Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) to make a rehab start Thursday

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) will make a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday.

What It Means:

After some early shoulder issues in spring training, the former Cy Young winner has progressed well in his recovery and is near a return to big league action. If all goes well in the rehab start, Kershaw could return to the Dodgers' rotation sometime next week.

Our models had Kershaw protected for a 2.87 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 186 strikeouts in 184 2/3 innings pitched before the shoulder issues arose.