PHOENIX — It took some 4 hours of labor, roughly 1,200 Rubik’s Cubes, and years’ value of information with the six-side, 54-panel puzzle.
Ever since highschool, minor-league Dodgers reliever Jack Dreyer has been capable of grasp the Rubik’s dice; getting so good he not solely solves them in as little as 20 seconds, however has discovered to rearrange them on canvasses by the lots of to create multi-colored murals.
So, when the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to his record-breaking $700 million contract in late 2023, Dreyer determined to commemorate the second with a novel piece of artwork, making a Rubik’s Dice portrait of the two-way star that was displayed on the crew’s Camelback Ranch facility final spring.
“I was like, ‘Hey, he’s the face of baseball right now,’” Dreyer recalled Wednesday. “I think it would be kind of cool to have the fans get to see something like that.”
Dreyer is not sure if Ohtani ever noticed the piece. And now, he stated with fun (and trace of sorrow), it not exists, having been knocked over and shattered final 12 months.
Will the 26-year-old left-hander construct Ohtani a brand new one?
“I definitely could,” he stated, “if that’s something that he would want to see.”
Not like final 12 months, when the undrafted College of Iowa product began the season as simply one other gifted however uncooked prospect within the group, Dreyer is in big-league camp this spring, sitting simply 14 stalls away from Ohtani within the Dodgers’ spring clubhouse.
Dreyer hasn’t mentioned his pastime with Ohtani but, however it has develop into one of many spring’s extra light-hearted subplots, with everybody from Tony Gonsolin to Jackson Ferris to Yoshinobu Yamamoto toying round with the cubes Dreyer has introduced into the room.
“He carries a Rubik’s Cube everywhere he goes,” supervisor Dave Roberts joked. “Some guys carry a golf club. He carries a Rubik’s Cube.”
Based on Roberts, Dreyer (and his Rubik’s Dice) virtually reached the majors final 12 months, with the Dodgers coming shut on a number of events to calling him up for his MLB debut.
“There were a couple times where Jack was going to be the guy,” Roberts stated. “It’s a very slow brain, as far as managing situations. A good heartbeat. The fastball really plays. And the slider has really come on.”
Previous to final 12 months, the large leagues had been extra of a distant dream for Dreyer — whose father, Steve, spent two years pitching for the Texas Rangers within the early ‘90s.
During his first two minor-league seasons in the Dodgers organization, Dreyer flashed his potential by striking out 92 batters in 66 ⅔ innings between rookie ball and high-A, posting a 2.16 ERA along the way. But he also issued 41 walks, struggling to keep his fastball/slider mix in the zone.
Dodgers relief pitcher Jack Dreyer has given up only one run in four appearances this spring, striking out seven and walking one.
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
“The Dodgers are super transparent in terms of what they would like to see out of you, and what areas they want you to improve on each offseason,” Dreyer said. “So I had some really good conversations with the front office and the coaching staff, just saying like, ‘Hey, your stuff is good. But if you want to move to the next level, you need to reduce the walks.”
Reduce the walks, Dreyer did.
Entering last season, Dreyer said he focused on making a full “mentality shift.” His delivery didn’t change. He didn’t tweak his arsenal. However he did start throwing “with conviction on every pitch,” he stated, studying to have “the belief in yourself” to extra persistently pound the strike zone and assault opposing hitters.
The outcomes had been sterling.
In 46 outings between double-A and triple-A, Dreyer once more posted a 2.20 ERA, however this time whereas issuing simply 12 walks on the complete season.
“I didn’t make any mechanical changes or anything like that,” he stated. “It was purely just a mentality shift.”
Whereas it didn’t yield a big-league call-up, Dreyer’s enhancements had been sufficient for the Dodgers to place him on the 40-man roster final November to guard him from going into the Rule 5 draft.
“I tried my best to keep it out of my mind,” Dreyer stated. “But it was cool to be able to be here in person and get congratulated by him and some teammates that were here.”
Dreyer has parlayed the chance — which additionally meant a primary spring coaching spent in big-league camp this 12 months — into a robust efficiency up to now within the Cactus League. In 4 appearances, he has given up only one run, struck out seven batters and walked just one.
“The biggest thing for me is just to try to be a sponge every day,” Dreyer stated. “Obviously, surrounded by All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn everything I can and ask questions whenever I can. I’m just learning more about the process and pitch selection and all kinds of things. It’s been very useful.”
Dreyer has been giving classes of his personal with the Rubik’s Dice, too.
He stated Gonsolin already knew remedy the three-dimensional puzzle, however has sought new strategies to finish it extra shortly. Roberts famous that Dreyer additionally outdueled Tommy Edman in a problem earlier this spring.
Has Roberts taken a shot at making each facet the identical colour?
“No,” the supervisor laughed. “Part of my strength is I know my weaknesses … I don’t have the bandwidth to approach that yet.”
Given Dreyer’s present trajectory, Roberts may get future alternatives. After coming near the majors final 12 months, the pitcher seems to be close to the highest of the group’s aid pitching depth chart, primed to achieve the majors along with his improved command and renewed psychological strategy.
“The organization has raved about his make-up, his talent, for a while,” Roberts stated. “And now for me to get to know him a little bit more, see him against major league hitters, he’s really impressive.”
