 games, including 23 starts. The right-hander in his 108⅔ innings had a high walk rate (15.3 percent) and struck out 25.2 percent of batters faced.

He finished things up in the Arizona Fall League, where he put up 4.50 ERA in 16 innings and struck out 35.3 percent of his batters faced in the desert. In his final appearance, on November 13 against Mesa, Rosario struck out seven of his 10 batters faced in three scoreless innings. He retired his first eight batters in that appearance, which earned him player of the week honors in the AFL.

Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com on Monday tabbed Rosario as the Dodgers’ toughest decision in Rule 5 protecting, noting that the right-hander “works with a 92-97 mph fastball and a low-80s slider.”

The Dodgers signed Rosario out of the Dominican Republic in 2018, and he turns 23 in May. That youth makes him an intriguing prospect, with time to still grow. But considering he’s been a starter his whole career and has only pitched once in Triple-A, it’s hard to imagine him sticking on a major league active roster all season, which is required of players taken in the Rule 5 Draft.

Even if some team drafts Rosario on December 11, there’s a good chance he would get sent back to the Dodgers eventually next year, like Gus Varland in 2023.

For what it’s worth, J.J. Cooper and Geoff Pontes listed 12 players in their initial Rule 5 Draft preview at Baseball America, and will eventually add more — Cooper guessed there will be 75 or more names once the list is complete over the next few weeks. But for now, Rosario isn’t on the list of a dozen. A pair of Dodgers are listed — outfielders Ryan Ward and Damon Keith.