Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Dustin May is one of three pitchers competing for the No. 5 spot in the rotation this spring.

In two Cactus League outings, May has certainly stood out as one of the top performers this spring, despite making a long-awaited return from elbow surgery and a life-threatening emergency. MLB.com’s David Adler listed him as a top 12 Statcast standout from the first week of spring.

All of May’s pitches have been elite, but his curveball has surpassed everything else with its mind-boggling movement — even better than his curveball from 2023.

The right-hander’s curveball is averaging 85.2 mph with a 3,384 rpm spin rate and 19 inches of horizontal break. Furthermore, May is leading pitchers this spring with the highest-spin curve and he ranks top-five in horizontal movement and top-10 in velocity.

May understands just how high caliber of a player he can be in Major League Baseball, but his health plays an important role in 2025.

“When I’m healthy, I’m good enough to be in any rotation and I’m good enough to be at the top of any rotation when I’m healthy,” May said. “I just have to go out and be healthy. That’s all I have to do. It’s black and white. Healthy, not healthy – there’s not a lot of gray area in between.”

As for finally returning to the mound, the right-hander expressed relief in finally pitching for the Dodgers.

“It felt amazing to be back,” May said postgame. “Huge, huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. … I’m alive. I’m glad I’m here. It was just a breath of fresh air, like a new beginning.”

After May ruptured his esophagus in a freak accident, he has a new perspective on baseball and life in general.

“It was definitely a life-altering event,” May said. “It was definitely very serious. It’s not a very common surgery. It was definitely an emergency.

“I probably wouldn’t have made it through the night if I didn’t have it.”

May appears to have a strong chance of claiming the final spot in the Dodgers rotation, but he will have to outshine Tony Gonsolin and Bobby Miller for the remainder of spring. If May doesn’t win the competition, there is speculation the Dodgers will test him as a reliever out of the bullpen.