Squat, Zilch, Nada. For guys like Tomas Tellis, Andy Burns, Eddy Alvarez, Jason Martin, and Stefan Romero, this is like a playoff game. They know that they have no chance… but who knows – it feels like it might (this is their thinking), so they are all in. In reality, they are “organizational depth.” They will be parked at AAA, just in case of a disaster. These are “salt of the earth” baseball guys: not good enough for the Show… but close and you have to love how they play the game. MUCH RESPECT to them!
Then you have guys like Trea Turner and Cody Bellinger who had two hits. I am more interested in their physical condition than anything and both looked like they had been busy over the winter. A healthy Cody Bellinger who actually chokes up on the bat could be amazing! I root for a guy like Jake Lamb… knowing full well the odds of making this roster are slim to none, but also understanding that Andrew Friedman will let him go for an opportunity with another team.
It was good to see Ryan Noda hit a HR, although it does nothing for him this year… except maybe tell us he could be a 4th or 5th outfielder at some point. His power is real! James Outman got our attention. He obviously came to play. It’s going to be tough for him to make the team, but if he does, it could cost Matt Beaty a spot.
Of course, Ryan Pepiot did not have his best control yesterday, but it’s his first game and he was pressing. His ineffectiveness means nothing to me until I see a pattern. To face 14 batters in 2 innings and give up just 2 runs might have been an accomplishment. Pepiot will pitch for the Dodgers this year… when remains to be seen.
Ramirez is organization depth as well. It was good to see victor Gonzalez healthy and slimmer. I think he will be a key piece out of the bullpen this year. He has shown flashes in the past. Nunez is a bit of an enigma. He is a 29-year-old LH out of Cuba who has some really nasty stuff. He just sometimes does not have that extra “something” when he needs it. He could make the bullpen later this year or be trade bait.
The Bullpen
We have had some discussion about the bullpen the past couple of days and since Kenley Jansen is officially gone, here is what the pen looks like. BTW, I have “mixed emotions” about Kenley leaving. It’s kind of like watching your mother-in-law drive off the Grand Canyon in your new Cadillac! You loved that car… but…
- Justin Bruihl – LH (soft, tossing, situational LHP with a sweeping curve)
- Shane Greene – RH (he either makes the team or is released)
- Danny Duffy – LH (he will return in June or July – most likely to the bullpen)
- Evan Phillips – RH (looked very filthy at the end of 2021)
- Darien Nunez – LH (has very filthy stuff… at times)
- Garret Cleavinger – LH (power-throwing LHP – I think he has a chance to be very good)
- Caleb Ferguson – LH (throwing off the mound, likely back by May)
- Tommy Kahnle – RH (see above)
- Daniel Hudson – RH (back again as a set-up guy… experienced and tough)
- Phil Bickford – RH (set up guy)
- Victor Gonzalez – LH (set up guy)
- Alex Vesia – LH (possible closer)
- Blake Treinen – RH (possible closer)
- Bazooka Graterol – RH (more maturity, better conditioning, had a check-up from the neck up – ready to break out)
- Dustin May – RH (back mid-season, most likely out of the pen)
- Mitch White – RH ( has closer stuff)
The ones in BOLD I consider to be “Closer Possibilities.” I have not included Tony Gonsolin, David Price, Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney, and Andre Jackson in this list because I consider them to be starters, but some will pitch out of the pen. I think the bullpen will be fine without Kenley. Goodbye, Kenley! Godspeed! Thank you for the memories.
Minor League Profile: Justin Hagenman
Justin Hagenman did impress yesterday. He is not a Top Prospect but had a nice season at Tulsa with 6 saves last year. He played college ball at Penn State, so he started Rookie Ball at Ogden when he was 21, after being drafted by the Dodgers in 2018. He had a fine season at Great Lakes in 2019 with a 2.24 ERA in 76 IP. Then he lost 2020 to COVID like many of the other minor leaguers. 2021 was solid with a 3.45 ERA, but not spectacular. Now, he is 25 years old and he knows the clock is ticking.
His coach at Penn State had this to say about Justin:
“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.”
If you really want to meet Justin, here is a Video that was posted before by DC:
His odds are long. His talent is borderline, but his heart is big. You root for guys like this.
Sunday’s Game – 1:05 PM PDT
The Dodgers play again at 1.05 today. Alec Mills is starting for the Cubs, but the Dodgers pitcher is someone I have never heard of.
Morning all. What a gorgeous day. Trevor Story went to the Red Sox on a 6 year deal. He has a couple of opt out clauses and he will be playing second base for the Sox. Glad he went to the other league.
6/142 for Story vs. 10/325 for Seager.
Corey was a great Dodger, but man, give me Story and that contract any day!
Ditto. I do think the Rangers paid waaay too much for Corey. The contracts for Story, Correa and Semien all make more sense, but I guess Scott Boras is good at his job. Freddie’s contract also shines in comparison, because he’s been so durable and even has a gold glove. If Trea Turner has another great season, he’ll want that Seager-Lindor-Tatis money. (And young Wander Franco isn’t doing too bad either.)
I was hoping the Angels would snag one of those shortstops, just to stoke the dream of an October Freeway Series.
“It’s kind of like watching your mother-in-law drive off the Grand Canyon in your new Cadillac! You loved that car… but…”
The best example I’ve ever seen!
Mark, you’re showing Vesia as RH when it should be LH.
Martin’s hitting in the first 2 games has earned him a start today and we’ll also get to see Michael Busch.
Sorry, I fixed it.
Today’s Lineup:
Kenley was a workhorse for many years and Dodger fans are grateful. That said, there are several situations that have made it difficult for me to embrace Kenley 100%. Here are a few. In the 2017 WS he got the save in Game 1, but was not able to close-out for the win in Game 2. He entered the game in the 8th with a 3-1 lead and runners on, and when he left after the 9th the game was tied, we eventually lost of course. Kenley was ineffective in the 2020 WS as well. He entered Game 4 in the 9th with a 7-6 lead and gave up the winning run in an 8-7 loss. He did not pitch again in the 2020 series. Finally, the 3 consecutive blown saves after the ASG last season were deflating and contributed to our costly chase of the Giants. Am I being too critical? Of course I am. But I am allowed to be when the conversation is whether Kenley was our greatest closer.
Hanser Alberto is still not on the 40 man roster. Duffy and May are on the 60 day IL. We have a SS so not worried about Story’s contract. Roberts said Freeman will make his Dodger debut most likely in Tuesday’s game. Betts due to debut next week too. Would like to see some hard contact by the regulars. Word is Alberto is waiting for a visa. Pujols still not signed by anyone.
It’s kind of like watching your mother-in-law drive off the Grand Canyon in your new Cadillac! You loved that car… but… . Mark, that was classic and perfect in describing the loss of Kenley. Speaking of classic the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” is just that. Apparently, Brian Wilson was motivated to match the Beatles’ concept album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I think he accomplished his mission.
The BP depth is so deep with quality options. AF has grown in his ability to put together a strong and deep BP. In the first few years with the Dodgers it was sign a broken down castoff at the trade deadline instead of trading for a proven effective reliever. I can’t remember one of those signings working out. I think the Dodgers could have been in a couple more World Series and maybe victories if the BP had been addressed more aggressive. I think AF realized this and has made an effort to bring some (healthy) unknowns that have been very effective. Examples are Bickford, Versia, Graterol, Phillips, Bruihl, and Cleavinger. And from the farm Gonzalez, White, and Ferguson. And there are more being developed in their system. So, the BP should no longer be a problem.
Looking forward to watching Freeman become part of Dodger lore. Expecting Bellinger to have a huge season as long as he continues to choke up and emphasize contact with two strikes. Will Smith will most likely become MLB’s best all around catcher and then lose his job in 2023/24 to an even better catcher. Hoping CK can hold together for most of the season. Will JT end his Dodger career with a solid season and heroics in the postseason causing Ken Rosenthal to actually write a feature article about a Dodger victory in the World Series as opposed to some (as it turned out) made up drama about JT being infected with Covid during the 7th inning of the Dodgers first WS win in 33 years? But, I digress.
Carry on.
I’m not worried about the bullpen because Freidman, and company, knows how to build a bullpen, I’m just a little restless because the team lost some power arms like: Knebel, Kelly, Nelson and Jansen, some threw more some less but all were very solid and they were very important when they were on the mound.
The options that exist to replace those arms, which have me restless because I have doubts that they are at the level of the relievers who left, are:
Hudson, Kahnle, Graterol, Bickford, Phillips.
Justin Hageman is my guy. I first wrote about him on July 6, 2019 and twice since then.
https://ladodgertalk.com/2019/07/06/the-dodgers-hag/
He will not break camp with the Dodgers but may get a call from OKC at some point in the season to fill in for a period of time pending injuries.
For me, he is one of those unexpected guys who keeps on climbng the ladder, not like Bobby Miller, but like Victor Gonzalez and Justin Bruihl. Hagenman was selected in the 23rd round of the 2018 draft. Bruihl was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017. Gonzalez, an international free agent signing, almost quit playing baseball a couple of years ago but didn’t.
He no doubt will never be a MLB star but Justin Hagenman will have MLB player on his resume at some point.
I agree.
His odds are long. His talent is borderline, but his heart is big. You root for guys like this.
Robbie Erlin starts today for the Dodgers.
Robertson is huge. I think that guy will be in the bigs before long. Not much in the way of offense today. But that is expected when so few of your regulars are playing.
Yeah Outman had a nice base hit and 2 rbi, but pretty uneventful offensive game.Fullmer and Bruihl pitched well. Phillips, not so much.
Where can I find a box score of today’s/all Dodger ST games? TIA
Here you go. This is for today.
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/cubs-vs-dodgers/2022/03/20/706932#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=box,game=706932
For any particular day, just go to mlb/scores and then scroll down to the dodger game and click on “box”
Just for grins I’ve been perusing the stats from 2021. Here’s a nugget:
The top of the Dodgers lineup, it seems, will likely feature some combination of Betts, Trea Turner, Freeman and Muncy. Those are four of the National League’s top twelve finishers in OBP–or 1/3rd of the league’s top dozen.
The numbers: Freddie .393, Trea .375, Max .368 and Mookie .367. (Seager was way up at .393, but had only 353 ABs.)
And at No. 17 on this list is Justin Turner at .361. So five of the top 17.
And at No. 25 is Chris Taylor at .344.
So what about Will Smith?
His OBP of .365 actually tucks between Betts and JT, but like most catchers he did not log the 3.1 ABs per game to qualify for leader’s list. (Realmuto seems to be the only catcher who did.) And AJ Pollock, who has about 30 fewer ABs than Smith, was solid at .355.
The only regular who really stunk was Belli, at .240, which is why some people think the former MVP will bat No. 8 or 9 in this lineup. And he has to get better, right?
Past performance, of course, does not guarantee future results. But I like our chances.
With all the talk of Pepiot, Miller and Knack, I’m anxiously anticipating seeing what improvements sleeper Andre Jackson made this offseason. He’s just a year older than Knack and is a converted outfielder who’s had a lot of starts and stops to his pitching career so far. He’s undergone TJ surgery already and like everyone else, he had a missed season of development due to the disjointed COVID season.
If you blinked last year, you might have missed him. He appeared in just 3 games, all in relief partly due to the Dodger’s newfound propensity to engage an “Opener”. In just 11.2 innings, he put together a stellar 2.31 ERA with an unimpressive 1.371 WHIP. He did, however, manage to pick up a save in his worst outing of the season.
His fastball and change are very nice offerings, both plus pitches, but seemed maybe on the verge of being a little better. Hopefully, he made some improvements with a 3rd pitch that will help him take another step forward this year.
I’m really hoping this staff can come together. A healthy Kershaw and Gonsolin and a vindicated Trevor Bauer will make it as good or better than any in baseball. But, a suspended Trevor, and unhealthy Kershaw and Gonsolin could make it pretty bad.
The Tyler Anderson signing looks much like a stopgap, admittingly conceding to the unknowns surrounding a shaky staff. It reminds me of those years with McCarthy, B Anderson and Kazmir, which makes me a little nervous. A big jump from Adre could make this a lot less painful.
Speaking of less painful. Burrows and Fulmer both impressed with their recent outings. Burrows a little more than Fulmer as he faced the minimum in his two innings of work. I’m especially intrigued by Burrows. His fastball looked like he had command over it and that it featured some late life. He looked a bit more over the top than 3/4 and maybe that’ll make a difference for him. When he was initially scouted, his high arm slot fastball was upper 90’s, but he began more of a 3/4 slot and he began to regress. He’s had a lot of mixed scouting reports and was once considered a possibility as a front of the rotation guy, then regressed into a surprise backend rotation peace before being relegated to the pen. At just 25 years old, same age as Jackson, he too had suffered from the lack of development during the COVID season. Maybe we’ll get a surprise from 1 or 2 or 3 of these young and talented pitchers to fill out the rotation. Don’t forget about Heaney either! All 4 of them have big fastballs and could surprise this season.
There are always surprises… both good and bad!
Today’s Lineup:
I wonder if today’s lineup is giving us a glimpse that Max Muncy may be the regular 3B?
Maybe Lux and Tayor share 2B and JT and Rios share DH?
I suggested all offseason that JT and Rios share the bulk of DH duties. They will almost certainly rotate players in and out as well. I can see Muncy also playing second base when CT3 is spelling someone else.
Muncy taking over at 3B would certainly solve some problems with Lux taking short when TT bails for big money. This would allow Vargas and Busch compete for 2B and Vargas and Pages compete for outfield spots. Also, moving Mookie back to second base might be an option if they Vargas and Pages force themselves into outfield spots.
Lots of options with the versatility that the Dodgers push and enjoy as a result.
Wanted to comment on something Philjones wrote the other day about Brusdar. He has ridiculous arm side run on this two seamer, and he almost looks effortless when throwing triple digits, but I don’t know that all of that movement is actually an asset when you’re trying to miss bats. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and Dustin May had the same issue – a lot of arm side movement and high velo, but neither of them really miss as many bats as they should. I think what’s more effective is LATE movement, even if it doesn’t look at impressive on camera. I wish both Graterol and May would learn to mix it up and throw a four seamer up in the zone and get batters to swing under it.
Danny Duffy might wind up being a really good signing. There’s an article in Fangraphs about him. His velo has ticked up the last couple of years, he’s locating a little better up in the zone, and he was looking pretty good for the Royals before he was shut down.
The Dodgers are stockpiling lots of starters who would normally slate in as #3-#5 most of the time. Depth filler, but Dodgers might be thinking about using them differently to get the most out of them. They might use them more as openers for bullpen games, and by openers, I’m not talking about an inning, but if you can get three innings out of these guys they might throw a little harder and get more guys out before the bullpen takes over.
There’s a team for the regular season and team built fore the playoffs. All of these retread starters in addition to Jackson and White can get the Dodgers through the regular season, but for the playoffs you’ll need three studs.
Very interesting about the movement on Pitches Patch.
Having played a lot of Cricket as an opening bowler it is well recognised that you want LATE movement (or swing as we call it). The later the better.
If the bell swings straight from the arm, it is far easier for the Batter to line up.
I was thinking that AF may not be finished yet, as he appears to be in win now mode, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he could swing a trade for Craig Kimbrel, who is surplus to requirements with CWS, and is due what Kenley just got paid.
Would certainly give the Pen a formidable look.
I’ve got to say that now the plates have stopped spinning, I’m very happy with where we stand.
Although I respected Corey, and will be for ever grateful for his contribution in winning in 2020, I was not his biggest fan. He seemed a bit of a cold fish, showing little emotion or personality, as well as being an average Short Stop IMO. He needs to move to 3B or DH.
Perhaps these traits helped him decide to take the money and play for a team that is some way away from contention?
I will not miss him. He was also rather brittle.
On the other hand, we’ve just signed one of my favourite non Dodgers in Freddie. Would much rather have him in Dodger Blue.
That lineup is gonna be awfully tough to Pitch through.
The key now as I see it is Trevor Bauer.
We need him.
I’m expecting a big year from Gavin Lux.
Finally, I find it laughable that David Price is open to getting stretched out.
That’s nice of him. Especially in his Walk Year. Who woulda thought??
Not last year when we really needed him, but this year, when he really needs it.
MLB is dragging their feet with Bauer. This should have been settled before the lockout ended. Price did what the team asked of him last year. He volunteered to do what ever the team needed. Starting, relieving. It was not his fault the team never found the opportunity to stretch him out. He was 5-2 with a 4.03 ERA. He made 11 starts, mostly as an opener. He does not have the same stuff he had when he was younger, but he was effective in the role he played. I am not expecting a big year from Lux. By not expecting much I will be pleasantly surprised if he has a good year. The Dodgers have 10 pitchers who have at some point been starters in their careers. Price, Heaney, Buehler, Urias, Anderson, Gonsolin, Kershaw all have that experience at the major league level. It will be interesting to see how those who are new to the team perform in spring since all have been signed because the Dodgers see room for improvement. Heaney gets his first shot tomorrow against the Reds. Anderson had some good moments, but suffered from pitching in Coors Field. That being said, I would not put it past AF to make a trade at some point. Manaea and Montas are both available from the A’s. It might take a couple prospects to pry them away. Castillo and Mahle are not options at this time since the Reds are likely to hold on to them. I think trading for Kimbrel is possible, but not likely.
D-Backs signed Oliver Perez, Reds signed Brandon Drury, Rockies gave McMahon a 70 million dollar deal. Pollock out of today’s game with back soreness. Taylor has not played in the field yet. Roberts said he had off season arthroscopic surgery to clean up some things in his elbow. He is on a throwing program. Freeman scheduled to make his spring debut tomorrow when Buehler and Heaney are scheduled to pitch. Rams signed Stafford to a 4/160 contract. Nice gig if you can get it. Colts got QB Matt Ryan from the Falcons. To those interested in such things, today is the NHL trade deadline.
Miguel Vargas has a very calm approach at the plate. I can see him having a very good eye, which makes for great OBP.
Don’t trade this one!! (unless it’s for Juan Soto)
Kid has an eye that is for sure. Vesia should have gotten out of the inning unscathed. But the wind blew that ball away from the fielder. Barnes, Burns and Lamb with HR’s so far. Bellinger has struck out 5 times so far, but he almost hit one out today. Looking forward to seeing Freeman in Dodger blue tomorrow. Fergie looked good. Jackson made on bad pitch.
Former Dodger Grant Dayton signs a minor league deal with the Giants. Former Dodger Andrew Vazquez signs with the Blue Jays.
I believe Dayton signed with the Marlins, not the Giants.
How long will Manfred drag on with the TB saga ?
I am getting really pis.sed about the way MLB and Manfred are hurting the Dodgers and Bauer by not making a decision finally. The facts are on the table now for quite some time and Bauer already has missed almost a year of baseball activitiy.
IMHO there is no reasonable argument to drag this on any longer.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!