'Dream come true' for Ryan Pepiot: Westfield, Butler grad makes MLB debut with Dodgers

In 2016, Ryan Pepiot dominated on the mound at Westfield High School. By 2019, he was breaking records at Butler. Three years later, on Wednesday afternoon, he found himself on a Major League Baseball mound pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Pepiot, who was selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2019 MLB draft, made his Major League debut by throwing three scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He struck out three and walked five, allowing just one hit.

Pittsburgh put multiple runners on in each of Pepiot’s innings, including loading the bases in the second after two walks and a hit batter. Pepiot flashed a little bit of the electricity that earned him a callup, striking out Bryan Reynolds swinging with a 95 mph fastball on the corner.

“It was exciting, a lot of nerves,” said Pepiot, whose family made the six-hour drive from Westfield to PNC Park for the game. “Happy to be out there but I didn’t make some of the pitches I wanted to, got myself in some traffic. But when I wanted to, I was able to make some pitches and limit the damage.”

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Pepiot has spent the past several Spring Trainings in camp with the big league team. The Los Angeles pitching staff has an MLB-best 2.25 ERA through 29 games.

"A lot of learning and watching, being able to be in big league camp the past couple years, watch (Clayton) Kershaw, watch Walker (Buehler), how they prepare, has been a big help," he said.

Pepiot is the Dodgers' No. 6-ranked prospect, and was 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA in six starts for the franchise's Triple-A team. While at Butler, the Westfield product set a single-season strikeout record in 2019 (126 batters in 78 innings) and set a Butler career strikeout record with 306 punch-outs in three seasons. He is the highest-drafted player out of Butler. Pat Neshek was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the sixth round of the 2002 draft.

"It's a dream come true," Pepiot told reporters Tuesday of the chance to make his debut. "It's a great team to be a part of, and I'm excited to help the ball club out."

While at Westfield, Pepiot had a 1.90 ERA during his senior season, striking out 69 batters and holding them to a .148 average. He also threw 19 touchdown passes as the team's quarterback as a senior.

Dillon Peters, a 2011 Cathedral grad, got the start for Pittsburgh. He made his Major League debut in 2017 with Miami. He is 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA through nine games this season.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ryan Pepiot, Butler and Westfield grad, makes MLB debut with Dodgers