Gavin Lux – Next Dodger Star?

Posted By on January 16, 2020

In 2016, a rookie was called up at the end of the season and in 95 AB’s he hit .179 with a .263 OB% while striking out 45% of the time. Obviously, he was a ZERO, ZILCH, NADA. Nothing to see here… move on. Many people were unimpressed. “He needs to spend another season at AAA.” This kid was 24 years old and only hit .179? He was obviously way outclassed. The thing is: the next year, he hit.284 with a .422 OB% in 678 PA and he hit 52 HR to boot! Aaron Judge is his name… maybe you have heard of him.

So I read that “Gavin Lux is not all that“, and that “he is overrated” and I say: “Are you freaking crazy?” In 2016, Aaron Judge played most of the season at AAA and hit .270 with a .366 OB% and 19 HR.

Gavin Lux was 21 in 2019 when he was promoted at the end of the season and he hit .240 with a .305 OB%. He struck out 32% of the time. Yet, some Dodger fans say “he has to show me.” I have read many fans say that he really didn’t look that good. Okay… whatever! Maybe, like me, they judged him by what he looked like in 2016:

When Gavin Lux was drafted I thought it was a really bad move. However, Andrew Friedman was playing chess while I was playing checkers. Friedman and Company saw something I didn’t. It took Gavin a while, but in 2019 he broke out with a monster year and was the Minor League Player of the Year. Whoever was second wasn’t even close.

I heard the same thing about Walker Buehler who put up a 7.00+ ERA in his initial call up. Gavin Lux hit .240 with a .305 OB% in 75 AB’s. It was certainly a better opening act than Aaron Judge. Now, I am not saying Lux is better than Judge, but I am saying that Gavin Lux will probably be the Rookie of the Year in the NL and will be the starting second-baseman. He may not start the season as the leadoff hitter, but he will likely assume that position as the season progresses.

I believe he will hit around .300 with 40 doubles and 15-20 HR’s, while being a solid 2B. Gavin Lux is the next Dodger’s All-Star and a potent bat for an already “stacked” lineup. Enjoy his journey. By the way, he has grown up from a skinny little kid into a man… and Mary Hart like him.

From DC: Dodgers Sign Ricky Knapp

On Tuesday the Dodgers purchased the contract of right-hander Ricky Knapp from the  Lincoln Saltdogs who are a member of the Central Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. They play their home games at Haymarket Park, which they share with the Nebraska Cornhuskers college baseball team.

If the name sounds familiar, Ricky Knapp is the son of Rick Knapp who spent from 2013 to 2016 as a pitching coordinator in the Dodgers minor league system.

Here is a link to the senior Knapp.

https://www.thinkbluela.com/2016/05/meet-dodgers-minor-league-pitching-coordinator-rick-knapp/

Ricky Knapp was selected by the Mets in the eighth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Gulf State University. The native of Port Charlotte, Florida had attended Port Charlotte High School from which he was initially selected by the Detroit Tigers in 2010 in the 44th round.

He was drafted following his junior year at Gulf State in which he posted a 9-3 record along with a 2.10 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP over 102.2 innings. Never a strikeout pitcher, he struck out 74 as a junior and walked but 15.

Following his selection in the 2013 Rule-4 Draft, he spent six seasons in the Mets system beginning with the A- Brooklyn Cyclones and reaching as high as the AAA Las Vegas 51s for the 2017 season. In 2018 he was limited to 17 innings and following the season was released by the Mets.

In his time in the Mets organization, Knapp posted an overall record of 35-33 and an ERA of 3.88 over 123 games of which 95 were starts and included eight complete games. He chipped in with four saves in five opportunities walking 154 batters and striking out 430 over 620 innings.

During the 2109 season with the Salt Dogs, the 27-year-old Knapp went 4-10 with a 5.80 ERA in 20 appearances and 18 starts coming off an injury.

Being the son of a former major league pitching coach it should come as no surprise that Knapp has repeatable and clean mechanics.  He’s also a four-pitch pitcher that really doesn’t have one outstanding pitch.  Accordingly, Knapp is reliant upon location, mixing up his pitches, and pitching to contact in order to get batters out.  He has been largely successful in that because he keeps the ball on the ground having a 1.46 ground out to fly out ratio.  As a result, he has gone deep into games.

Growing up with a baseball father the younger Knapp has already spent his life, even his early life, steeped in baseball.

On his first birthday, he got a batting tee and a whiffle ball and fell asleep face down on the carpet with his new bat and ball. At five, he played in his first league, and around 10 he started pitching.

His road to MLB  without a dominant pitch is a difficult path to follow. That is, if he is on the mound, which might not be his final destination. Constantly surrounded by baseball from his first year until now, he has become a student of the game according to those who have been around him. That includes not only his father but also his former pitching coach Frank Viola.

“(During) side work, he’s giving me a litany of what he has to do and what he’s been thinking about and so on and so forth, and that’s too much for me and I’m just a pitching coach,” 51s pitching coach Frank Viola said.

“I think that when guys like him end up making it to the big leagues, it’s because of those things,” Rick Knapp said. “He has to pay attention, he has to be in tune with what he’s doing because he can’t wait to adjust. He can’t let it go. He’s got to adjust quickly.”

“He just looks at things different … He is a student of the game,” his father said. “He’s not going to overwhelm anybody. He knows this is what he needs to do to be better. This is what he needs to do to be competitive. And that’s his way.”

Ricky Knapp most likely will be assigned to the Oklahoma City Dodgers for the upcoming season as a young man who has persevered and takes advice from wherever he can get it

Welcome aboard Ricky.

This article has 33 Comments

  1. Mookie Betts has always been a very good player, a star, but in 2018 he got out of his shoes, he had a phenomenon season, a Mike Trout season.
    That season coincides with the arrival of Cora, would the theft of signals have any influence?
    In 2019 Betts were already only a very good player, a star, but in 2018 he seemed from another planet.
    Speaking of Lux at the end of his career with the Dodgers, in the future, he will be the best 2B of the team since J. Robinson, his SS skills moved to 2B will make him a defensive player well above average and his projection to the offensive that he can reach, over time, a 25-25 is phenomenal, Lux will be a special player.

  2. It looks to me like while everyone was bloviating about who the Dodgers should spend stupid money on, they were actually reconfiguring their pitching strategy in light of the new “3 out rule. ” Signing Nelson and Woods is brilliant when you consider that 1.those 2 can start in a rotation that might need to protect May/Goose/Urias
    2. It allows for all 5 of them to pitch to multiple batters and multiple innings in relief
    3. It gets 2 veteran pitchers who have tons of upside for very little investment.
    4. It provides flexibility and trade chips at the July trade deadline

    Mr. Friedman and Co have again shown that they are operating at a whole different level than many others and have again out together a roster that is greater than the sum of it’s parts.

    2. I did a quick look at Baseball Reference to see how many starters we have had with 4 or more starts in the last few years. If my small screen and memory are correct:

      2016 – 12
      2017 – 9
      2018 – 7
      2019 – 9

      Buehler, Kershaw, Maeda, Urias, Wood, Stripling, May, Gonsolin, Nelson is 9. I suspect there will be enough starts to go around for everyone.

      How that is proportioned will likely be based on performance and injuries. Rookies may be innings limited early in the season. I’m not sure how Urias will be handled but if history is any guide, no one does.

  3. I liked Lux from the start,I believe he will be a star for the Dodgers but I am counting on him and Verdugo to show the team that nasty streak I believe both have, both play the game hard and I believe take no prisoners, they are junk yard dogs with attitude, now pass that on to more Dodger players, especially some pitchers.

    1. Spot on! I believe Buehler and Dustin May have that same type of “junk yard” attitude when they are on the mound. If you will, a Don Drysdale approach.

  4. Let’s wait and see if Wood, Nelson and Treinen can even stay healthy much less contribute much before we crown AF a grandmaster!

  5. The 2016 MLB draft was chock-full of outstanding prospects including some outstanding pitching prospects…Matt Manning, AJ Puk, Ian Anderson, Riley Pint, Jason Groome, Forrest Whitley, and Dakota Hudson, all top 34 picks. The Dodgers wanted a SS and their eyes were on Puerto Rico’s Delvin Perez, who reportedly failed a pre-draft drug test, and fortuitously and fortunately switched to Gavin Lux. I was one who was not enamored with the selection of Gavin Lux as the 20th overall pick in the 2016 draft. It was not that I thought Lux was not a good prospect, but I very much wanted Bo Bichette, and stated as much before the draft when it became clear that the Dodgers wanted a SS as their #1 pick. Bichette has more than lived up to the hype. In his rookie season last year, in 212 PA, Bo batted .311/.358/.571/.930 with a 144 OPS+. It also appears that Bichette is going to stick at SS.

    Gavin Lux has exceeded my expectations (not that my expectations matter to anyone). While I still would have preferred Bichette, I am now very much a Gavin Lux fan, and look for him to have an outstanding LA Dodgers career. I am not sure how much fire he has. He seems more aligned with the Corey Seager/Cody Bellinger personality than the Alex Verdugo. But we will see more of the personality as he becomes more comfortable and more of a fixture at 2B for LAD.

    1. I prefer the Seager, Bellinger attitude over the Verdugo attitude. Lux seems perfectly suited for second base but I wouldn’t count him out from being a good shortstop.

      1. With regard to the personalities, I was referring to baseball 1439’s likeness of Lux and Verdugo with “nasty streaks”. I like both personalities, as I think both are needed for a winning combination. But I do prefer the Seager/Belli attitude, and everything I have observed from his MiLB games and MLB games, Lux is more of Seager, and both should be able to play well together.

        1. I hear you. I don’t know how I would define a nasty streak as it is used by 1439. Normally I would not associate nasty with anything positive other than a slider or curve ball.

          1. The way I interpret that characterization (nasty streak / junk yard dog) –is the way the game was played by Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Carl Furillo, Don Zimmer, Don Drysdale, Don Newcombe, Sal Maglie, Maury Wills, Brett Butler, Chase Utley, etc. I don’t believe every player has to have that attitude, but there is a need on every roster for players with a certain fieriness about them once the bell rings.

  6. I really like Gavin Lux and obviously so do the Dodgers … and apparently so do all the teams engaged in trade talks with LA.

    I just hope the Dodgers put him at second base and let him play. Bill Plunkett of the OC Register insists that he won’t become an outfielder, doubts he’ll touch the grass out there. I hope so. The Dodgers already have too many outfielders and although almost everybody expected them to trade one or two, the back issue with Alex Verdugo may have thrown a wrench into that thinking. There is, of course, still time and some like David Vassegh believe something is likely to happen between now and spring training.

    Debate continues to rage as whether the Astros penalty was harsh enough. Apparently, according to some GMs and owners, it should have gone further. I was thinking about Rob Manfred’s and baseball’s worst nightmare. Houston is still a talented team and somehow they end up winning the 2020 World Series. There is the owner and the same players involved in the sign stealing scheme smiling and raising the trophy on the field. If that becomes the scenario, the Astros punishment would be hollow. Maybe Manfred should have banned Houston from the playoffs for two years.

  7. Pete Rose and Chase Utley would probably be the ultimate junkyard dog but I am not sure that term best describes the attitude that I most appreciate.

    1. Rarely if ever intimidated.
    2. Always has head in the game whether on defense, in the dugout, or at bat.
    3. Anticipates well.
    4. Grinds out at bats.
    5. Doesn’t let off the gas once they get a hit or two in a game.
    6. Stays relaxed and confident.
    7. Implements the game plan.
    8. Is mostly successful when pushing a play–taking an extra base, throwing home.
    9. Thrives in big games and big loud crowds.
    10. Plays smart baseball.

    1. I believe Jackie Robinson is the benchmark against whom all other junkyard dogs should be compared.

    2. After a little more MLB playing time I could definitely see Lux having all 1-10 and that’s exactly why I’m a huge fan of his, and why I was a huge fan of Utley and Rose (when he played, not the other stuff).

      1. I don’t think Diaz is any more, or less available with Beltran’s departure. But, I doubt the Dodgers are interested considering their recent pitching moves. Diaz would be another pitcher the Dodgers would be hoping for a bounce back year when they already have Jansen, Kelly, Nelson, Wood, and Treinen in the same category.

        1. SoCalBum – Diaz had a down year in 19 for whatever reason, but did you watch him in 2018? he had 57 saves for a Mariner teams that won 89 games. He was filthy. At 25 he might be just “another pitcher the Dodgers would be hoping for a bounce back year” but if he does, he has a high ceiling than anybody you mentioned including an aging Kenley Jansen. I would gamble in Diaz in a heartbeat.

    1. I’m curious if that is true, why that wasn’t mentioned in Manfred’s report? I couldn’t image they wouldn’t have investigated those allegations. I remember reading about them weeks ago.

  10. I’m really enjoying the writing on the youngsters. Keep it up!

    I think the discussion on personalities is interesting. Largely because I think that has become an major focus within player development. A vast amount of international money went down the drain because of personality, work ethic, makeup and coachability issues. A VAST amount.

    I like Seager’s calm nature. But sometimes I feel he lacks that fire. Verdugo worried me early on. He can be flashy and a bit over the top. But I like how that has played on the MLB level. He and Muncy both seem to love being in the high pressure situations. And their personalities can really fire the team up. Plus, we need those guys to get under MadBum’s skin. The Dodgers have a good mix right now.

    I have found Lux to be balanced. Super focused and intense. But outside of “work” the guy is outgoing, engaging and just a really nice Wisconsin kid. At the stadium, he is 100% business. My son had an opportunity to go down into the Rancho dugout before a game in early 2018. I took pictures of him with a bunch of players. He had them all sign a ball. Gavin came out of the clubhouse right as we were about to head back to the stands. My son asked him if he would sign a ball. Gavin just looked at him, emotionless and said… “yup”. He signed it and ran onto the field to warm up. My son wasn’t sure if he annoyed him or not. Later in the game Gavin was coming in after a third out, looked up above the dugout, saw my son leaning on a rail, pointed at him and fired the ball right to him. My son said something to the effect of “I guess I didn’t annoy him”. Gavin did that a couple times that season.

    For a guy that some labeled as a “bust” in 2017, he came out in 2018 with a fire in his belly. By June it was pretty obvious he was the best player in the CA League. And the other players who were close have not had nearly the same success in the higher levels (Colton Welker comes to mind).

    We all know Gavin has the talent. But he also has the makeup to put in the work, make the adjustments and succeed on the MLB level. Talent alone isn’t enough. Ask Yadier Alvarez, if you can find him.

    .300, 20 hrs would be a monster first season, as some have predicted. He has all the tools to do that. I’m really looking forward to watching him this year.

  12. Latest: Astros Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman wore ‘devices that buzzed’ as part of sign-stealing scandal, says ESPN’s Marly Rivera. Devices buzzed on inside right shoulder with pitch signals from “hallway video guy”. Video footage corroborate the claims. When Altuve hit the series-clinching home run in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS over the Yankees, he held his jersey together tight to keep his teammates from ripping it off. Watch the footage. “I’m too shy,” Altuve told Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal in his postgame interview. “Last time I did that, I got in trouble with my wife.” Yeah, right! Much more to come!

  14. Congratulations to Clayton and Ellen on the birth of their new son, Cooper Ellis Kershaw. I like the name.

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