If the fan base of the Los Angeles Dodgers wants to focus on a starting pitcher this season, then they might want to keep their eyes glued on Emmet Sheehan.

Sheehan put together some dazzling numbers over his last seven starts throughout the 2025 regular season. Take a look at these statistics: A 3-1 record, a 1.88 ERA, 38 1/3 innings of work, walked nine, and struck out 52 batters.

That's pretty good stuff from Sheehan. But his postseason numbers were not that impressive, putting up an 8.59 ERA in six games.

It's no wonder that, in a new article from Eno Sarris of The Athletic, that Sarris has Sheehan lined up to have a breakout season. Of course, Sheehan might have already had that breakout season last season. 

Still, it's worth taking a look at what Sheehan can bring to the Dodgers in 2026.

The Athletic offered some guidelines on how it determined which pitchers would have breakout seasons.

"Maybe the breakout has already come for Sheehan," Sarris wrote. "Last season, he was dominant in 73 1/3 regular-season innings.

"But he wasn’t quite as good in the postseason, and he didn’t have a full starter’s workload in about half of his starts last year, so it’s worth wondering if the success will continue into this season, especially since the expectations are high," Sarris wrote.

"The 26-year-old righty checks all of the boxes we set up top, though," Sarris continued. "He has an out-pitch in the changeup that is also a great weapon against lefties. He commands his fastball well, and he has a decently wide arsenal."

Sarris, though, wondered how Sheehan's slider will look this season. According to data Sarris pulled from The Stuff+ model, it shows that his slider is below average. Yet other statistics indicate that it was an effective pitch for Sheehan. He held hitters to a .162 batting average and a .212 slugging percentage on it.

"The prospect grades on the slider were average to below-average, and things like batting average and slugging against aren’t predictive," Sarris wrote.

Sarris also wondered if Sheehan had enough in his arsenal of pitches to get right-handed hitters out. He believes that Sheehan does, despite the outside factor that his slider might not be as good as it was in 2025. Look for Sheehan to bring in his changeup as another effective pitch, too.

Overall, last season saw Sheehan post a 6-3 record with a 2.82 ERA. If he can notch a few more victories and keep that ERA around that mark or below, then Sheehan has a real chance of putting his mark on being a future ace of the Dodgers' staff.

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