Dustin Jake May (born September 6, 1997) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He was selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, and made his MLB debut in 2019.

Early life and amateur career

May graduated from Northwest High School in

Justin, Texas Justin is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,409 in 2020. It is also an outer ring suburb of Fort Worth. History In 1848, approximately 70 followers of the French utopian socialist Étienne Cabet arrived in what i ...

. He was selected by the

in the third round of the

2016 Major League Baseball Draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

. He was committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...

, but chose to sign with the Dodgers for a $1 million signing bonus, forgoing his commitment.

Professional career

Minor Leagues

After signing, May made his professional debut with the

Arizona League Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is compos ...

, and spent the whole season there, posting an 0-1 record with a 3.86 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched. In 2017, he played for both the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

and the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

, compiling a combined 9-6 record, 3.63 ERA, and a 1.15 WHIP in 25 games (24 starts) between the two clubs. In 2018 for the Quakes he was selected to the post-season

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

all-star team. On September 14, he started the Drillers title clinching playoff game where he allowed two runs in five innings. In 23 total starts between Rancho Cucamonga and Tulsa, he was 9-5 with a 3.39 ERA. May began 2019 with Tulsa. He was selected to the mid-season

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

All-Star Game and the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. He was promoted to the AAA

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

on June 27. He was a combined 6-5 with a 4.13 ERA as he struck out 110 batters in 106 innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers

2019 season

May was called up to the majors on August 2, 2019, and made his major league debut for the Dodgers as the starting pitcher against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He pitched 5 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits with three strikeouts. On August 13, May picked up his first big league win against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

after pitching 5 innings, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts. He finished the season appearing in 14 games for the Dodgers (four starts), with a 2–3 record, a 3.63 ERA, and 32 strikeouts with only five walks. He also pitched in 3 innings across two games for the Dodgers in the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, allowing one run on three hits.

2020 season

May was selected to start for the Dodgers on

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season after

Clayton Kershaw Clayton Edward Kershaw (born March 19, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) . He has played for the Dodgers for the entirety of his MLB career. A left-handed starting p ...

injured his back before the game. May became the youngest opening day starter for the Dodgers since

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (, born November 1, 1960) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from to and to . While he played for six MLB teams, he is best remembered f ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. He picked up his first win of the season on August 4, when he struck out eight in six innings against the San Diego Padres and appeared in 12 games (10 starts) with a 3–1 record and 2.57 ERA in 56 innings. His 99.1 mph-average

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is ca ...

was the fastest four-seamer of any major league pitcher for the 2020 season. He pitched three scoreless innings over two games in the 2020 NLDS against the

and allowed two earned runs in 4 innings over three games against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in the National League Championship Series (NLCS). May pitched in two games of the

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los Ang ...

, working three total innings and allowing three runs to score on five hits.

2021 season

May made five starts in 2021, with a 1–1 record and 2.74 ERA. On May 1, he tore his UCL while throwing a pitch, requiring season ending

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, which he underwent on May 12.

2022 season

On August 20, 2022, May made his first start after returning from his recovery and struck out nine while allowing only one hit in five scoreless innings against the

. He pitched a total of six games for the Dodgers, with a 2–3 record and 4.50 ERA before he was placed on the injured list with lower back tightness on September 24, ending his regular season.

2023 season

May signed a $1.675 million contract with the Dodgers in his first year of salary arbitration.

Pitching style

A tall pitcher at , , he pitches with a three-quarter stance with high leg lifts both before release, and at follow-through (with nobody on base). His main pitches are a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

with sinker-like movement, which averages at over 98 mph, a cutter, a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

and a

. He was ranked 4th amongst starting pitchers in lateral movement in 2020, which is rare for a pitcher that averages over 93 mph on their two-seam fastballs or sinkers.

Personal life

May is nicknamed "Gingergaard" after current Philadelphia Phillies pitcher

Noah Syndergaard Noah Seth Syndergaard (born August 29, 1992), nicknamed "Thor", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels an ...

, due to profile and appearance, as well as his red hair.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Dustin 1997 births Living people People from Denton County, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Dodgers players Arizona League Dodgers players Great Lakes Loons players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Arizona Complex League Dodgers players