Play-Off Picture
Although the minor league season has been extended to the third week in September the push for a very limited play-off spot will soon begin. Actually, the A and AA regular seasons end on September 19 with a five-game playoff between the two teams with the best winning percentage in the league regardless of their division.
There are no playoffs at the AAA level but the regular schedule has been extended until October 3. This extends the season by 10 games for every AAA team but there is no reward at the finish line in terms of a championship. There are no play-offs in the Florida and Arizona Complex Leagues.
As of today no Dodger affiliate at the A and AA levels would qualify as a playoff team. However, the Drillers have their fate in their own bats as they have six games remaining with Wichita and trail the Wind Surge by four games. The Loons are even in a better position at one game out of second place in the league.
The Quakes are well ahead in the Southern Division but trail San Jose in the Northern Division by 3.5 games. They have a six-game series with the Giants beginning on Wednesday.
Just Checking In – (Round selected in brackets)
The Dodgers had 19 selections in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft with three not signing a contract – SS Michael Sirota (16), LHP Adam Tulloch (17), and RHP Charlie Connolly (20).
Thus far six of the 2021 draftees are listed on the Arizona Complex Dodgers roster. Five are pitchers of whom three have thrown a scoreless inning – RHP Nick Nastrini (4), RHP Emmet Sheehan (5), and RHP Antonio Knowles (13). LHP Lael Lockhart (9) and RHP Michael Hobbs (10) are on the roster but have yet to make their debut. Outfielder Damon Keith has been the most active appearing in five games with three hits in 17 at-bats.
Undrafted Free Agent – shortstop Austin Gauthier – has appeared in six games with three hits in 13 at-bats.
As a sidebar, another Undrafted Free Agent – David Tiburcio who was signed by the Dodgers last September – has pitched 14 innings in the Dominican Summer League. He is a 19-year-old right-hander who has a 1.93 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP along with 14 strikeouts and six walks. He is listed at 6’2” /195-lb. The only information that I can find on him is that he is from New York.
Right-hander Marshall Kasowski had surfaced with the Dodgers in the Arizona Complex League. In 2.2 innings he has allowed one earned run while striking out six and walking one. Time is not on his side now so hopefully, he can get back to full-time service before the season ends. Kasowski picked up some time on Saturday, as Mark noted, with a scoreless inning with the OKC Dodgers in which he struck out the side. He threw 16 pitches, 12 of which were strikes. His K/BB ratio has been his hindrance in the past. Throw strikes Marshall.
The Dodgers have signed yet another UFO bringing their 2021 total to 11. Infielder Kyle Froemke was signed out of Oregon State. He played in 19 games in 2021. He hit .310 with two doubles, two home runs, and six RBI with seven walks and 11 strikeouts.
James Outman – Pipeline Team of the Week
Last week, outfielder James Outman of the Tulsa Drillers was named to the Pipeline Team of the Week. Now, No. 27 on the Dodgers Top 30 Prospects, Outman had a monster week with the following stat line .462/.533/.962, 6 G, 12-for-26, 3 HR, 4 2B, 4 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 4 K
A seventh-round pick in 2018, Outman was primarily known for his plus speed and solid defensive skills in the outfield, but he has shown enough offensive improvement in 2021 to become a viable bat as well. That was on full display last week during a run that included a two-homer game on Wednesday and two separate three-hit contests. The 24-year-old outfielder joined Double-A Tulsa on July 23 and has had no issue with the transition so far.
Loons Home Run Record
On August 11 Andy Pages delivered a record-setter for the Great Lakes Loons as he hit his 23rd home run of the season and the 128th overall for the team breaking an 11-year record for home runs in a single season.
Since then the Loons have hit 11 more home runs including three by outfielder Ryan Ward who now has 20 on the season ranking him third in the league behind the 23 of Griffin Conine (yes, that Conine) and teammate Andy Pages.
Miguel Vargas
You might have read this about Miguel.
Vargas’ season has been defined by a drastic uptick in his power numbers, and that strength was on display Saturday as the third baseman clubbed two home runs, his third career multi-homer game. With those two long balls, Vargas now has 19 home runs on the season with a .526 slugging percentage. In 2019, by comparison, Vargas had seven home runs in 124 games with a .440 slugging percentage. That power has especially been on display in what has been a scorching hot August; in 12 games this month, Vargas is slashing .391/.453/.717 seven extra-base hits (four homers).
On Sunday he continued to swing a hot stick with three hits and three runs ticking his batting average up to .308. Teammate Justin Yurchak had three more hits with two runs batted in pushing his average up to .431.
Justin Hagenman – “Silent Assassin”
Last week I zeroed in on Justin Yurchak and Justin Bruihl. I was remiss in not including Justin Hagenman.
There are some guys who just hang around unexpectedly. Justin Hagenman seems to be one of them. The 24-year-old right-hander was selected by the Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 2018 First-year Player Draft. He went unnoticed with the Loons in 2019 posting a 2.24 ERA over 76.1 innings pitched with a 1.07 WHIP while striking out 64 and walking 18.
During the current season with the Drillers, he has made 29 appearances. He had two early appearances in which he gave up seven earned runs over two innings pitched. In his 27 other outings, he has allowed only 10 earned runs over 46.2 innings pitched. On the season he has a 3.14 ERA along with a 1.09 WHIP. The big step forward for Hagenman has been his strikeout numbers. His 60 strikeouts top those of Nick Robertson, Aaron Ochenbein, and Mark Washington in comparable innings as does his WHIP. He has walked 15.
His Penn State head coach had this to say about Hagenman and it rings true. On the mound, it is impossible to tell by looking at him if things are going well, poorly, if the situation is high leverage or mop up.
“You never see him waver,” head coach Rob Cooper said. “Whether he’s given up a couple of runs, struggled, or done really well, he looks exactly the same. From a coaching standpoint it’s really nice, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get an ultra-competitive young man out there who’s super coachable and loves to have the ball.”
Tulsa Noodlers
From August 12th through the 15th, the Tulsa Drillers became the Tulsa Noodlers! Noodling is the sport of fishing for catfish using your bare hand and is hugely popular throughout the entire state of Oklahoma, which is dubbed the unofficial Noodling capital of the world.
The Noodlers donned a dark royal & lime green hat with a custom BiteBack Catfish logo, dark royal with lime green piping jerseys with a Noodlers script font, and lime green pants. The custom BiteBack Noodlers logo helps to represent the fun of noodling, while also showing the determination of Oklahomans to always be resilient.
The Noodlers went 3-1 against the Wichita Wind Surge which allowed them to gain two games on the division leaders.
MiLB Players of the Week (August 9-15)
Ryan Ward – Great Lakes Loons – High A Central
Outfielder Ward collected his second Player of the Week acknowledgment in the past three weeks. In the last seven days, he posted a .381/.458/1.000 triple slash and a 1.458 OPS. He had eight runs batted in and four home runs.
On the season his slash line now reads .284/.,356/.479 with a .853 OPS. Ward is now third in the league in runs batted in and slugging and fifth in OPS.
Gavin Stone – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – Low A West
Right-hander Stone has also captured his second Pitcher-of-the-Week acknowledgment in the past three weeks. Last Friday he tossed six shutout innings of four-hit ball against the Inland Empire 66ers. He struck out 12 and issued no free passes. He threw 73 pitches, 55 for strikes.
On the season he has now pitched 70 innings and his 101 strikeouts are fourth in the league. He has walked 20.
I hope we see some of these minors who are looking good up with the big boys….especially pitchers and outfielders.
As for last night….it went about as I suspected it would go:
1. McKinney a hero both in the field (arm) and his big bat
2. Arguably our best hitter, Marvelous Max, does it again. (I’m sure he should get paid more than any other positional player not named Mookie.)
3. Jackson pitched 4 shut out innings, although I was expecting 5.
4. Jansen closes another, although Mark’s man crush, TsuTsu made it interesting (nothing new for Jansen).
5. Giants beat the Mets
6. We only scored 2 runs on 5 hits. I expected this….guys were tired, and they usually don’t score many runs the game following 14 runs.
7. Trienen, who I think should be the closer, only needed one pitch.
I was very relieved to still be 4 games out….this bullpen game scared me. We survived. Great win, now rest up,zzzzzzzzzzza, see you Tuesday.
TM
TM, Treinen pitched another inning after bailing out Bazooka on that one pitch. And he made 8 in that inning striking out two. I know this was a minor oversight on your part…….
Hey Bear, wouldn’t you feel better to see Trienen as our closer instead of Jansen?
And, I couldn’t find Ruiz’ stats with Nats minors on Baseball reference so I will go look somewhere else. You got me curious on that one. I’m disappointed he is struggling there.
I think Treinen would be a good option to Jansen. But with what Kenley is being paid to close, no way that happens. Ok, to find Ruiz stats with DC’s AAA team. Go to the dodgers.com website. Go to rosters, when you put the guide over that it shows minor league affiliates. Click on that, go to DC’s AAA franchise in Rochester. Go to players, click on Ruiz and it pulls up his stats. He is 1-2 tonight and now hitting .200 at Rochester.
Thanks.
38 at bats, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, .184 BA
Ouch!
I sure hope he turns it on real soon. I don’t want their fans even more upset at us for giving them a bum.
Treinen is getting paid a lot too. Both he and Kenley are making A LOT more than that guy who is closing for the Giants.
Jake something.
Oh yeah, here it is: Jake McGee. The name is vaguely familiar. He’s converted 26 of 29 save opportunities, while Kenley has converted 25 of 30. Kenley’s WHIP is 1.28, while McGee’s is 0.85. That WHIP helps explain why Kenley always seems to be pitching with a tying run on base or up to bat.
Anyway, I doubt that, after all these years, the contract Kenley signed years ago is keeping him in the closer spot. He always makes me nervous, and I’d he happy to see Treinen at least share the job.
Of the last five wins, four were by a single run, and one was a blowout. When will the Giants fade? That’s the conventional wisdom here, right?
Maybe they’ll fade when Lux starts hitting southpaws and stops making errors.
In other news, I hope folks noticed that DJ Peters had a 2HR-game for the Rangers, including one that went 460 feet. Sometimes a small change can make a big difference.
DC–love your stuff. It stands up with anyone else’s content out there. Out top ten is solid but it’s our depth that stands out. Andre Jackson is a good example.
Mark- You seem very connected to the Dodger brass and I thought I might ask if you knew of any of the recent rumors that Orel Hershisher and Fernando Valenzuela were seen at CBR holding a showcase where AF was in attendance.
With the unfortunate health issue with Hamels, it’s been rumored Orel and Fernando are looking to get in on some of the action to see if AF will bite off on a one week $ 1 million contract for each. Just curious of you’ve heard anything?
Since I am not connected with the Dodger Brass in any way, I do not know what they think.
However, one of my sources (Ray Charles) says that he cannot see that!
Ray Charles jokes are evergreen for Mark.
Someday, I may get new material….
Nah!
Yeah, replace Ray Charles with Ronnie Milsap. 🙂
Or Stevie Wonder…
..or Angel Hernandez.
Great info regarding the kids on the farm. Thank you DC.
Jackson had his moments but my gut tells me he’s not quite ready to face a good Major League lineup for 5 innings. Great change up, suspect command and a minor league fastball. With the news on Hamel we will continue to scramble for starting pitching through September.
McKinney found a nut. Yay!
Did anyone read the partial transcripts posted yesterday? $3.4 million hush money was mentioned. Don’t know if it’s true but sounds about right.
La bola rápida nunca pudo colocarla en zona de strike en sus 4 entradas lanzadas.
Really nice article, DC! When you take it together with Mark’s from yesterday, it makes you realize how many talented young players are in the minors, and how much hard work, perserverance, luck, and opportunity it takes to make it to the big show.
Andre Jackson was a pleasure to watch yesterday. I was impressed watching him during spring training, and was surprised to see then that he was only in AA. He seems to have some control issues, and I might have expected a tick or two higher on his fastball. However, he is a very cool under pressure and works quickly, and seems to have an excellent change up. It must have been a peak experience for him with his family there in attendance. We needed him to show up big and he did. I wonder if they’ll keep him around or send him back down right away. Anyone know?
He will be headed back down. Dodgers closing in on a major league deal with reliever Shane Greene.
I love the minor league reports. The next wave of of guys are starting to look promising. Pages, Ward and Outman are all looking like useful pieces. Vargas’ bat has been solid for some time now, I’m glad he got his power stroke going. Yurchak is a big surprise, he’s a hitting machine! Did we run into someone very special here?
It was awfully nice of the Dodgers to fix Tsutsugo so he can showcase his stuff with the Pirates for the rest of the year.
Andre Jackson had a nice debut, but those walks won’t play at this level. He needs to figure out how to throw more strikes. His cambio is outstanding.
Is Vesia rapidly becoming everyone’s favorite lefty out of the pen? He has my attention every time he gets into a game. I like how animated he’s become on the mound. He’s looking very comfortable out there.
I hate the mid inning pitching change, especially following a strikeout. This time it worked out. I’m pretty comfortable going to Treinen in that situation because he’s probably our best reliever and Graterol had already thrown 20 pitches. If Graterol continued, he might not be available for tonight’s game.
I fell asleep right before Kenley came in for that last inning. I’ll probably watch it sometime this morning. All I have to say about Kenley is that I like that he’s mixing in his other pitches. This may be his rebirth, but I will never fully trust him again and think they should let him walk at the end of the year. I might throw him that qualifying offer to try to get that extra pick though. If he stays one more year, it wouldn’t be all that risky even if it might be a slight overpay.
Muncy is awesome coming up with that go ahead homer, but he really sucked at moving Turner along. Move him to the 4 spot if he can’t move that runner.
The bats need to get going tonight and Doc needs to let Price stretch it out a little to give the bullpen some rest. I’m really excited to see if Neftali can make a comeback. Those strikeout numbers in AAA are impressive. The homers and walks are not. Is he still throwing 100+?
San Diego is just 1.5 games up on the Reds for the second Wild Card spot. Go Reds! They’re now my second favorite team this year.
It really sucks watching Bryant save the Giants last night with two big flies. Ever since that 2016 season, he’s been one of my favorite non-Dodgers. Let’s go Mets! Get those next two games.
Here is the way i look at it…..We got TTurner, they got Bryant. Both happy. Of course though, we also got Scherzer and Duffy, I’m not sure if they picked anyone else up.
I’m also glad my hometown boys, Atlanta Braves, picked up several nice players to help them succeed….Duvall, Soler, and RRodreiguez at the deadline. Joc P just before it.
I don’t want people saying, “our money bought us another championship” so I’m actually happy for teams who pick up good players too at the deadline. Bring it on!
Oh, and just curious, anyone know why we let Tsu go as we were all watching him heat up in AAA? The timing seemed off.
TM
I heard that he asked for his release. He probably knew the Pirates would call him up.
He was just “organizational depth.”
I’ve said it before, every team in the league has the same number of players in their system that we do. Some are better than others. By just about every measure, our “depth” is average. You know who’s system is better than average? The giants.
What we have that they don’t is a $270 million payroll. with about $80 million of that parked in sick bay. We get our starters back, we roll. We don’t, we likely won’t.
I don’t care what people say. It’s people without money who complain about people with money. I know. I’m one of them.
The Dodgers keep getting these types to sign with them because they do the right thing. They fix them, and allow them to move on if they find something they feel is more appealing. I have no problem with this strategy because players will be more willing to sign with them. As far as Bryant vs. Trea goes, I’d rather have Trea because he’s Seager insurance. Bryant can sign with whoever he wants next year.
Not to mention, we probably don’t get Scherzer if they didn’t expand the deal to include Turner because we weren’t going to give up Ruiz for a rental, and rightfully so. Andre Jackson just showed us that JoJo was expendable and Smith keeps showing us that Ruiz was nothing more than a backup catcher on this team.
I wonder if Ruiz can transfer his big numbers to MLB. I used to think that was a given…..but not any longer.
As we have all noticed recently, Lux hasn’t done it in 3 seasons and all the kids we brought up this year (I know, small sample size) have woefully failed.
Having said that, deep down I was hoping Smith could have learned to play 3B and 1B in order to allow Ruiz to be the catcher.
But, that conversation has passed us by.
TM, he is struggling with the Nats AAA team. He will be ok. When he goes to spring training next year in a new place, Florida, with new team mates and a friend, Gray, he will probably fell a lot more comfortable than he does now.
Just asking. Do teams do things like whisper in ‘a players ear” and say “hey, if you can get them to release you, we will pick you up”?
Just never thought about that b4.
Andre definitely needs to be over 55% strikes. Sometimes that fb was ridiculously bad, he at least needs to get that close, the couple times he did it looked good. That change-up is just nasty, he had a few that were all world good.
Vesia 9 strikes in 11 pitches, awesome comeback after that shaky start to his MLB season.
cheers
pb+
I love people calling a major league fastball “ridiculously bad”. Hi FB is like 94 with movement!
I know in the context of what we see it could make sense, but it’s quite funny.
I also think this person may have meant control rather than the pitch’s quality.
Easy to lay off. He needs to find corners with it. A walk rate of 9/9 ain’t gonna work. And these were the Pirates, one of the worst hitting teams in baseball.
I was not talking about velocity OR movement. It was hardly ever where it was supposed to be, and most times ball out of hand. I DID note that when it was placed correctly, it was fine. He needs the fb to be close most of the time or that change-up will not be as good as it should if that is all the batter has to look for.
cheers
pb+
Last night, it was ridiculously bad like he was having problems gripping the baseball. The changeup wasn’t affected because grip isn’t so important to that pitch. I don’t believe he has a bad fastball, it was a lot better in Spring Training than it was last night. Hopefully, just an off night.
And I was comparing it to other actual mlb fb’s, not what you throw. If that was the case I would have said he was the best ever.
Thanks for clarifying. I was 100% sure you were comparing it to my fastball. Since you’ve seen my fastball so many times.
?
To be fair, I HAVE seen what you “throw out there” and am not impressed.
’nuff said
Great comment!
I agree. Always nice to find common ground.
Kirsten Watson has added some volume and excitement to her dialogue. I have seen great improvement. She no longer annoys me, and I can hear her! I applaud her work to improve. Here’s an interview with Andre Jackson after the game (she asks the first question).
She’s terrible. I never thought I would miss a clubhouse reporter or whatever Alanna Rizzo’s title was, but I do.
I stand corredcted. Both RHP Michael Hobbs and LHP Lael Lockhart debuted with the ACL Dodgers yesterday. Both gave up an earned run in an inning pitched.
For those who didn’t think all that highly of Max Muncy last winter and wanted the Dodgers to pursue various free agents, how do you like him now?
Andre Jackson was impressive, the change up really good. Needs, obviously, to reduce the walks, but overall a good performance.
Nice write-up, DC. Some talent and potential in the Dodger system.
I will admit that I’m one of those guys, mostly because of our lefty heavy lineup. That problem fixed itself with Lux’s slow development, Pollock’s consistency and Rios’ injury.
He’s cut down on the strikeouts and has hit more doubles and his average right now is at his career best. He’s a very good player, just under superstar status for me. I’ll eat my words on that one, as it all came together this year in his age 30 season. We have him locked up next year and have a team option the following year. I’m not looking to trade him any longer and wouldn’t mind locking him up for a couple more years. He’s become a very good personality and a leader on this team.
I’m also very lucky. My buddy went to the game on Muncy’s Bobblehead night and gifted me his extra. It’s a great bobble head capturing his “Go get it out of the water” moment and will remain one of my favorite bobble-heads in my modest collection that features Tommy, Fernando, Orel, Kersh and Andre. Some of my all time favorite Dodgers.
Unlike Cody, Max can hit lefties pretty well. I’ve not done the homework just shooting off the top of my head through observation, so I’ll be watching for Bear or Badger to show me the error of my way. But when the opposition put in a lefty to face Max, Seager, and Cody, I don’t gasp in pain, except when Cody is up.
And how valuable is a guy who can play 1B, 2B, and 3B?
Picking up guys like Muncy and CT3 show why we are a great organization.
Cody was the top lefty hitter against lefties just a couple of years ago.
Career wise, Bellinger is better than average against lefty’s. .243 average, 40 long balls, 122 batted in, OBP .331 OPS .801. That is in a little over 700 at bats. A lot better than Pederson. .209, Hernandez has more HR’s against lefty’s than Belli, but less RBI’s.
I didn’t see the game or a sol mo replay of Bellinger’s throw to first, but in real time it looked like the runner was inside the line and could have been called out. The Dodgers complaint fell on deaf ears. Did any of you see a good replay, and was he inside the line? Guess this couldn’t have gone to replay??
Replay is currently not allowed on these types of plays, but even if it was, I do not think they would have overturned it.
He was clearly inside the line. Bad call. The rule is in place exactly for that reason.
It’s a rule, usually only called when the runner deliberately runs there on throws coming from in front of home plate. The way I called it was simply this – no matter where the throw comes from if the runner is inside that line when the ball arrives at first he’s out. Looked to me like he was. And frankly it’s not that difficult a call. The home plate ump has nothing else to look at but that, and he’s got the perfect angle. He got it wrong. No surprise though. MLB umpiring only gets a B.
Here’s where he was at:
Here’s an explanation of the Runner Interference Rule:
Sorry, but I don’t think so!
You don’t think what?
I didn’t see him running inside the runners lane. Show the whole play.
You can look at yesterday’s highlights. He was not over the inside line until the last couple of steps and that is usually allowed… if your feet are on the line. It starts at about the 2:10 mark.
I watched it several times. It was closer than I originally thought, but I had him inside the line his last two steps. What’s needed is the camera shot down the line.
Yes he was, he was not running in the lane like they are supposed to. I see that happen a lot. Belli’s throw basically was almost between his legs. If it was reviewable, he would have been out.
Welcome Shane Greene!
He’s given up 16 runs in 17 innings this year. Seems like the perfect signing.
Dodgers To Sign Shane Greene To Major League Deal
By Anthony Franco | August 17, 2021 at 11:30am CDT
11:30 am: Los Angeles is indeed signing Greene to a major league contract, reports Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic (on Twitter).
11:12 am: The Dodgers are nearing agreement with free agent reliever Shane Greene on a major league contract, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 32-year-old was released by the Braves over the weekend. Greene is represented by Turner Gary Sports.
Despite quality work between 2019-20, Greene remained on the free agent market over the entirety of last offseason. That was a bit surprising but perhaps explainable by the difference in the right-hander’s run prevention numbers and peripherals. Greene pitched to an elite 2.39 ERA across 90 1/3 innings between those two seasons, but that came with a slightly below-average 23.5% strikeout rate. The disconnect is even more stark when looking at 2020 alone; his ERA was a still-great 2.60, but his strikeout percentage dipped to 19.3%. Teams clearly seemed reluctant to buy into Greene as a high-end late innings option despite his success keeping runs off the board.
The 2021 season has been a disaster no matter which metric one uses to evaluate pitcher performance. Signed to a big league deal by Atlanta in May, Greene was called up in early June after spending a few weeks in Triple-A to build up arm strength. He tossed seventeen innings for the Braves but was tagged for sixteen runs (an 8.47 ERA) on 22 hits, including five homers. Greene’s 20.5% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk percentage aren’t too different from last season’s marks, but he’s seen his groundball rate fall to a career-low 30.4% and served up far too much hard contact.
Baling wire.
Badger when we lived on the farm baling wire was the answer to everything just as duct tape is now.
Yep. Comes in handy as emergency fix. But, eventually the right part is needed.
I guess we are signing every possible arm to get us too September 1st….hoping Kershaw and Duffy and Urias return by then…..although I don’t mind Urias resting 20 days instead of 10.
Duffy cannot be activated until Mid September. Urias is going to miss one start. Kersh can come off Sept 7th.
As per Eric Stephen:
The Dodgers have already used (a franchise-record) 34 pitchers this season, but that’s hardly novel this season in MLB.
LA only ranks 8th in most-pitchers used, tied with the Rays. Mets have the most, with 39.
MLB teams *average* 30 pitchers this year
Here’s a good video explaining Doc’s slap-ass episode with Scherzer. I thought it was pretty funny and Doc handled the interview well and he will not “Handle” Mad Max going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKu8KW1id-o
* Remember a slow Sunday afternoon at the ball park. The the smells, the serenity and the sounds of the game? Before the blaring music and the walk-up songs?
That’s how it is with Nomar in the booth. A little peace and quiet. He doesn’t jump in right after Joe’s last syllable and talk until the next pitch. He casually makes his statement and then shuts up. What a concept.
* Nice win. Great to see McKinney run into one. Nice to win those bullpen games with outstanding efforts, especially Jackson.
* Muncy had a lot to be sore about after being hit by a pitch in the bottom 6. I have no idea if it was intentional but I have seen hitters plugged with first base open, instead of intentionally walking them. It’s CS baseball but it happens. I think Muncy was suspicious too.
* I really like Trea Turner but I’m not real sold on his infield defense just yet. Seager gets criticized unjustly IMO for his defense but he would have made that backhand play, top 7. It was later ruled a hit, by the way, which was BS.
* Wow. Tu Tu hit a double off KJ in the 9th. Does it ever fail? Ain’t baseball like no other sport?
* I loved Andre Jackson’s debut. How did the Dodgers find Jackson? Not a linear path, played at Utah, so so stuff. They find him and he becomes MLB pitcher. The organization is amazing at development. I thought he handled the situation very professionally. I’ve always felt you overcome nerves with solid mechanics and trusting them under pressure. I hope to see more of him.
* Hey Jeff Dominique, if you’re out there today, I want to reply to yesterday’s conversation. It took me about 24 hours to ponder your very good post yesterday about dealing with pressure, after my wise-crack about send Nunez to Tulsa to learn to throw strikes.
Jeff posted “I assume since Phil has played MiLB he understands that the nerves in the lower levels do not compare to the nerves at ML level. The expectations really start to peak at AAA.”
First Jeff. I applaud your son for making it to the Bigs. I’m sure he’s a great kid and a great player. And I appreciate your knowledge and experience. Your statement was very accurate regarding the anxiety and nervousness of getting called to the show and then performing.
But I want to share another scenario. Another emotional and nervous time in a baseball career that perhaps your son experienced, but maybe didn’t. So picture a game in East BF, USA. It’s on a poorly lit, dusty minor league field with about 500 people in the stands. A 21 year old infielder is facing a kid who was signed because he was able to throw a ball through the side of a wooden barn in Bartelso Oklahoma. And he’s everywhere. And while trying not to get killed, the young hitter is desperate to get things going during his 2nd year in A ball. He know the fate of others around him when they haven’t lived up to expectations. He needs to hit. He needs to make plays. It’s a performance business. The kid has seen struggling teammates get their walking papers and a dream that they had since 7 years old would come to an abrupt end. A dream shattered. A ticket home and having to explain to the hometown folks why a kid with such high hopes and expectations, didn’t quite cut it. And damn. what is he going to do now?
So that’s not the same pressure, perhaps, as performing in the Show. Of being sent down, sometimes repeatedly. But while disappointing, that player still has a job and the dream is still alive. The pressure in the second scenario is over survival.
Jeff, thanks for your thoughts. I made me really think. I enjoy these exchanges.
I hope Price has I nice outing. I fully expect it.
Excellent post Phil! Nailed the minor league angst of a young player. That is why I loved the movie “Bull Durham ” so much. Most MLB players thought it nailed the life in the minors. Especially the part where the manager calls the kid into his office and says close the door. When he does the same with Crash Davis, he leaves the door open, since he has heard this speech before. Then I think about guys who wait for that chance for years, and sometime in their late 20’s or early 30’s, they get a shot. Dodgers had a guy like that some years ago, damned if I can remember his name, but he came up in September. He finally got a MLB hit if I remember right and the entire dugout gave him a standing O. Just remembered his name. John Lindsey. 33 year old first baseman. He went 1-12. It was Torre’s last season, 2010 and they were out of the race, so he got some AB’s.
Phil, Andy did not feel that kind of pressure until he was lambasted by a 3rd base coach and player for not scoring from 2nd on a single in Scranton (AAA). That batter was just optioned because he could not generate enough runs, and then Andy could not score. Whereas he never felt the pressure for him to perform for himself, now he was responsible for someone else who may not make it back to The Show (or so he seemed to think). He eventually got over it, but was never really comfortable until he was traded to Boston from Philly. He had his 2nd knee operation, and had to start over again, but he quickly rose back to AA (Trenton), and then to AAA (Pawtucket), where he took off again and got noticed.
Andy always believed he was good enough to make it, and had a lot of good baseball people who also believed in him, especially Terry Francona. He knew of the players who were better than him, and the players that made it that he knew he was better than. But there is a different set of nerves required playing with a lot of organizational climbers and wannabes one night and then walking into a clubhouse with Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek, Curt Schilling, and his good buddies Gabe Kapler and Kevin Youkilis, and needing to perform. He played with those guys in ST, but this was different.
He never really felt the pressure in ST games either. One story that he does not mind me sharing was late in ST the Red Sox were playing NYY in Ft. Lauderdale, an away game so he got the 2 hour bus ride. I do not recall the NYY pitcher, but he was a regular in the rotation. First time up he hits it off the wall for a stand up double. He then proceeds to have a 5-10 minute conversation with Derek Jeter between pitches. Derek and Andy are close to the same age (Jeter 1.5 year older), but Derek was a superstar AS and Andy was a AAAA player, and yet Jeter spoke to Andy as if they were equals. Jeter told him to keep working hard and said he was good enough to eventually make it. Andy said he would never forget that AB.
Terrific story Jeff about Jeter.
DC gracias por su excelente informe sobre los peloteros en desarrollo en las ligas menores de nuestro equipo, parece que tenemos potencial para un futuro a mediano plazo. Me impresiona como están bateando los jóvenes que claramente están retomando el ritmo en su desarrollo después del año 2020 perdido por la pandemia. De nuevo lo felicito por su brillante artículo.
An update on Felipe Vazquez (From MLBTR)
Felipe Vázquez was sentenced to two-to-four years in prison (with an additional two years on probation) by a Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania judge this morning, according to various reports. In May, Vázquez was convicted on fifteen counts — ten counts of sexual abuse of children, two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, one count of statutory sexual assault, one count of corruption of a minor, and one count of indecent assault of someone under 16 years old — for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.
Vázquez has already served twenty-three months in prison since his September 2019 arrest, meaning he could be released on parole as soon as next month. While today’s sentencing is the culmination of the case against him in Pennsylvania, Vázquez is also facing pending charges in Florida and Missouri. Florida prosecutors allege he continued to have sex with the Pennsylvania victim after she moved to Florida, while he’s facing child pornography charges in Missouri after allegedly exchanging sexually explicit messages with the victim during a road series in St. Louis.
The Pirates placed Vázquez on the restricted list immediately following his arrest. He’s slated to officially come off the roster at the end of this season, the final guaranteed year of his contract. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported in May that Vázquez has not been paid since his arrest.
Well guess it was a good thing we did not trade the farm for that guy.
So Jackson last night was 3-4 MPH below his usual fastball speed:
“More athletic than most pitchers, Jackson has a quick arm that generates 92-96 mph fastballs that top out at 98 with some late finish”.
If he can throw 96 for strikes, with that change up he’s closer material.
I read this on the same scouting report DHorse:
“ He presently shows more feel for his changeup than he does for spinning the ball, and his low-80s changeup is a solid offering with some sink. His 78-82 mph curveball has its moments and he has developed a mid-80s slider/cutter since turning pro.
Still raw on the mound, Jackson will continue to get innings as a starter but will end up as a reliever if he doesn’t add more polish. He needs to attack hitters more often and provide more strikes after averaging 5.0 walks per nine innings during his first two pro seasons. The Dodgers have worked with him to develop a more streamlined and consistent delivery and are eager to see his progress in 2021”
End up as a reliever. He’s doing that now. Long relief the rest of the way maybe? We need one.
Hard to say because it’s hard to remember who are starters are at this point. 😉
Every year, you need guys capable of starting with options in the minor leagues. At the end of the season, you have the option to add them to the bullpen. I don’t think it’s wise to just declare him a reliever at this point in his career. The pitcher will eventually let you know if he’s a starter or a reliever. See Caleb Ferguson.
DHorse – I liked Jackson’s use of the change up. Granted he struggled with other pitches but he trusts that change up. It wasn’t perfect by any means but I like what I saw. I thought he competed and made some pitches when he had to.
I hate walks but I see his debut a lot differently than I saw Nunez the previous night. I was hard on Nunez who pitch .1 inning with a 6 run lead, faced 4 batters and threw 4 total strikes out of 13 pitches (31%).
Jackson pitched 4 innings with 4 walks in 71 pitches in a much more high leverage situation. (55%). While I was pissed at Nunez, I liked Jackson despite the 4 walks.
Totally agree, I thought the change up was good to really good a couple times. If he can get that fb to be close most of the time so batters pay attn to it and the speed the change up will be even more effective, but when it is a ball out of hand the batters will not pay much attn to it.
cheers
pb+
Gavin Lux and newly acquired pitcher Evan Phillips are activated. Andre Jackson and Conner Greene optioned to OKC. VGon on rehab.
Tonight’s lineup:
2b Trea
SS Corey
C Will
CFCody
LF AJ
1b Matt
RF Chris
3b Gavin
P Dave
No Max or Justin
A RIght then Left lineup for the first 8 players
Lux starts at 3B tonight with Beaty at first.
Doc says Lux may see time at 3rd, 2nd and even RF. If that’s the case, and since CT3 is playing RF tonight, Billy McKinney better start looking over his shoulder.
As happens quite a lot this year, the best way to get benched is to have a good game. McKinney with a homer and a great throw last night. Definitely his best Dodger game, and today is the first game he doesn’t start in quite some time.
Again another lineup not making a lot of sense….Muncy 3 homers last 2 games…that’s it sit him while he is hot! Turner plays 2 games after out a week and needs to rest??? We are still 4 games out…rest comes later…hopefully not until November.
hbdodger48
I hear you. We are doing the chasing and we don’t have our best guys not because of injury but because of Doc’s decision or somebody’s decision.
McKinney or Lux is like choosing between 2 generic brands, you’ll get about the same quality, one might be a little bit better (Lux) but not by much.
I don’t care what Doc supporters say. He is a terrible manager we are 4 games out and he starts Lux who
should be in AAA and sits Turner. Starts Beaty and sits Muncy how crazy is that. Doc needs to be fired unless he is a yes boy which he appears to be. Can’t be trying to catch the GIANTS.
Hey Mark, you might want to follow this link and tell him when an idiot he is…
https://www.dodgersnation.com/dodgers-on-dave-roberts-a-wonderful-man-and-a-decision-making-liability/2021/08/17/
DODGERS ACTIVATE GAVIN LUX, ADD EVAN PHILLIPS
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers added right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips to the 26-man roster, activated infielder Gavin Lux from the IL and optioned right-handed pitchers Andre Jackson and Conner Greene.
Lux, 23, returns after being placed on the injured list on July 19 with a left hamstring strain. Prior to the injury, he was hitting .227 (63-for-278) with six homers and 37 RBI in 82 games this season. In parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, the Kenosha, WI native is batting .221 with 11 homers and 54 RBI. The 2019 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year had a banner campaign in his last minor league campaign, hitting .347 with 26 homers and 76 RBI in 113 games split between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He was originally drafted in the 2016 First Year Player Draft out Indian Trail High School with the 20th overall pick in the draft.
Phillips, 26, is added to the roster after being acquired through waivers yesterday. He has appeared in one game this season, tossing 3.0 innings of one run baseball for his first career save on Friday night for the Rays. He has spent parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues, going a combined 1-3 with a 7.26 ERA (46 ER/57.0 IP) and 70 strikeouts for Atlanta (2018), Baltimore (2018-2020) and Tampa Bay (2021). In his minor league career, he is 19-20 with a 3.76 ERA and 306 strikeouts in 187 games. He was originally drafted by the Braves in the 17th round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of UNC Wilmington.
Jackson, 25, made his Major League debut last night, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The Arizona native has split the season between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City and is a combined 5-2 with a 3.28 ERA (26 ER/71.1 IP) and 81 strikeouts. Since being promoted to Triple-A, he is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA and six strikeouts in 8.0 innings. The former 12th round pick of the 2017 First Year Player Draft out of the University of Utah is a combined 15-9 with a 3.40 ERA (96 ER/254.0 IP) and 298 strikeouts in 60 minor league games.
Greene, 26, appeared in two games with the Dodgers, tossing 2.0 scoreless frames with two strikeouts. On the season, he is 0-0 with a 9.53 ERA (6 ER/5.2 IP) with seven strikeouts in five games. He made his Major League debut on July 27 against the Marlins, tossing 2.0 IP with two strikeouts. In 10 minor league seasons, he is a combined 40-48 with a 4.34 ERA (352 ER/729.2 IP) and 569 strikeouts. The Santa Monica, CA native was originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh round of the 2013 First Year Player Draft out of Santa Monica High School.
Yeah, that’s the conventional wisdom… which is usually wrong.
Las Vegas looks great but it was built by losers.
If that were a stock market advice site, I would do 180 degrees the oposite.
I have no problem with the lineup. It is typical for Roberts to give players a blow. Both Muncy and Turner were hit by pitches last night. We just have to wait and see. Pirates pitcher this evening is not that good. 3-7 with an ERA north of 5.
I see just as clueless as roberts….don’t play your best because you are playing the Pirates. They gave us a tough game last night and we have Price pitching probably only 4-5 innings. It will be up to bullpen again and while great lately, you can’t continue to go there early so often without burning them out. It would be preferred to score early runs with our best and then be able to use our most reliable relievers. You can pull the Turner’s….Muncy’s early if you put up some crooked numbers early in the game. I am sure their little bruises will be fine…not the first time they have been hit. I am greedy…every game is a must win…play your best!!
Oh yea I forgot to mention strike out Belli hitting cleanup.
Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. Giants just called up Tyler Chatwood. Been a while since that guy did anything good. Their starters are showing some cracks.
So what more does Treinen have to do to be our closer? Last 21 appearances…22.2 innings…8 hits…24 K…0 runs…0 runs…0 RUNS!!! Jansen has probably cost us 5-6 games…do u continue to go down that path to satisfy an ego that more than likely not be here next year?? Roberts needs to wake up before it is too late and go with the hot arm…every game matters!! I can all but guarantee Kenley will cost us a couple more games if he stays in the closer role.
sorry should read to not use our most reliable relievers….save them for the tight games
Roberts is awake he is doing the best he can. He think he is doing a good job.
NOBODY plays every day anymore. Giving players a day off now and then is actually a good thing. I look at it this way – we’ve got the best pinch hitter in baseball available tonight.
TRUE…but wouldn’t you rather him at bat 4 times?
My guess is that Doc is resting him because he knows more about his condition than we do. Maybe you know more… but I don’t… or maybe Doc just doesn’t care about winning and getting a bigger contract. Maybe he does this so that he can be fired.
Yes. I think that is why!
Maybe he’s auditioning for the Pittsburgh job.
Notta to worry hb. We’ll beat these guys.
Note to Taylor – just play it off the wall.
Nice play Gavin. But, about that at bat…
Mark…….Maybe it is because he is clueless like you are coming off….our best guys need to be in there! I would sign his RECALL notice!
Fired would be great.
Gavin Lux needs to be an outfielder.
I am being serious. I have seen this too many times. I have seen it at 2B, SS, and now 3B.
Yippy, Kayaye!
He’s got the speed. That scatter gun arm of his may be less costly out there
Having Dave Roberts as the manager is very frustrating.
His job is to put the team in the best position to win. And I am not seeing that happen.
Seriously Eric? In 6 years he has a .615 winning percentage. Do you know any other managers who have done better over that period?
I’ve already answered that.
As for today putting Lux and his crappy hitting and crappy defense at third is not putting the team in the best position to win.
His fielding defense was fine. His throwing was not.
Quit complaining and offer some alternatives
Exactly, or at least wait until the game is over and you know what has transpired,
Three left-handed batters for Bickford. That was a dangerous decision by Doc but he got away with it. Then again it’s the crappy Pittsburgh Pirates.
They might be crappy, but they have a few very good players on that team.
Okay, it was not pretty, and Jansen walked a tightrope in the 9th, but they get another 1 run win keeping pace with the Giants and picking up another game on the Padres who lost to the Rockies again. A couple of observations, 1. Gavin Lux still does not have good at bats. 2. He fielded the balls well, but made 2 throwing errors. Shades of Steve Sax. Bellinger went 1-4 with 2 K’s, but was robbed in his last at bat by Tsutsugo who made a great grab if his liner. They had the leadoff man on second with no outs 5 times and he scored once. Not very good situational hitting from Smith, and a couple others. Taylor, Smith, and Lux all had ofers. Taylor did get a walk. But after Pollock doubled, Muncy and Taylor struck out, McKinney got hit, and Turner hit a weak grounder. They did not take full advantage of their scoring chances against some very mediocre pitchers. They were 3-16 with RISP. 10 more K’s tonight. Beaty and Pollock drove in the runs. Bullpen was very good until Jansen came in. I saw a lot of posts about the lineup. I get it, I really do. In a tight race run your best out there. But as Badger said earlier, players do not play everyday in this era. Closest player LA has to an everyday guy has been Taylor. Who has not had a full day off in quite a while. Muncy was probably feeling the after affects of getting hit on the same shoulder for the 9th time this season. Turner, just back from a groin strain, they were simply being careful with. I know many cannot stand Roberts, some keep calling for him to be fired and replaced. Well, teams in the position the Dodgers are in do not change managers this late in the season. And since he signed an extension last year, and does EXACTLY what ownership and the FO want, the chances of him getting fired are zero. So, either learn to live with that fact, or keep getting crazy over every move he makes for the next couple of years at least. Bottom line? It is a W. Be happy !!!! One other thing, be happy you do not root for the Padres. Their season has really gone in the crapper. 12 back of the Giants, 8 back of the Dodgers. Reds right on their heels for the second wild card. And they have after this stretch against the weak sisters in the league, the toughest remaining schedule in the majors. Bon Apatite.
Didn’t expect much from Lux and he didn’t let me down….but I’m glad JT was able to rest up a bit. Now we need to give CT3 a few days off as well. He has been slumping a bit at bat and that collision with the wall didn’t help.
As for Bellinger, I am seeing baby steps here, so I can’t complain too much. As for Jansen….I think I’ve gone on record wanting TRIENEN to be our closer instead of KJ, but let’s see if Doc remembers one huge reason as to why we won the WS last year.
Dirty Kenley, it seems that very few can do a clean job.
Actually, in his prior 5 games, the double he gave up to Tsutsugo last night was the only hit off of him. Tonight was the first time opponents scored off of him in the last 6 games he pitched.
Do u think POS roberts has the balls to put TREINEN in the closer role? It should be obvious to anyone here that decision needs to be made!! We did it last year with Urias in the playoffs so it could happen?????
Never can tell. But I would doubt it. Jansen has not blown a save since he blew those last two to the Giants. I do not think it has anything to do with the size of his Huevos. It has to do more with what the FO wants. Jansen getting paid a lot of money to close games. Now, it could change as the season comes to an end. But your guess is as good as mine.
Let’s hope you are right and Doc realizes what you and many of us realize-Kenley is just too risky in the closer role. Let’s see what Doc does.
You are right….last year Doc made the change to Urias….I’m not sure he remembers why he did that.
But, if KJ doesn’t close an important game and we lose the WS because of it, at least we have plenty of off season belly aching to do.
I would not let Kenley pitch to Tsutsugo tomorrow if Roberts is dumb enough to use him three nights in a row. Tonight Kenley was in love with his cutter again and missing his targets consistently also. Time to rest him and to “tune up” his mechanics again. He should go to his slider when he can’t hit his spots.
He made too many pitches, 24, to be available tomorrow. Yes, his control was not the best, and give Tsutsugo some credit, both times he took the pitch were it was thrown. Actually, that is pretty good hitting. He did not show that at all when he was with us.
A’s pitcher, Chris Bassitt, hit in the face by a line drive and hospitalized. He is awake, and aware where he is. They are checking for fractures. He had to have some stitches.
It just blows me away how many people bellyache after a win. Oh well, nature of the beast I guess.
Yeah, we won. I love waking up in the morning to see a victory, but I hate when Siri makes my heart skip a beat when I ask her who won the Dodgers Pirates game last night and she says, “the Pirates were edged by the Dodgers, 4-3”
Nooooooo Siri, don’t say the losing team’s name first……..please don’t do that to me.
… and with all the wailing, gnashing of teeth, howling, bitching, crying like little girls, and having pouty lips, the Dave Roberts managed team won another game.
How did that happen? The man is too stupid to do that.
Dave Roberts controls every one of you.