Dodger Chatter: Baseball Statistics – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Baseball, among all of the major sports, is the one most closely linked to statistics. There seems to be a stat for just about every circumstance one can imagine. Each year the game becomes more and more saturated with statistics.

The use of statistics in the greatest game of all is not new. The practice of keeping records of player achievements was started in the nineteenth century by Henry Chadwick. Based on his experience with cricket, Chadwick devised the predecessors to modern day statistics, including batting average, runs scored, and runs allowed. There is even a Dodger connection to the evolution of baseball statistics. During the early 1950s, Allen Roth, a statistician for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Branch Rickey, developed the formula for on-base percentage.

We might say the modern era of statistics took off, beginning in the sixties. In 1964, Earnshaw Cook, a John Hopkins engineering professor, published, “Percentage Baseball”, one of the first sabermetrics essays. Then in 1977, the renowned baseball historian and statistician, Bill James, wrote his first Bill James Baseball Abstract in which he featured: “18 Categories of Statistical Information That You Just Can’t Find Anywhere Else”. Moneyball followed in 2003 and Fangraphs in 2005.

So what should we, as baseball fanatics, make of all this sabermetric invasion into the game we love? What are our own personal favorite statistics by which we measure players, one to another? I really don’t understand sabermetrics and have not read “Moneyball”. In fairness, I have not truly tried to engage with the more subjective, subtle statistics.  However, I do have a few favorite stats that I think predate the sabermetric invasion.

On offense, if I could select just one statistic, I love on base percentage (OBP). It is so simple. If you got on base, then you didn’t make an out. The sole purpose of the hitter is to get to first base, hopefully beyond, but first base as a minimum. There is no other purpose to be standing at the plate. Every time the hitter gets to first base, he has the possibility of scoring a run. The greater his OBP, the greater chance he will score a run. In addition to that, being on base changes the dynamic for the pitcher. I understand that scoring a run depends on other factors on the field, but so do most, perhaps all other stat categories, so those factors are a constant with all statistics.  I also appreciate batting average with runners in scoring position and two out runs batted in, but my top category is OBP.

On the mound I prefer ERA and WHIP as a measure of a pitcher’s performance. That is perhaps old school, but I still think ERA is important. It demonstrates how a pitcher battles during his innings, with so much happening around him, and ultimately what kind of a chance he gives his team to win the game – the lower his ERA, the better chance the game will be won while he is on the mound, or when he is replaced in the later innings by a reliever. The ERA is even more significant for the reliever, as he is pitching to very few batters, and the repercussions are greater as there is little time for his team to score more runs. WHIP is in essence a defensive statistic determined by a combination of walks and hits per inning pitched. Once again, it is simple. The fewer runners that the pitcher allows to get on base, the fewer possible runs there are to be scored against his team. WHIP too cannot stand alone, although the walks part of the statistic is about as close to standing alone as any statistic can be, since the walk is under the pitcher’s control, or lack of it, as is the strikeout.

In determining Cy Young awards, wins is a huge category. However, I submit wins is not a pitching statistic, but is a team statistic, garnered by a team, combining pitching, hitting, and defense. A win is arbitrary and can have very little to do with the pitcher’s performance. That is, a pitcher can pitch a Clayton Kershaw game and lose 1-0, or pitch very poorly and win 12-11. The win or loss is not a measure of either pitcher’s performance. That performance is more accurately measured by their ERA and WHIP. If wins are to be used as a pitching statistic, then a more accurate tally of wins might be how many wins the team secured in the games a given pitcher started. That would be a measure of how many games the pitcher gave his team a chance to win, depending on his ERA and WHIP, and they succeeded in doing so.

As mentioned, I am not a big sabermetrics fan. Just go out and play the game like they did in the good old days. I especially question the validity of WAR as a statistic that can even be calculated objectively.

“WAR measures a player’s value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he’s worth than a replacement-level player at his same position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent).”

“For position players: (The number of runs above average a player is worth in his batting, base running and fielding + adjustment for position + adjustment for league + the number of runs provided by a replacement-level player) / runs per win.” Huh!

“For pitchers: Different WAR computations use either RA9 or FIP. Those numbers are adjusted for league and ballpark. Then, using league averages, it is determined how many wins a pitcher was worth based on those numbers and his innings pitched total.”

In calculating WAR someone is having a slow day and the pure guess work of the WAR statistic makes it questionable at best. I fully expect I do not understand WAR in all its facets and have not really tried to do so when there are so many other objective statistics that change with each at bat or inning pitched.

Another statistic that I call into question is the “save”. In many instances the reliever (closer) enters the game when it is not in jeopardy. For instance, the closer comes on in the ninth inning with a two run lead and no one on base. How is the game at risk with more that a one-run lead and the bases empty? It is not in need of being saved, just preserved. The game with a one-run lead is always at risk as any hitter on any given day can hit a  home run to tie the game. Perhaps the “save” is just a misnomer.

For relievers, my favorite statistic has to do with how many inherited runners are stranded. I would suggest that games are often truly saved well before the ninth inning by stranding runners already on base.  Walter Alston, back in the fifties, used right-hander Clem Labine at various points in the game to strand inherited runner. Those were the days  before “saves” were “saves”.  A recenty example would be Joe Broussard entering the game for the OKC Dodgers with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and none out. He did give up a run on a double play but closed out the inning with that lone run on five pitches.

 

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT by AlwaysCompete

We finally got back to four affiliate games, but the results weren’t as hoped. Three out of the four affiliates lost, with only OKC winning.

OKC – 8-4 win over the Round Rock Express (Rangers)

The OKC Dodgers won for the 9th consecutive game, moving to 10-1 and 2.5 games ahead of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Brewers) in the PCL American North Division.  Manny Banuelos started and pitched well for the third time.  This time he went 6.0 innings (89 pitches), allowing 1 run on 6 hits, with 1 walk and 7 K’s.  His ERA is now 1.69 for his three starts and 16 innings.  He has allowed 3 walks against 14 K’s.  Guillermo Moscoso relieved Banuelos and made things interesting by allowing 3 runs on 5 hits in 1.0 IP.  Edward Paredes came on in the 8th to close it out for his 1st save of 2018.

Offensively the OKC Dodgers had 9 hits by 9 different players, including 4 HRs and 2 doubles. Tim Locastro hit his 1st (solo shot), Rob Segedin hit his 2nd (2 run shot), Henry Ramos hitting his 3rd (solo), and catcher/DH Alex Burg getting his 1st HR of the year (solo).  Travis Taijeron and Angelo Mora each had a double.

 

Tulsa – Shutout by Midland RockHounds 1-0

On the same night that Alex Wood had a very good start seemingly wasted, so did fellow LHSP Caleb Ferguson. After a nervous start to his AA season in his 1st game, Ferguson has been stellar ever since.  Last night in 5.0 shutout IP (73 pitches), he allowed 2 hits, 1 walk, and 9 K’s.  This was more of the Caleb Ferguson I began to religiously follow from his outstanding Great Lakes days 2 years ago. I can still recall the discussions DC and I had in that great 2nd half 2016 Loon season featuring Caleb Ferguson.  His ERA is down to 0.87 in his three starts.  4 walks against 15 K’s in his 10.1 IP.  Caleb is 21 and pitching well in AA.  He has gone from a 38th round draft pick to a legit prospect.  I could not be happier for him.

Okay…back to the game. Going into the 9th tied at 0-0, Dylan Baker got 2 quick outs, but then gave up 3 consecutive singles and the sole run on the night.  In the bottom of the 9th, the Drillers loaded the bases with 3 walks and Errol Robinson coming up.  Errol already had 2 hits on the night, but meekly grounded into a force out to end the game.

Following Ferguson, Karch Kowalczyk and Corey Copping combined to pitch 3.0 shutout innings allowing 1 hit and 1 walk.

The Drillers dropped to 7-5 but still have a 1 game lead in the Texas League North Division.

 

Rancho Cucamonga – Lost 11-7 to Lancaster JetHawks (Colorado)

Jordan Sheffield started and continues to struggle with consistency. He pitched 2.2 shutout innings before walking 2 and then a 3 run HR in the 3rd.  He follows that with a scoreless 4th, but was completely undone in the 5th.  He allowed a double and walk, which were followed by a sacrifice bunt putting runners on 2nd and 3rd.  A passed ball and sacrifice fly plated both those runners and Sheffield was done.  In 4.2 IP, Sheffield allowed 5 runs (4 earned), 4 hits, 3 walks, and 5 K’s.

23 year old RHP, Jeremiah Muhammad, made his 2018 debut, and it did not go as he would have hoped. In his 1.0 inning of work, he allowed 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks and 2 K’s.  Sven Schuler followed and finished with 2.1 innings allowing 3 unearned runs on 3 hits and 1 walk.  He was credited with a blown save with Muhammad getting the loss.

Offensively, the Quakes had 9 hits, led by Cristian Santana who went 3-4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI’s. Gavin Lux went 2-3 also with 2 doubles and 2 RBI’s.  Hamlet Marte was 2-5 with a double.  Seeing Cristian Santana and Rylan Bannon in the lineup defensively at the same time gave notice to perhaps one of the reasons and side benefits of the Ariel Hernandez trade.  1B Ibandel Isabel, who may have stalled at High A, was included in the trade which opened up 1B for Santana, allowing 3B Bannon and Santana to now be in the same defensive lineup.  I am sure that Santana will get continue to get his games at 3B, but I would rather he play than DH.

 

Great Lakes Loons – Lost 7-5 to the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres)

Walk, single, walk, wild pitch, single, single, K, HBP, walk…that is how Melvin Jimenez’s game went last night. He was finally pulled leaving the bases loaded for Marshall Kasowski.  Kasowski promptly walked his first two batters giving the TinCaps 6 runs before the 1st inning was finished.  The Loons never recovered but did make a game of it with 3 run HR by Zach McKinstry (SS) and a 2 run HR by Nick Yarnall (1B) before finally succumbing 7-5.

Kasowski finished his 2.2 innings allowing 2 inherited runners to score with his two walks. But after those two walks, he settled down and proceeded to retire the next 8 batters, 6 by strikeout.  Zach Pop followed going 2.0 innings allowing the 7th run on 1 hit and 2 walks.  Devin Hemmerich pitched the final 3.0 innings allowing no runs on a single hit, and 1 K.

Offensively the Loons had 12 hits. Besides the HR’s, both Yarnall and McKinstry had 3 hits each.  Moises Perez (2B) had a 2 hit night, including his 1st triple.

It is good to see Zach McKinstry not take his apparent demotion personally. Last year he played at Great Lakes (17 games), RC (82 games), and Tulsa (15), and did not play that poorly.  But he found himself back at GL and is slashing .429/.556/.619/1.175.  He was obviously sent back down so he could play, as it seems he is blocked by Gavin Lux and Omar Estevez at RC.  He turns 23 at the end of the month, and he is not considered a top prospect (33 round draft pick from Central Michigan in 2016).  I am now pulling for him.  Maybe Mark can get a word when he gets to a Loons game.  It would be nice to get his perspective.

 

Finally, the Dodgers received their 1st 2018 award as Justin De Fratus was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week.  Below is a write up By Daniel Strickland of Dodger Blue:

The Los Angeles Dodgers were represented in Minor League weekly honors to begin the 2018 season, as Justin De Fratus of Double-A Tulsa was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week for games played April 5-15.

 The Drillers hurler had a very successful first week, not giving up an earned run in either of his two starts. De Fratus’ his outing start of the season came on April 7, when he tossed six shutout innings against the Frisco RoughRiders.

 He gave up up just three hits while striking out four and walking one. De Fratus then allowed two unearned runs in a second outing against the RoughRiders, giving up four hits while striking out five and walking two in 5.1 innings.

 In his two outings combined, De Fratus has only yielded seven hits in 11.1 innings, striking out three times as many batters as he has walked.

 

 

 

This article has 37 Comments

  1. The picture is that of Allen Roth.
    .
    Roth became the first full-time statistician hired by a major league club, touching off a trend that has made the personal computer an essential element of clubhouse paraphernalia.
    .
    It was in 1947 that Mr. Roth, a native of Montreal who had worked as a statistician for the Canadiens and the National Hockey League, approached Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, with a proposition that would transform somewhat how the game was played. 1947 was quite a year.
    .
    Wouldn’t it help a manager, Mr. Roth asked, if he knew, for example, that a certain batter hit .220 against right-handed pitchers and .300 against left-handers? Rickey immediately bought in.
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    Roth, who charted every pitch and did the requisite calculations either in his head or with a simple calculator, insisted on working by hand throughout his career. He often worked from the broadcast booth, feeding pertinent data to Dodger announcers.
    .
    I can recall on games out of Brooklyn when Vin would consult with Roth on a matter of statistics – on air – and he frequently, if not always, acknowledged Roth for his help with the broadcast.
    .
    Roth died in 1974.

  2. DC, I liked your article very much and reminds me of the one rule I would like to see Baseball change, Wins, and Loses charged to relief pitchers.Let’s say the Dodgers are playing the Braves in Atlanta and Dodger pitcher A goes 4 innings and leaves the game with the score tied 0-0, Dodger pitcher B comes in and pitches a scoreless 5th but in the 6th, after getting the first 2 outs, he then walks the next 2 batters, then gives up a 3 run homer before he is replaced by Dodger pitcher C who strikes out the next batter to end the inning. The Dodgers score 2 runs in the top of the 7th. Dodger pitcher C comes out for the 7th and strikes out the side.The Dodgers score I run in the top of the 8th to tie the score 3-3. Dodger pitcher D comes in for the 8th inning and gets the first 2 batters out, the next batter gets on first by a throwing error by the second baseman, the next batter hits a double and the runner on first scores the go-ahead run. The Dodgers go down in order in the 9th and lose the game 4-3. Dodger pitcher D who gave up 1 unearned run gets the loss. My opinion the loss should go to pitcher B who gave up the 3 earned runs, without those 3 runs, the Dodgers go to the bottom of the 9th with a 3-1 lead and a chance to win the game, tieing the score has nothing to do with the pitching performance of pitcher B who pitched poorly and deserves the loss.The same can be said for pitchers who get wins that they don’t deserve. Tieing games mean pitching performances before the tie, good or bad are no longer relevant to the game, not true, everything that happens in the game is relevant and should be judged accordingly
    Thank you for the article DC I also like your thoughts on the save rule.

    1. Couldn’t agree more. Wins and losses are team stats because they are the aggregate result of pitching, hitting defense, umpiring, etc. Naturally some pitchers give their teams a better chance to win because they give up few runs so maybe it could be team wins/start for a starter regardless of who is credited with the win in the present rules.
      .
      I think we have all seen a pitcher credited with a win while recording only one out. I think I even remember a one-pitch win.
      .
      And of course there are those wins that a closer gets when he has blown the lead but the teams scores the next inning and another reliever preserves the lead.

  3. Do you guys think the Dodger coaches have made the right tweaks to Manny Banuelos? I recall he was a top pick who hadn’t panned out yet, but still has good stuff.

    And more importantly, we need to figure out what’s wrong with Kenley, and whether it’s physical or mental. Nothing changes a team’s morale than a great or poor closer.

    1. At least Kenley didn’t say, “who cares?” after blowing another save this time. I guess that can be looked at as some strange sign of progress.
      *
      The good news is the team won and Kemp and Grandal continue to exceed some of our expectations.

    2. Way too early on Banuelos. Remember Wilmer Font was that project who worked out last year. He was the top ERA and strikeout pitcher in the PCL. If Banuelos continues to pitch well, FAZ will probably find a 40 man spot in September for him, but there are too many pitchers ahead of him to get called before then.

      1. I wonder if Banuelos’ stuff would play up in a shorter spurts. If nothing else, he’s another name to throw into the hat for a final bullpen spot in the postseason should that opportunity present itself. I’ll call him Liriano Lite. No more Brandon McCarthy hail maries.

          1. Bobby – Banuelos was signed as an amateur free agent out of Gomez Palacio, Mexico by the Yankees in 2008. He was never drafted but did rise to be the Yankees #3 prospect in 2011.

  4. Great debate and discussion points. Admittedly I have fallen into the stats game, but only so I can try to understand what baseball execs look at. I have the Bill James’ Historical Abstract book and I use it as a paper weight. Moneyball was a better book for me. IMO, James is the top sabermetric guru, and I do like listening to him. But I would rather read my Civil War historical books than a book on algorithms.
    .
    I too like OBP, and it should be monitored and reported more closely. I know many do not like to equate a walk to a hit, which is why slugging percentage is now a big stat. So my favorite non-traditional stat is OPS which combines OBP with slugging. It does give more “prestige” to .270 power hitter rather than the .310 singles hitter. That certainly is how offensive players are valued by baseball execs. Look at the top salaries and see where the money is spent. Donaldson, and probably Dozier will get bigger contracts than DJ LeMahieu next year, and OPS will have a lot to do with that. One other offensive stat that you brought up is one I also like to look at is batting average with RISP and 2 outs. That is ultimate clutch. Baseball-Reference.com has a clutch section in their splits drop down for each player, and that is a must go to spot for me.
    .
    I like ERA for starting pitchers and WHIP for relievers. A reliever can come into a game with the bases loaded, walk 3, and still have a 0.00 ERA, but a 3.00 WHIP if he pitched a full inning. ERA’s become more meaningful the longer a season goes and the more innings pitched, so they are more meaningful to me for starting pitchers. One really bad inning can destroy an ERA for a relief pitcher who may pitch 40-50 innings per year, but have a respectable WHIP. Take Melvin Jimenez who gave up 6 earned runs in .1 IP last night. That ERA cannot get down to under 3.0 without pitching the next 18 innings with allowing an earned run. His WHIP will be far more reflective of his performance over that period than his ERA.
    .
    I do not understand how WAR is calculated, but I pay attention to it, because that is a key stat an organization will look at for contract valuation. Fangraphs currently places an $8.3M per 1.0 WAR. So if Harper signs a $400M contract for 10 years, he will need to average 4.82 WAR over those ten years to justify his contract. In his 6 years from 2012-2017, he has averaged 4.55 WAR and surpassed 4.82 twice; 4.9 (2017) and 9.3 (2015). Undoubtedly Boras will use that 9.3 WAR to start negotiations above $500M, while baseball GM’s will undoubtedly use 1.6 (2014) and 3.0 (2016) to counter Boras. Compare that to DJ LeMahieu who has average a 1.48 WAR over the same 6 year period. So is Bryce Harper worth more than $27.7M per year more than LeMahieu? Yasiel Puig has averaged a 2.98 WAR over 5 years. That would indicate that Harper is worth $15.3M per annum more than Puig. So, does it make sense to sign Harper who will undoubtedly make nearly $30M more in 2019 than Puig? That $30M will go a long way to signing someone like LeMahieu, and try to extend Puig, or let Puig walk and keep Verdugo at his ML minimum for 2020. Will Harper put more behinds in the seats than Puig? Maybe initially for instant gratification, but over the long haul, Puig has shown that he is a fan favorite. He is also huge in the Community and do not for a minute think that does not go a long way with front offices. I have no idea what Harper is like in that regard. Whether that is a true value measuring metric for contracts is only known in front office negotiations.
    .
    Like I said above… Great discussion points.

  5. I forgot to mention the starting pitchers for today:
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    AAA – Brock Stewart
    AA – Justin De Fratus
    A+ – Tony Gonsolin
    A – Edwin Uceta

    1. I always forget about Brock Stewart. I feel he’s destined to be traded because he seems like purely a depth piece. Depending on where we are in the standings, maybe we’ll see a few guys transition to relief as the year progresses. Stewart, Santana, & Alvarez certainly are candidates. Buehler maybe we’re resigned to developing as a starter and I’m fine with that.

      1. I personally think Brock Stewart can be a high leverage reliever. In fact, if you look at his starter verses reliever stats, he is!

  6. a joke: three statisticians go duck hunting yada yada yada. the first one fires off a shot that just misses right above the flying fowl. the second hunter locks and loads and narrows misses too, right below the lucky duck. the third hunter jumps up and yells, “Yes–we got it!”

  7. AC – you do a great job with the minor league recaps. That is a lot of work but certainly keeps you on top of the minor league happenings.
    .
    I hope not but my thoughts on Banuelos were the same as yours when Bobby asked the question. I thought of Wilmer Font. The transition from AAA to MLB is huge. Even the less able hitters at the MLB level would be good at the MiLB level.
    .
    I wonder if Banuelos ever fully recovered from his TJ surgery back in 2013. At one point Mariano Rivera called Banuelos the best pitching prospect he had ever seen but I think that was in his pre-TJ surgery days.

    1. The minor league recaps keep me sane. Sometimes I do not have the time to write them up, but I do go through the same review everyday. I watch as many as I can, especially if there is a player I want to see live.
      .
      I was extremely high on Wilmer Font last year, and wrote an article on him. I so much wanted him to succeed, and I still do. But my affection for the Dodgers is far more than it is with Font, so I hope he continues his quest with another team. Last year in AAA, only Tyler Glasnow had a better strike out rate than Font for pitchers with at least 75 IP. Glasnow was long listed as the top pitching prospect for the Pirates. Font was recently favorabley compared to Brent Honeywell (Rays #1, and Baseball America #14) by Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs. What wasn’t to like? I feel Banuelos to be much the same. Their stuff can dominate at AAA but not do well at MLB. They are both relatively young but are really cagey veterans in minor league baseball, and they can dominate in the minors. I hope I am wrong about Banuelos and he does get another chance to succeed at the ML level as a Dodger.

  8. I have to believe that all of the rainouts had an effect on Jiminez. I can’t remember how many days his start was pushed back but it seemed like quite a few.
    ~
    If the Dodgers new Farmer was going to contribute this much, I wonder if they would have spent Logi Bear’s money on Morrow. The Dodgers better get their Kenley problem fixed or they aren’t going anywhere this year.

    1. well, we didn’t win it all with morrow so i’m ok with not bringing him back. I feel like we’ve righted the ship a bit, KJ notwithstanding. even taylor and seager show signs of coming around. once turner returns and the rotations settles in a bit, I think we’ll be fine. beating the mets and syndergaard in the WC play-in game (1-0 in 16 innings) will give us the momentum we need to go all the way. and I refuse to think forsythe will be a problem for us this year. go blue.

    2. He went 9 days between starts, and only pitched 1.2 innings on April 8 (53 pitches). That is all he has thrown since his last innings in ST. It certainly is not a fair reflection of his ability.

    1. depends on whether it’s a starter or a reliever needed. A case could be made for Yimi, Liberatore, or Buehler, although I think we are saving Walker for later in the season. Although knowing this front office, they’ll pick a guy from AA we weren’t expecting or one of the recent high 90’s arms we’re stockpiling.

      1. Paredes is a guy I never understood why he didn’t get a longer look last season. All i’ve seen him do is get guys out and even though his K numbers aren’t great, they don’t award style points in the majors last i checked. He reminds me a little of that diminutive LH we shipped to HOU (wesley wright i think) who ended up having a nice career. i rarely feel bad for baseball players but I have sympathy for the Paredeses of the world. I’m sure his first choice is to play for us, but failing that I’m guessing he’d a trade so he pitch in the majors. What is he: fourth or fifth on the current depth chart for a call-up?

        1. I think the F.O. views him as a LOOGY and we don’t really carry those anymore. I agree: if you love somebody set them free.

          1. Spoiler: Daniel Hudson will be the next man up. I had forgotten about him until I read about him on another blog.

  9. As far as RPs go there isn’t any stat better than the eye test for ‘fun to watch’. KentTeculve should of made HOF for that reason but didn’t. Through my lens he stays in my memory as the most fun to watch RP and is in my personal HOF even though he was quite the demon against Dodgers, but still……so was Willie Stargell, again but……

  10. Amen Quas… It was that hat that set the Bucs apart… I bet no one told Willie his hat looked goofy though!
    Sister Sledge’s ‘We are Family’ blasting in the stadium and small spoons littering the clubhouse…

  11. Rich Hill went on the DL retroactive to 4/15. Adam Liberatore was recalled. No injury was reported, thus blisters were therefore naturally suspected. With the off-day tomorrow, everybody moves up and will pitch on regular rest. Kershaw/Ryu/Wood this weekend.

  12. DODGERS RECALL ADAM LIBERATORE
    PLACE RICH HILL ON DISABLED LIST


    LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today recalled left-handed reliever Adam Liberatore from Triple-A Oklahoma City and placed left-hander Rich Hill (left third digit inflammation) on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to April 15.

    Liberatore, 30, has appeared in five games with the OKC Dodgers this season, going 1-0 and has not allowed an earned run (two runs) in 6.1 innings of relief. He has struck out nine batters against two walks, while holding the opposition to a .240 average. The southpaw appeared in seven Cactus League games with Los Angeles this spring, allowing seven runs (six earned) in 6.2 innings, while striking out seven against four walks. In 2017, Liberatore appeared in just four games with the Dodgers, allowing just one run in 3.1 innings (2.70 ERA), but had his season shortened due to injuries throughout the season.

    Hill last pitched on Saturday against the Diamondbacks, where he allowed seven runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings as he recorded his first loss of the season. In three starts this year, the southpaw has gone 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA (10 ER/15.0 IP) and has struck out 16 batters against seven walks.

  13. Well, it has taken almost 3 weeks (but only 15 games) for the 1st Dodger starter to go on the DL. Is anyone surprised?

  14. The Dodgers depth is going to get a good test. The Dodgers are down to four starters and have waived Alec Asher and traded Zach Neal, two OKC starting pitchers. OKC is down to three; Manny Banuelos, Walker Buehler, and Brock Stewart. I am certain that Guillermo Moscoso can and probably will start for OKC. Leo Crawford, who does have starting experience, was just assigned to OKC, waaaay above his level. Leo, who bypassed AA, got clobbered today in his AAA debut (relieving in 10th and got the loss). Daniel Hudson has not started since 2012. Mitch White is in extended ST, and can get assigned to Tulsa with a Tulsa starter getting a call to OKC. Justin De Fratus can start at AAA. The Dodgers will need a 5th starter next week, and will need still another for the DH next weekend in SF. I would guess that Ross Stripling will get at least one start.
    .
    There is going to be some interesting moves this week and next. You know the waiver wire is going to be studied.

  15. Hello Max Muncy. That chubbie little guy can ball. More evidence $9 million would have been better spent on Morrow than Forsythe. LogI Bear better come off the DL playing good ball. He’s got some guys wanting he PT.

  16. Hawkeye – was thinking the same thing & then I saw Wilmer.
    Kenley could do with a few stresss free outings.

    Most encouraging is that the bats are coming round, especially Corey.
    Will need to continue with the Nats in town.

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