Yes, next season marks 31 years since the Dodgers last won a World Championship, but Dodger fans have alot to be thankful for anyway. There’s some work to do, but we are not perrenial losers like the Padres… and now the Giants. I could go on… and on… but I won’t! I have to deliver a bunch of Thanksgiving meals before our own family Thanksgiving at 6PM.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, my Dodger Brethern and Sisteren from your friends at US Water Systems who pay for this blog:
DODGER CHATTER SUPPLIES THE ENTERTAINMENT TODAY:
Meet Drew Finley by Dodger Chatter
On Wednesday the Dodgers acquired right hander Drew Finley from the Yankees in exchange for utility player Tim Locastro and cash. We do not know how much cash but expect it is not all that much.
The now 22-year-old Finley was selected by the Yankees in the third round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Rancho Bernando High School in San Diego. It is considered to be a bit of a powerhouse of high school baseball and has produced major leaguers Hank Blalock and Cole Hamels.
During the 2015 high school season Finley posted a 0.81 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 86 innings and for good measure threw in a school record 20-strikeout game.
His efforts did not go unnoticed as he was ranked 26th by Keith Law and 60th by Baseball America. The Yankees were thought to have pulled off a bit of a coup picking him up with the 92nd overall selection. He signed for about $325,000 over slot.
He began his professional career in 2015 with the Pulaski Yankees of the rookie level Appalachian League. He posted a respectable 3.94 ERA along with 41 strikeouts in 32 innings pitched over 12 starts. He did walk 19.
For the next three years Finley pitched as a starters for the Staten Island Yankees of the short season Class A New York-Penn League. He made 14 starts and pitched three times in a relief role. During those three seasons he logged only 88 innings with a career high 33.1 in 2016. His ERA aggregate was 5.48 while he struck out 88 and walked 45. He served up 10 home runs.
His MiLB record shows only one stint on the disabled list (elbow injury) although he did not pitch after July 19 during the 2016 season nor after August 2 in 2017.
Here is a 2016 scouting report on Finley:
“He has a fastball that sits in the 88-92 mph with the ability to hit 93 mph. His curveball has been called inconsistent to this point, but is one of the best among his draft class and should be another plus pitch for the right-hander. Finley is able to get some deception by hiding the ball and gets strikeouts with both of his plus pitches, as well as sporting an average changeup.”
And a scouting report from 2017:
“Finley has a fastball that registers in the mid-90s and possesses a plus curveball. He also mixes in a changeup. As time goes on, the Yankees will stretch out his innings per start. If he can command his fastball and curveball while bringing along his changeup, he will become the pitcher the Yankees envisioned when they drafted him in the third round, awarding him an above-slot signing bonus. The Yankees will not rush him through the minors as he were still young and suffered a setback with the elbow injury. Finley is still working his way back from his injury, and it’ll be interesting to see how he bounces back in 2018.”
Trackman data at the 2014 Area Code Games measured Finley’s fastball extension and curveball spin rate among the best in the draft class. Jonathan Mayo has some data showing Finley’s fastball spin rate was among the highest measured as well. Spin rate correlates very well to swing-and-miss rate.
Why did the Dodgers select the 6’3”/200-pound right hander in the trade for Tim Locastro? He has has control and command issues and was prone to the home run ball. That is not a question we can answer but we can expect they see some definite possibilities with Finley as he begins the 2019 season with the Great Lakes Loons.
The fact that he was a third round selection and perhaps projected higher might have made Finley appealing to the Dodgers. The Dodgers selected outfielder Mitch Hansen with their third overall pick in 2015.
As previously mentioned, Finley pitched only 88 innings over the last three seasons, shutting down early in both 2016 and 2017. It is not clear how the elbow injury affected him over time but may well explain his overall shortage of innings for the past two seasons. His arm still would be seen to be a fresh arm which the Dodgers like.
Of interest is the fact that his father, David Finley, is the Dodgers Vice-President of Amateur and International Scouting. Finley joined the Dodgers in November of 2014 after having spent the previous 13 seasons with the Boston Red Sox. Since November of 2011 he had served as the director of player personnel for the Red Sox.
Like the Father/Son connection there, good Thanksgiving story! Piazza worked out pretty well for his godfather Tommy. It’s good to get something for LoCastro, kind of surprised he ended up with the Yanks-good for him.
Happy Thanksgiving Day. We all have much to be thankful for.
Dave Roberts has already motioned to the pen to bring in Finley, ending Rich Hill’s night after 4 1/3 innings.
😉
Scoreless innings.
Mark,
Congratulations for keeping all these wonderful people in the picture gainfully employed.
And thank you for this wonderful site.
Thank you, but it could not happen without AC/DC.
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They make me look good!
I am thankful for many things. We have much to be thankful for. And it’s important to remember to whom to be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to all. And thanks to Mark for hosting us and giving us a chance to exchange ideas and vent our spleens on occasions.
TBLA mentioned Friedman said the Dodgers will announce the coaching staff next week.
3b Coach???? I’m guessing Hassleman
Hitting Coach??? I’m guessing Brant Brown
Mark-got any inside information?
I always liked Shawn Wooten let go by the Dodgers from OKC after the 2017 season. He is now a hitting director in the Angels system. I thought he might continue to advance in the Dodgers system.
No, it would be pure conjecture.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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Thank you Mark, AC and DC for providing us with a such wonderful daily content that is stimulating and, for me, provides a momentary release from the pressures of work to enjoy various thoughts about the team I’ve loved so much since I was 8 years old.
Dakota and I heading for the UK for a week. Wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.
I woke up this morning to rain, and I was so thankful as we need it desperately here in So Cal! I don’t comment much because of the great work Mark and AC and DC do, but I read it daily, and I am thankful for all your work in making this a great blog! Also, I would like to thank all who comment here for being considerate and kind with each other. Have a great Thanksgiving!
I am thankful for everything, including my health. I had a physical recently and got some bad news: At 65, I am healthy as a horse, which means I’ll likely be around a long time (that’s the bad news for you). I have a wonderful family with 5 kids, my wife and 5 granddaughters. I am blessed with a business that makes people’s lives better by improving their water… and even saving people’s lives who have contaminated water. Over the past year, we have been growing at a 30% a month clip – that’s a challenging blessing!
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However, the Dodgers are my only “hobby” and I am blessed with the best group of Dodger fans on the planet. This diverse group is second to none in Dodger knowledge. It’s a real pleasure to provide this blog and platform for you all and I am especially blessed with AC and DC. They are the bomb!
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
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Happy Thanksgiving to all.
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It won’t happen but it would be fun to have Beltre as hitting coach and AJ Ellis as third base coach. The Dodgers have young catchers coming up and AJ could do for them what Woodward did for the infielders. Who wouldn’t listen to Beltre and they could rub the top of his head for good luck before going up to hit.
Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about his religion.
Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.
Seek to make your life long and of service to your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people, but grovel to none.
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life,
for your strength.
Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
–Tecumseh, Shawnee
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone on this site, and thank you Mark, AC, and DC, for making this the best Dodger site, along with everyone else, that contributes with their own two cents.
Mark I am sure you know what good help really is, and you pay accordingly, not only with money, and that is why your business is a success, and you have your family by your side.
I am very thankful for all that has been bestowed on me. I have been blessed with my wife (44 years and counting), two sons, one daughter, two grandsons, one granddaughter, one daughter-in-law, and one son-in-law. My doctors tell me I am healthy, but my knees and feet bark at me and remind me every day that I am 66. I am winding down my professional career, and while my paying gigs are definitely in my sunset years, I will never fully retire. I plan on being involved in philanthropic activities until I am no longer physically able to do so. I am thankful that I will be able to spend a lot of volunteer hours to help the less fortunate (Loaves & Fishes) as well as some very very very special people (Special Olympics).
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I am thankful that one of my two passions, my LA Dodgers (and yes, I do consider them MY LA Dodgers), has given me joy since 1959. I am thankful for the many WS games that I have been able to attend and am thankful that they were in a WS even when they lost, knowing one day they will win again, and knowing that it will be in 2019. I am thankful that I was blessed with a son who we got to see play in a MLB game at Fenway Park. Even if my wife’s, at that time, favorite non-Dodger stole a double from our son on a diving catch down the LF line. We are no longer allowed to mention the name Eric Byrnes, and when he is on MLB Network, I am instructed to turn him off. I am thankful that my mother-in-law got to see our son play at Anaheim Stadium three months before she passed, even though he struck out against K-Rod.
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I am thankful for my other passion, my USC Trojans. Win or lose, I am a Trojan for life. And I do not expect it to be pretty on Saturday, but just like every game, I go into it believing they will win.
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I am thankful that Mark reached out to me at a time that I needed a diversion and asked if I would like to write for LADT. It was certainly not in my comfort zone, but I am thankful that I agreed to do so. It is not always easy to be creative and generate a post that will elicit discussion. I am thankful for the many wonderful people who respond. I am thankful for the diverse thoughts that permeate this site, and always with respect. It proves that people can disagree without being disagreeable. I have tried to use this forum to engender positive remarks about the players, even while being critical of their play. It was not easy reading the horrible things people used to write about our son while he was with Philly. It was not easy to read a column by Bill Conlin where he referred to my son needing a tether behind the plate, and then telling me that I should be grateful that the Great Bill Conlin even wrote about him. I swore off blogs until I came across LA Dodger Report and started to write again. I crossed a line, and self-imposed banishment until Mark started LADT. I am thankful that Watford Dodger was gracious enough to forgive.
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Thank you one and all, and have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
You are sooooo appreciated!
Happy Thanksgiving to all you guys.
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AC – this has been the best year at LADT, thanks to yourself and DC adding to what Mark has worked long & hard to create.
The increasing number of Posters here, tells its own story.
I hope you and your family enjoy the day, and please keep up your well balanced analysis.
Happy Thanksgiving to all here and everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving from three of my granddaughters and The Mighty Quinn:
Mark
I was going to ask about Quinn, because I know he is a big part of the family.
And of course your grand children are very cute, too.
Have a good day MJ – hope life is good
Watford
Right back at you!
AC
Mark and Watford are right, you are the best!
Over at Dodgers Nation
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https://www.dodgersnation.com/noah-syndergaard-could-become-available-but-is-he-needed-bs0193/2018/11/22/?utm_source=DNVersion1&utm_campaign=12e22bd438-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bc32bd168c-12e22bd438-15564917
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there is a post about Noah Syndergaard and what the Dodgers might have to give up to get him. Muncy, Fergusson, Alexander, and Diego Cartaya were mentioned or substitute White or Santana for one of those two pitchers. They said relief pitcher Lugo would replace Syndergaard in their rotation.
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I would jump at Muncy, White, Alexander, and Wong and if Wood could be added to get Lugo, all the better. I want to keep Fergusson and think Cartaya could be better used in another trade or kept for the Dodger’s future.
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I proposed this awhile ago so I now have company with these out-of-nowhere trade ideas.
Mark thank you for all the work you do to make this the best Dodger blog anywhere. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Your babies are precious. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
I have a full plate in several ways so HTGD all!
Enjoy your day Quas, hope its all going well for you.
Mark thanks so much for this blog. it is my favorite. I am also very appreciate all the work of ac and dc. I read other blogs but do not post. I like to read all the posts and enjoy the diversity of thoughts. I’m not sure anyone ever reads my posts but I like to at least be able to express my opinion. I am a lifetime dodger fan and very few things can really raise my blood pressure but dodger baseball can. One thing I think mark said is that Friedman isn’t going anywhere. But, I wonder how this ownership and it’s apparent dysfunction may effect his future. I think the Dodgers are so much better off under Friedman than they were prior. But if there is real problems going on I wonder how Friedman really feels about being here. I hope the ownership issues are overblown but if not maybe that is why people are bailing. I have no clue but mark you usually have some inside info. Are the ownership rumors going to cost us Friedman?
See, I read your comments and no, I do not think it will cause Friedman to go elsewhere.
With all that has been said, what could I possibly add??? Hopefully all of you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving and hopefully not get caught up in any Black Friday blitzes…
A great day for Clapton’s best…
Peter
You must be feeling a lot better today, with no mention of Percocet.
I had to hear that song again today, but I didn’t know that was Manfred Mann.
I remember that name more from the 80s.
Rosscup & Goeddel released