Snell (elbow) set to throw another bullpen

Snell gave the Marlins fits all night on Friday, limiting them to just three hits through the first five innings before giving up a single to Javier Sanoja with one out in the sixth. Snell would exit after the hit by Sanoja but was charged with an earned run after Augustín Ramírez doubled to bring home Sanoja on the next at-bat. Snell has been dominant since returning to the mound, allowing just four earned runs in his six starts since August while pitching 34 2/3 innings. Now sitting on a 1.91 ERA, Snell will look to stay hot in his next start, which is set for Wednesday on the road against the Reds.

Snell threw 100 pitches, and 65 of those landed for strikes. It wasn’t as dominant as his start last weekend against the Tigers when he whiffed 10, but he was just as effective, if not more so. The 33-year-old has been sensational when healthy enough to pitch in 2026, and his ERA is now at a healthy 1.97. Obviously, Snell has to be in fantasy lineups for Wednesday’s scheduled start at home versus the Reds.

It’s Snell’s 40th career 10-strikeout game. He’s the 39th pitcher to record that many and joins Max Scherzer (114), Chris Sale (95), Justin Verlander (73), Gerrit Cole (64), Jacob deGrom (64), Yu Darvish (50) and Robbie Ray (40) among active pitchers with 40. Nolan Ryan is the all-time leader at 215, followed by Randy Johnson at 212. Despite being about 100 back, Scherzer is actually third behind those two. Snell, who has allowed a total of three runs in four starts since coming off the IL, will likely face the Nationals on Friday.

Snell has been outstanding since returning from the injured list, and has given up a total of two runs over those 17 innings with a K/BB of 18/7 in that timeframe. The left-hander whiffed six in this one, and generated a solid 17 swings and misses over 94 pitches — 62 of those for strikes. He’ll have a good chance to keep the good run going against the Tigers next weekend.

It’s the same line he had in his return from the IL last week against the Royals. Snell got into trouble in the third, when he issued all three of his walks on the evening to consecutive batters. However, he escaped allowing just the one run, and he was great the rest of the night. He’ll likely face the Braves on next Tuesday, unless the Dodgers want to get a little aggressive and start him on four days’ rest Sunday against the Pirates.

Snell came out sharp in his first start since May 9, striking out the side against the Royals in the first inning. He retired the first ten Royals hitters before Bobby Witt Jr. reached on a single in the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Perez. Snell gave the Dodgers two more scoreless frames, collecting ten strikeouts over six innings in an outstanding return to the mound. He’ll look to follow it up with a start against the Rockies in Colorado on Monday.

Snell makes his return to Los Angeles’ rotation with a start against the Royals on Tuesday following a three-month absence after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in May. The 33-year-old southpaw’s checkered injury history remains an omnipresent concern for fantasy managers. However, he should be an impactful contributor, especially in the strikeout department, over the final six-plus weeks of the season.

That means Tarik Skubal will be pushed back a day to make his home debut on Monday with Justin Wrobleski going in Sunday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks in Arizona. Snell has been shelved since undergoing the NanoScope procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow back in May. He could wind up being a major difference maker for fantasy managers down the stretch.

Snell also struck out three and threw 41 of his 73 pitches for strikes. It was clearly not his best outing, but we don’t want to read too much into starts in the PCL. Seeing better command would make us feel a little better about Snell’s immediate results when he returns from elbow surgery, but his velocity looked good, and he was up to 73 pitches, so he should be good to rejoin the Dodgers’ rotation. There may be some command bumps in the early going, but Snell figures to be an impactful fantasy starter down the stretch.

Snell is expected to throw around 75 pitches in Tuesday’s outing or around five innings depending on how things go. As long as he makes it through that start without any issues, he could be cleared to return as early as next weekend. Snell told reporters on Friday that his elbow feels as good as it has in years. He could wind up making a major impact down the stretch for fantasy purposes if he can stay healthy.