No Game Thursday Rants and Raves

June 21, 2018

Willie Calhoun has regressed immensely since the trdae to Texas. He is hitting .276 with a .321 OB% with just 6 HR in 300 Plate Appearances.  Everyone knew he couldn’t field – now it appears he can’t hit. Some former Dodger prospects are showing their worth:  Andrew Heaney and Zach Eflin are OK starting pitchers. Victor Arano is pitching well in relief for the Phillies. Scott Schebler is having a…

Read More >>

A Birthday and Belated Father’s Day

June 19, 2018

Yesterday was my youngest son’s 19th birthday, so we had plans to take him out to dinner last night.  He’s now past the age now where he wants a party like when he turned 18.  Like his 18th year of life, his 19th birthday was very eventful. This is the kid who was All-City, All-Conference and All-State in football and was team MVP on a team that won the State…

Read More >>

FAZ and Trade Deadlines

June 18, 2018

There have been a lot of speculative discussions on a potential trade for Baltimore SS Manny Machado. Bumsrap referred to a May 4, 2018 article from an Orioles fan’s point of view.  If I am going to trade for a rental, it can only include players that are replaceable by others in the organization.  Alex Verdugo, Mitchell White, and Jeren Kendall are all replaceable, but not Gavin Lux.  If the Orioles…

Read More >>

Just Ride Out the Storm

June 10, 2018

A lot of Dodger fans mocked and ridiculed Farhan Zaidi for saying three weeks ago that the Dodgers needed to hit more Homeruns? What? That’s stupid! Shows what he knows… Here we are, three weeks later… and the Dodgers were leading the NL is homeruns and were on a 16-5 streak…. well, after last night they are 16-6 and 2nd in HR.   Maybe Farhan should say “How do you like…

Read More >>

What Comes Next For The Dodgers

June 9, 2018

  Editorial Note – I wrote this before the Buehler injury. The 2018 Amateur Draft is now over.  All that is left is the signing of the draft picks.  The Dodgers did not select a high school player in Round 11 indicating to me that they expect the top 10 to be close to the bonus pool + 5%.  There will be some savings with picks #9 and #10 as…

Read More >>

Eyes Wide Open

June 7, 2018

In the first 45 days of the season, the NL West could have buried the Dodgers, but they didn’t… and then the Dodgers went 15-5 in their last 20 games, so they are right back in it.  You can call them “lucky” for what they have done in the past 20 games… and you might be right, but they were about as unlucky as you can get before that.  This…

Read More >>

Rancho Cucumonga Potential Prospects

June 1, 2018

Reviewing Class A players and projecting is very premature, but it does get done.  That is why so many A level and even rookie level players are included on Top prospects lists, only to fall out later.   The most difficult jump in professional baseball is from A Ball to AA.  So there is a lot of guessing that goes on with these evaluations.  Depending on the age, it is doubtful…

Read More >>

Holding out for a Hero

May 31, 2018

The Heroes of last nights win were many: Stripling, Kemp and Muncy have been playing hero with regularity, but it was good to see Cody and Joc get a couple of hits – this is a step in the right direction for getting them untracked.  Both players have been working very hard behind the scene on their swings. Joc may be a .350 OB% guy with that swing, but he…

Read More >>

Down on the Farm AA

May 30, 2018

Currently, AA is where most of the top prospects reside.  Although still relatively young, some of the current roster will absolutely play at the ML level, but outside of Keibert Ruiz, none project to be perennial AS.  There could be some AS performances from some of the higher rated players, but they all have questions that will need to be answered.     Keibert Ruiz – The second of two likely…

Read More >>

Down on the Farm

May 29, 2018

The Dodgers minor league system is filled with “depth” pieces.  As therealten pointed out, perennially competing for the playoffs and a potential WS takes a toll on the Dodgers draft slot. The last time the Dodgers had a top ten draft slot, they did very well with a HS pitcher from University Park, Texas…Clayton Kershaw.  In 2016, the Dodgers had the #20 selection and drafted HS SS, Gavin Lux.  In…

Read More >>