Dodgers News: Alex Vesia Says Brusdar Graterol has 'Best Stuff on the Planet'

That's some very high praise.

Dodgers RHP Brusdar Graterol is entering his fifth season in the MLB, and fourth with the Dodgers. Over the course of his four-year career, Graterol has a 3.72 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, with 93 strikeouts in 113 appearances.

At times, Graterol has been as dominant as they come. And at other times, he's been pretty hittable. However, Graterol is still just 24 years old, and continues to progress at the big league level.

This season, Graterol is entering with a real opportunity to take over the Dodgers' full-time closer spot. The Bazooka, as he's nicknamed, has electric stuff, with his 4-seam fastball and sinker averaging just under 100 mph last season. If he can develop a secondary pitch — something he's working on — he could really become one of baseball's most dominant relievers. And his teammate, Alex Vesia, knows the stuff is there.

"He’s got the best stuff on the planet," Vesia said to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times. "He’s gonna be a huge part of our bullpen, whether it’s in the seventh or eighth or ninth inning."

The person who makes those decision on where Graterol may come in, his manager Dave Roberts, praised the young reliever, as well.

"I trust Brusdar in any situation,” Roberts said to DiGiovanna. "You could argue that some of the spots I’ve put him in are more leverage than a three-run save situation in the ninth. People get caught up a lot in a role and feel that’s their value. That’s something as a coach that I have to navigate and understand."

This is a big thing for Roberts, as he doesn't always like saving his "best reliever" for the ninth inning. He knows that sometimes the highest-leverage moments could come earlier in the game, which is a big reason he's not focused on setting a "true closer" for the 2023 season.

Graterol is expected to get plenty of opportunities to save games, as will many other relievers on the Dodgers this season. But if Graterol can keep progressing, he could put himself in serious contention to be the team's closer of the future.