LOS ANGELES — Dalton Rushing is proving a quick study in his first week as a major leaguer.
Rushing, the Dodgers’ 24-year-old rookie catcher, received the start behind the plate against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, his third start in seven games since receiving his first call-up on May 14.
While the learning curve in the majors is often steep, especially for catchers, Rushing has had no trouble acclimating as Will Smith’s new backup.
Rushing went into Wednesday 4 for 10 with a double and two RBIs at the plate to start his big league career. Behind the plate, he ably guided the Dodgers through a bullpen game in his major league debut and followed by catching Clayton Kershaw’s first start of the season.
“(The Dodgers) have tried their best to not only match me up from an offensive standpoint against the guys that I’m going to be best comfortable with in the box, but also just making sure that I’m catching guys that I’m kind of familiar with at the same time,” Rushing said. “So it’s on both sides of the ball. They’re really good at making sure you feel as comfortable as possible early on, because it allows you to be yourself a little sooner.”
The Dodgers’ second-round draft pick in 2022 out of Louisville, Rushing was mostly known for his offense but made great strides defensively as a minor leaguer. That progress is continuing in the majors, where he’s already impressed Manager Dave Roberts with his attentiveness and ability to absorb information.
“Just to continue to watch, which he’s doing a really nice job of,” Roberts said. “He’s used to playing four or five times a week as a catcher in the minors. Now it’s going to be like twice a week. I think that it’s valuable to be up here around these superstar players. … He’s doing a fantastic job right now.”
Rushing entered the year as the Dodgers’ consensus top prospect and forced his way to the majors by slashing .308/.424/.514 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 33 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He also threw out 22% of runners attempting to steal.
The Dodgers designated Austin Barnes, their longest-tenured position player, for assignment in order to make room for Rushing. It’s been a small sample, but so far, Rushing is making an immediate impact.
“They’ve obviously been very welcoming, which makes it that much easier as a rookie,” Rushing said. “I’ve enjoyed my time here so far, and look forward to many more days up here and spending a lot of time with these guys.”
OHTANI MIXES IN BREAKING BALLS
Shohei Ohtani threw a bullpen session before Wednesday’s game and integrated more breaking pitches as the two-way star moves closer to his return to pitching.
He will throw again over the weekend in New York during the Dodgers’ upcoming series against the Mets.
“He was spinning it a little bit more and (had) the touch and feel,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure what’s to come. Hopefully he comes out of the well, which is what I would expect.”
Ohtani is 20 months removed from his second right elbow surgery in September 2023. He still does not have a timeline to return to pitching in live games, but the Dodgers expect his rehab to ramp up soon.
“We’ll see what he does at Citi Field on Saturday,” Roberts said. “There might be a little bit more of a progression increase, so we’ll see what that means.”
SMITH-LESS BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT
The first 40,000 fans in attendance received a Will Smith bobblehead on Wednesday night. The only thing missing was Smith himself.
Smith was not in the starting lineup for the series finale against the Diamondbacks after catching the previous three games.
While the day off was needed, Roberts nonetheless caught some flak from sitting Smith on his own bobblehead night.
“My wife was upset that he’s not catching on this bobblehead night,” Roberts said, chuckling. “I just don’t keep track of bobblehead nights, but I didn’t want Will to catch four in a row.”
UP NEXT
The Dodgers are off Thursday.
Dodgers (LHP Clayton Kershaw, 0-0, 11.25 ERA) at Mets (RHP Griffin Canning, 5-1, 2.47 ERA), Friday, 4:10 p.m. PT, Apple TV+, 570 AM