Marlins @ Dodgers May 14, 2014: Welcome Back, A.J.

Five-and-a-half weeks after we last saw him, and with far too much Tim Federowicz, Miguel Olivo, and Drew Butera in the meantime, A.J. Ellis is back, having been activated from the disabled list and inserted into the starting lineup. Butera remains as the backup; Olivo was optioned back to Triple-A, per a clause in the contract he signed with the Dodgers. In 25 plate appearances, Olivo struck out 12 times and had five hits, proving once again that three weeks worth of Albuquerque offense isn’t more relevant than a decade of subpar major league performance.

If you don’t recognize the Miami starter, don’t worry, you’re not alone. It’s 24-year-old righty Anthony DeSclafani, recalled from Double-A Jacksonville to make his major league debut in place of the sadly departed Jose Fernandez. A 6th-round pick of Toronto in 2011, he was part of the big Jose Reyes trade that sent him to Miami after 2012.

	Marlins			Dodgers
	7:10pm PT			Los Angeles, CA
LF	Yelich		2B	Gordon
3B	Lucas		RF	Puig
RF	Stanton		SS	Ramirez
2B	Baker		1B	Gonzalez
LF	Johnson		CF	Ethier
1B	Jones		LF	Crawford
SS	Hechavarria		3B	Turner
C	Mathis		C	Ellis
P	DeSclafani (R)		P	Maholm (L)

Before the season, Marc Hulet ranked DeSclafini as the No. 6 Miami prospect at Fangraphs, saying “DeSclafani entered pro ball as a reliever and a repertoire that relied almost solely on his 89-94 mph heater. He quickly found himself in a starting role as a pro and made strides with his slider in 2013, which helped him find success in his new role. His changeup continues to lag behind and it will be a critical element if he wants to stick in the starting rotation. DeSclafani has above-average control, improving command and induces a lot of ground-ball outs. He’s known for having excellent mound makeup that helps him get the most out of his abilities.” Which is all fascinating, but ultimately irrelevant considering how often the Dodgers struggle against young pitchers they’re seeing for the first time.

With a righty on the mound, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier start in the same lineup for the third time in the last 13 games, with Matt Kemp taking a seat. I know, I’d like to see Kemp more too, but we should probably remember how many injuries he’s had and that it’s not realistic to expect him to be a 162 game player at this point. Oh, and Paul Maholm attempts to prove he’s not the worst starting pitcher in baseball, which, well, I don’t have a whole to refute that with right now. Maholm against Giancarlo Stanton ought to be a real treat. Juan Uribe sits again, though he is expected to play in Arizona on Friday.

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