SEMO alum Dylan Dodd completes underdog journey to Braves rotation

As Spring Training comes to a close, this is the time of the year when dreams are about to be made for players who entered camp with long shots but high hopes.

Spring Training is the greatest preseason in sports. One of the main reasons why is this is the sport where an unknown can earn his way into the big leagues with a productive month.

And when that longshot gets his shot at the show, the news always comes with an emotional meeting between him and his manager. We all remember last year when former OVC pitcher Ethan Roberts was told by Chicago Cubs manager David Ross in the dugout that he made the Opening Day roster. This week, the St. Louis Cardinals made 20-year-old top prospect Jordan Walker the youngest member of their team since Rick Ankiel to make his MLB debut.

Former Southeast Missouri State alum Dylan Dodd is among the many feel-good stories to come out of this spring. He and top prospect Jared Shuster simultaneously learned the news from Braves manager Brian Snitker that they have earned the final two rotation spots.

Dodd, listed as the Braves No. 10 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is expected to make his MLB debut on Tuesday, April 4, in St. Louis opposite Steven Matz and the Cardinals. For those who remember Dodd's first season at SEMO, it's astonishing to see how far he has come.

“To be honest, I didn’t even think pro ball was an option for me until maybe my junior year in college,” Dodd told MLB.com on March 15. “In high school, I threw 84 miles per hour. Then in junior college, I might have gotten up to 88 or something like that. I was able to go to a mid-major college because I threw the ball in the zone and gave the team a chance to win.”

Like most underdog tales, Dodd's emergence also took Braves manager Brian Snitker by surprise.

“I saw him on the back field and I was like, ‘Who is this Dodd guy?’” Snitker told reporters on March 15.

Dodd broke out in 2021 with a 3.17 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 96.2 innings over 15 starts, earning Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year honors. He also led the Redhawks to the OVC Tournament championship and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016. That led the Braves to make him the highest draft pick in SEMO history, selecting him in the third round with the 96th overall pick.

Dodd became the first Redhawk in SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers' tenure to make the big leagues. Sawyers said after the Redhawks' game against Milwaukee on March 5, that he believed Dodd would make the Majors this year but not out of spring training because of the business of baseball.

“He most likely will be in the big leagues by the All-Star Game,” Sawyers said. “I just don’t think they’re gonna start the year with him in the Major Leagues. He’s gonna get there before the summer’s out. If they were to have him start the year in the rotation, it would mean they’d have to send some guys on the 40-man back, and there’s a business element to how you manage the roster in the Major Leagues. So I think he’s gonna be in the big leagues by the time the All-Star Game happens.”

A very sensible reason behind a team keeping a prospect in the minors after a strong spring. However, instead, the Braves sent Ian Anderson down to Triple-A on March 14, and Michael Soroka on March 23, and placed Kyle Wright on the 15-day injured list on Monday due to right shoulder soreness.

That opened the door to Dodd and Shuster, which was like the top two contestants of American Idol battling for the title only for it to end in a tie.

“It was super stressful,” Dodd told MLB.com on Sunday. “It was like it was the biggest start of your life every time out. But as a Major League athlete, that’s what you have to deal with most of the time.”

Last year in the minor leagues, he went 12-9 with a 3.36 ERA and 153 strikeouts in 142 innings between Single-A Rome, Double-A Mississippi, and even one start in Triple-A Gwinnett. Dodd has allowed only four runs over 18 innings with 20 strikeouts in five spring appearances. He was also the first Braves pitcher this spring to complete at least 4.2 innings on March 18 and left the mound to a loud ovation, something he admitted was new to him.

“In college, I never really had anything like that,” Dodd said. “Not in the Minors either. So that was pretty cool.”

MLB Pipeline had Dodd, "reaching his ceiling as a No. 4 or 5-type starter in a big league rotation." He has reached that ceiling, and now it is his floor.