My Thoughts on the Bullpen and Others

Posted By on March 3, 2020

I have been away for a bit due to some unexpected personal family matters, but I have continued to read the blog everyday. Last week when Mark proclaimed, “This could not only be the best Dodger bullpen of All-Time, but it could also be one of the best in the game… maybe ever!”, many unsurprisingly jumped on that testament. I have been a huge critic of the bullpen makeup, and have recognized how the bullpen has let the team down at the most critical times. Mark and I have been loggerheads on this topic for the last several years. But this year, THUS FAR, I am leaning in the direction that the Dodgers bullpen could be a significant strength of this team.

Adam Kolarek faced 8 batters on Sunday: 6 RH batters and 1 LH batter. He allowed a single to the first five batters, all RH ML hitters: Matt Duffy, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Rob Refsnyder, Sam Travis, and Jeff Mathis. He did get RH CF Nick Solak to hit into a DP, and then allowed the only LH hitter he faced, Roughned Odor, to single. Compare that to fellow LHRP, Caleb Ferguson, who has pitched 3.0 innings in 3 games and has not allowed a single baserunner, with 3 strikeouts. It would appear to me, that Caleb should be the second LHRP on the 26-man. Scott Alexander still needs to pitch more games before he can be considered ready, but he did pitch a scoreless inning allowing only a walk.

The one relief pitcher who has pitched better than Caleb is KJ. In his 3.0 IP, he also has not allowed a baserunner, and has 6 strikeouts. He has been the second pitcher in the game in all three of his outings, so he is still facing ML hitters. Neither Pedro Baez or Joe Kelly have allowed a run in their 2.0 IP, while allowing 2 hits and no walks to go with 3 K’s.

Even though both of Strip’s outings are considered starts, he figures to be a reliver during the season, with an occasional start. In his 3.0 IP, he has allowed 2 hits and has 2 strikeouts and no walks.

Another RHRP who has sparkled this spring is Dennis Santana. He has done nothing to disappoint and everything to push him into the decision equation. Santana has appeared in 4 games and has accumulated 4.0 IP. He has surrendered 2 hits and allowed 1 walk to go with 8 strikeouts. And Santana has done this while pitching early in the games to face more of the ML hitters until Monday when he allowed his first walk.

Another pitcher who has started 2 games but does not figure to be a starting pitcher for the 2020 team is Tony Gonsolin. He has 3.0 IP in his 2 starts and has yet to be scored on. He has allowed 1 hit, with no walks and 3 strikeouts. While he will not be a starter for the LAD ML team, he should get some consideration as a reliever.

Brusdar Graterol was perfect in his one inning.

IMO, relievers worst metric would be base on balls. You need to come in and throw strikes and let your defense do its job. None of KJ, Ferguson, Kelly, Baez, Strip, Gonsolin, and Graterol have allowed a run or a walk. As indicated earlier, Dennis Santana has not allowed any runs, but issued his first walk on Monday. Alexander did surrender a walk but no hits or runs in his 1.0 IP. LHRP Reymin Guduan has appeared in four games but has allowed a single run on 3 hits and no walks, with 3 strikeouts in 4.0 IP. Dylan Floro also has 2.0 IP but has allowed 1 run on 2 hits, but he has not issued a walk either.

Blake Treinen has not yet appeared in a game. There is no indication of an injury, so he is probably getting work done away from games. He is not that far behind those that have already pitched. Jimmy Nelson has an injured groin and is probably out for a while. There is no reason to rush him, and if he is ready to go by May, that would be very similar to Brandon Morrow’s 2017 timetable.

The young RHRP, Brett de Geus, had an inauspicious debut but has been brilliant in his three subsequent outings, co-leading the team with 4.1 IP, although he has not faced too many ML hitters. He is not auditioning for a ML reliever role in 2020, but he is getting invaluable experience.

Marshall Kasowski, another youngster not expected to break camp also has appeared in 4 games and is also the co-leader with 4.1 IP. He has not been scored on while allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts.

Although it is very early in the Spring, the work of the relievers has been outstanding. It is hard to find fault with what the following relievers have done thus far:

KJ
Caleb Ferguson
Dennis Santana
Tony Gonsolin
Ross Stripling
Pedro Baez
Joe Kelly
Brusdar Graterol
Scott Alexander
Reymin Guduan
Brett de Geus
Marshall Kasowski

And that is leaving out Blake Treinen.

Besides Adam Kolarek, the three relief pitchers who have been the biggest disappointments have been Joe Broussard, Josh Sborz, and Tyler Gilbert. Broussard has waited a long time to garner the attention of the Dodger brass, but has not pitched well in his last two outings, and I think that is putting it kindly. Sborz likewise has not pitched well enough to earn a 26-man roster consideration, although he has increased the likelihood of being DFA’d if and when the Dodgers need a spot on the 40 man. While I was hoping for a better outcome for my fellow Trojan, Gilbert has also disappointed in his two outings.

The Dodgers are not going to get Josh Hader or Edwin Diaz or Ken Giles or Aaron Bummer or Nick Anderson, or any other top reliever. To think otherwise is not healthy. If what we have witnessed in a very small sample size continues to be fostered, it will be difficult to pick the top eight from what the Dodgers do have in their own organization, much less trade top prospects for other teams that hope to contend with their top relievers before the season even starts.

Another surprise for many (although not so much for me), has been the Spring start for Austin Barnes. He is 4-13 with a double, HR, and 3 RBI’s. Austin is undoubtedly more comfortable in the backup role, and he is a favorite for many of the Dodger pitchers to pitch to. Rocky Gale has done well in a backup role as well. Will Smith is 2-16 with a double and a RBI. I am comfortable that he is still considered the starting catcher, but I am hopeful that he will come out of his early Spring slump. Maybe he needs a couple of days to work with the hitting gurus with zero pressure.

I may be one of the few who was not upset with Corey Seager being aggressive early in the count. It appears that he is being a bit less aggressive and has only 1 K to go with 3 walks. So while his patience is increasing, his BA is not to his standards, while his OBP is okay. I have always liked him jumping on the first pitch, and he did very well with this approach in his 1st two seasons. I fully expect Seager to have a very good season.

Players with the most AB’s for LAD thus far in the Spring are:

Luke Raley (20)
Kike’ (19)
AJ Pollock (19)
Zach McKinstry (18)
Mookie Betts (16)
Gavin Lux (16)
Smith (16)
Edwin Rios (14)
Cristian Santana (14)
Tyler White (14)

It is getting closer to the time that Messrs. Betts (16), Bellinger (13), Seager (13), Muncy (13), and Turner (11), start to get more AB’s.  The team has less than three weeks before they break camp and head to LA for the Freeway Series, so it is just about time for the 26 man to garner more game time, and the MiLB players and pitchers begin to get moved back to their Minor League camp assignments. 

I am one who believes that no LAD player or pitcher is going to be traded this Spring. Joc and AJ will play together and somehow some way, both Kike’ and CT3 will get a good number of AB’s. I do not see AF trading Joc or Kike’ to a contender, and no team on a rebuild is going to trade prospects for one year or less of Joc or Kike’. Joc’s 36 HRs cannot be duplicated with any of the reserves, and even if he hits his projection of 29 HR’s and .837 OPS in a platoon role, that will be hard to replace. It is more realistic to see what is needed at the trade deadline than to move players because they may be uncomfortable in their current role. Regardless, to get quality at the trade deadline, it is not going to involve Joc or Kike’ or CT3. It is going to involve top prospects.

Spring numbers are not significant, but it is always better to see the players/pitchers do well, even in an abbreviated scenario. There are 22 ST games still to be played with two open dates and two split squad days before opening against the Giants on March 26.

This article has 29 Comments

  1. Treinen may make his debut later this week or weekend.

    He is healthy but has been working on his delivery focusing on mechanical adjustments. He has faced minor league hitters, but the Dodgers want to smooth out mechanical flaws.

    Friedman must think he can be “fixed” because he paid big money for Blake.

  2. Mark seriously you over hype Kike and before it has been Verdugo and others. I know deep down you love and miss Puig and Kemp just admit it. Kike has not been even close to what those players did as Dodgers overall. Kike did not even came up in Dodgers organization. He is not good enough to be a regular player and makes too much money for his real value.

    To say that he is an elite defender at every position is not a true statement as i said before he does not have great range and makes mental mistakes too. To say he is better than Chris Taylor is not an accurate statement. Is your opinion but to the Dodgers he is the 25th , 26th player and if Friedman has a chance he will trafe him. I know he hit 3 hrs in clutch game against cubs in NLCS against the Cubs in 2017 and that was his best moment as Dodger. I would keep Taylor and Trade Kike right now. But you seem to love this banana clown a lot. I would rather keep Joc than Kike any day.

    1. You are on to me… I am such a fan of Puig and Kemp.

      MLB teams are knocking on Puig’s door because they know he is great and a great teammate.

      Fat, I mean… Matt Kemp is another one MLB teams are lined up to sign.

      I have overhyped Verdugo who will likely win only a few batting titles and I was wrong when I hyped Bellinger and Seager… they are just bums.

      Kike’s teammates all hate him because he’s a banana clown.

      Please enjoy life in your alternative universe.

      Seriously!

      1. Reported that Puig turned down a $10 million offer from a NL team. He remains without a job, although White Sox and Giants were thought to have some interest but it was not serious.

  3. Thank you for the very accurate, in my opinion, break down of the relief pitchers, AC. It will be interesting to see what 8 get chosen for the 26-man squad, and a hard choice I think. I am curious to see who you think should be the starting 5or 6 pitchers. That may also be a difficult decision on a couple of them. What is your opinion?

    1. For the start of the season I beleive that it has been established (except for injury) that it will be Kershaw, Buehler, Price, Urias, and Wood. The 6th will be Stripling. IMO, AF wants to keep Gonsolin as a starter, and it is suspected that Gonsolin will continue to start at OKC. I think there are enough relief options to begin the season, that Gonsolin will not be needed in relief. Gonsolin and May will both be needed to start a few games this year. Probably during the 33 games in 34 days from May 22 to June 24. 17 games, day off, 16 games.

      1. Your assessment of the BP so far is pretty accurate but the one person who can derail the BP by the manner they are used and or over worked with his often times questionable decision making is Roberts.

  4. Dodgers have many pitchers looking very good at this point but still very early, but so far very encouraging.

  5. I think Karros would have been hugely more successful if he swung at the first pitch. He refused to do it and it was always the best pitch he would see (watch). Pitchers knew it and that led to Karros always starting his at bat with an 0-1 count. Stats prove that 0-1 counts greatly favor pitchers.

    So, I am fine with hitters and Seager swinging at the first pitch at least enough to keep pitchers from taking advantage of hitters that never swing at it.

    I have always liked Stripling and that keeps me wanting him in the rotation. He or Wood could be our Miller.

    Kershaw, Buehler, Price, Stripling, Urias

    Jansen, Treinen, Ferguson, Gonsolin, Baez, Santana, Kelly, Wood

    Barnes looks good. Smith might be working with pitchers and preparing to be catcher for now and hopefully his hitting will also be ready by opening day.

    1. Agree with your comment on Karros. His at bats used to drive me crazy.
      Assuming that Wood has a decent spring, if you put him in the bullpen you might as well just cut him. He’d be even more angry than Maeda was. If he doesn’t have a good spring that’s another situation but would probably best be solved by coming up with an IL trip so he could work in Arizona. I think the #5 spot in the rotation is his to lose.

      1. Agree. I’m just saying I would like to see Stripling get a spot in the rotation. Who knows, a 26 player team could allow for a 6 man rotation.

    2. Agree because as of now with 4 LHP in rotation, teams will loaded up more of their best RHB to combat them. One reason why I would prefer a 2nd RHP such as Stripling or Gonsolin

  6. Zach Reks throws right and hits left. Maybe he should spend 2020 learning to switch hit. I like him.

  7. I like your choices too, Bumsrap. I would make a change in the starting rotation from yours though. I would put Wood in the starting rotation but do not know who I would take out of it for him. I do think Stripling has looked good this spring.

    2. I would take Price out of the starting rotation and have him be our Andrew Miller. Then a couple of years down the road people will be saying “He could be our David Price”. I think Price coming out of the pen would be awesome.

      Does not look like May will be ready for opening day so my starting staff for the beginning of the season would be: Kershaw, Buehler, Urias, Stripling & Wood.

      Barring and setbacks or injuries, pen of: Jansen, Treinen, Baez, Kelly, Price, Ferguson, Gonsolin and Graterol. I’m assuming they hold Graterol and maybe even Gonsolin back for awhile so the last 2 could be Santana & Nelson.

      Yes indeed. Tough choices.

  8. I think you’re going to see 6 starting pitchers more or less. Price and Urias will have their innings measured and be getting an extra day off here and until we get to August. Nice to be able to do that.

  9. A day off for the Blue and once again Carlos returns to the site and promptly and verbally steps right on his ****…
    As I say yearly, somewhere in the bldg. behind LF a war room is being setup and a list of players will be on the board. It’s who stays and who goes and I surely wouldn’t want to be AF, Doc and the staff,…
    With no trades projected, a lot of the kids we are rooting for will be flying out to Tulsa or Oklahoma and waiting for their manager to call em in the office…
    With all that being said, this is the deepest Dodger team I’ve ever witnessed… It’s gotta mean a ring right???

  11. Yelich and the Brewers close to finalizing an extension to his current 2 year deal. He’ll get 7/190 after the final 2 years of his deal are up. That’s a very very team friendly deal (as weird as that is to say)

    1. Wow! He must really like Milwaukee! Including his last 2 years that’s the best deal in baseball! Mookie’s not gonna settle for that! That trade with Miami has to go down as one of the all time steals for Brewers!

  12. I call this using the brain, this is a brilliant reasoning and I congratulate you, I agree 100%:
    “I am one who believes that no LAD player or pitcher is going to be traded this Spring. Joc and AJ will play together and somehow some way, both Kike’ and CT3 will get a good number of AB’s. I do not see AF trading Joc or Kike’ to a contender, and no team on a rebuild is going to trade prospects for one year or less of Joc or Kike’. Joc’s 36 HRs cannot be duplicated with any of the reserves, and even if he hits his projection of 29 HR’s and .837 OPS in a platoon role, that will be hard to replace. It is more realistic to see what is needed at the trade deadline than to move players because they may be uncomfortable in their current role. Regardless, to get quality at the trade deadline, it is not going to involve Joc or Kike’ or CT3. It is going to involve top prospects.”

  13. Realistically, what can we get for JOC and Kike? Maybe it’s best to keep them for the WS run and let them walk.

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