See what I did there… If you look at Jake Lamb’s bio, you will see it says he plays 1B, 3B, and outfield. Trust me, he does not play those positions very well. He has a .963 Fielding Percentage as a 3B and where he has played the most and has proven to be a defensive liability. He has 47 games at 1B and 25 in the outfield. Of course, the Dodgers have Freddie Freeman at 1B, and Max Muncy can also play there pretty well. Additionally, Edwin Rios, Cody Bellinger, and Hanser Alberto can also play 1B. If Jake Lamb makes this team, it will be as a LH DH!
In his eight years in the major leagues, he has hit 91 home runs, sixty-one of which came in 2018 and 2019. HE has had two good years and six pretty bad years. One only has to look at his L – R Splits to figure out what the problem might be: He has a .252 BA, .458 Slg, and .797 OPS against RHP and a .171 BA/.319, and .595 OPS against LHP.
To put that in perspective, he is better than Joc Pederson against RHP and worse than Joc against LHP. He should never be allowed anywhere near a LHP. By the way, Joc has been in the league for 8 years and has 148 HR. If Jake Lamb makes the Dodgers, it will likely be at the expense of Edwin Rios, who is younger and a better fielder. The Dodgers could keep them both until May 1st, but I don’t see it happening after that.
Matt Beaty is gone. That’s too bad, but this is a business and hopefully, he can get some more PT somewhere else. The Dodgers will likely trade him, although anything is possible. If Justin Turner starts at 3B, and Muncy starts at 2B, that leaves CT3, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes, Hanser Alberto, Edwin Rios, Kevin Pillar, Zach McKinstry, and Jake Lamb fighting for what will likely be 5 spots after May 1st! That said, Jake Lamb was 3-3 yesterday and is hitting .357 with a 1.071 OPS. Outman is having a nice Spring too, but it is a way small sampling.
Miguel Vargas has a Sweet Swing!
I think we will see him at 3B for the Dodgers before the season is over. I was of the opinion that he might not be able to handle the hot corner, but he has worked hard on his fielding and is a stone-cold hitter. Look at how effortless (and powerful) that swing is. The only question in my mind is whether he is an occasional All-Star or a Superstar.
Roster Moves
- If the Dodgers keep both Rios and Lamb, Matt Beaty was the cost. Unless he is injured, Freddie Freeman will get about 150 starts at 1B. There’s no room for Matt Beaty – Good Luck, Matt!
- A number of players were assigned to Minor League Camp, including Amaya, Outman, Vivas, Leonard, et al.
- It appears that Gavin Lux and Chris Taylor will be the Dodgers’ Super Utility Players this year.
- The Catman goes for the first time this Spring.
- I heard Clayton hit 91 MPH yesterday… not confirmed though.
- Here’s the lineup MLB predicts for the Dodgers:
DODGERS
1. Mookie Betts, R, RF
2. Freddie Freeman, L, 1B
3. Trea Turner, R, SS
4. Max Muncy, L, 2B
5. Will Smith, R, C
6. Justin Turner, R, 3B
7. Cody Bellinger, L, CF
8. Chris Taylor, R, LF
9. AJ Pollock, R, DH
Rotation
1. Walker Buehler, RHP
2. Clayton Kershaw, LHP
3. Julio Urías, LHP
4. Andrew Heaney, LHP
5. Tyler Anderson, LHP
Closer: Blake Treinen, RHP
With Freeman now in the fold, the Dodgers will have one of the most potent offenses in the Majors. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts will have to find a way to balance out the left- and right-handed options in the lineup. But given that Pollock, who had an .892 OPS last season, is projected to be the No. 9 hitter, there’s really no wrong answer.
It’s really 5 guys battling for 2 positions. I’m rooting for Rios. Love his effortless power. And Both Vargas and Busch’s bats have a future in Dodger stadium! With Kersh’s recent injury history, starting pitching is a weakness. And I believe if Catman is healthy he has the stuff to be better than both Anderson and Heaney. He gets the ball every fifth day from me
I agree that Gonsolin will most likely beat out one of those lefties if he’s healthy. I’m also guessing that Price has a chance to beat out Heaney and Anderson as well.
Here’s how the roster will most likely be constructed.
5 Starting Pitchers
8 Bullpen
8 Starting Position Players
5 Bench Players, 1 has to be Barnes.
That leaves 4 spots and Taylor gets one of those and Alberto gets another. Rios, Lux and Lamb are vying for the last two spots. Rios and Lux have options, but also have 40 man roster spot. Lamb does not have any options and he does not have a 40 man roster spot. He signed a $1.5M minor league contract.
In order to Lamb to make the 26 man roster, they will need to trade / cut somebody else. Are Amaya, Vivas, Leonard, Outman, McKinstry potentially cut to make room for Lamb out of the gate when they already have Rios on the roster?
Danny Duffy is on the 40 man, seems destined for the 60 day IL which would open a 40 man spot for Lamb. Then, you can option Rios or Lux to make room for him on the 26 man.
I doubt the Dodgers would use one of the extra roster spots for a position player. Especially now that we don’t need to pinch hit.
Remember rosters are 28 through April.
How much longer will MLB and Manfred drag on with the TB saga ?
This has to end finally. Almost a full year now that the man is not allowed to do his job. DA did not file charges and another judge already said there is a lot of doubt about the story this woman is telling.
MLB has had more than enough time to do look into this case and come to a conclusion. It is unfair to TB , the Dodgers and the fans.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Agree with dodgerram, we need a decision on TB ASAP. Our SP pitching is thin even with TB. Kershaw will likely be on the IR a few times, Buehler and Urias will require occasional rest, and beyond those two we’re holding our breath on everyone else.
Yeah, looking at some of the comments yesterday, it appears there’s some irrational exuberance over Lamb. He’s a “stud” based on about ten Spring Training plate appearances? He’s had a relatively long career in the majors, and has been a full time starter with over 600 plate appearances for a couple of seasons with AZ, and he was pretty productive offensively in 2016-2017, but he hasn’t hit above the Mendoza line since then and he’s always been a well below average fielder. And then there are those Joc-like splits you allude to. If we assume it’s going to come down to a decision between Lamb and Rios because they fit the same role … maybe the Dodgers see something that would lead them to believe he can be 2016/17 Lamb. He’s still only 31.
Also, I made a comparison of Heaney/Anderson et al with the Kazmir/McCarthy/Anderson group. My comparison was only to point out the AF predilection for signing undervalued players and fixing them. It’s true McCarthy, for example, did have some track record of success prior to AF signing him, but I was making the assumption that they were quick to sign Heaney because they saw some underlying fundamentals that were good.
Price, Heaney & Anderson…
All the Dodgers need is for one of them to be good all season… OR … 3 to be good 1/3 of the season.
I can see Tony Gonsolin working his way into the starting rotation. His stuff is pretty good.
Heaney is definitely some kind of project at this point. But I’ve seen him when he’s lights out. So there is something that indicates he could breakout.
As to Anderson, figures to show up and keep the Dodgers in games. If I recall correctly he had two or three bad games that caused the ERA to shoot up.
Just a guess, but the Dodgers will need at least 12 pitchers to get through the season, short spring training and all.
Miguel Vargas just showed what scouts have been saying. When Dave Roberts raved about his power, it wasn’t just spring training talk. He can be a special player.
I watched every Kershaw pitch carefully yesterday from 2 rows behind the dish. He had 2 pitches over 90, one at 90 and one at 91. He sat comfortably ay 87-88 all day.
It looked like he was throwing a cutter quite a bit. I’m wondering if the ones in the high 80’s were cutters, the 90’s fastballs?
Sitting comfortably at 87-88 isn’t very encouraging. I sure hope he can add a little velo before the season starts.
Greg Maddux won over 300 games, and probably threw maybe 20 pitches in his career over 90.
too bad there is no Greg Maddux when you need one.
Just kidding but CK aint no Maddux. Clayton needs a little more velo to be successful. I do not believe he can have an ERA south of 4.00 if he continually is a around 90 mph an entire season.
To be honest: The contract the Dodgers gave him is sentimentally motivated and I am fine with that.
But I do not expect much of CK this season.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kershaw isn’t Maddux. During his dominant phase, his fastball was 93-95, and with his deceptive, herky delivery, made his slider that much more effective when the hitter was trying to anticipate fastball. He is still pretty good at 90-92, but every little tick he gets slower is just a tiny split second the batter has to recognize and react to the pitch. He will be a 3.50-4.00 ERA pitcher if his FB velocity is under 90, and if that’s the case then he’s not the solid #3 the Dodgers need out of him.
Bullpen, I don’t think Clayton has a cutter. His weapons are a 4 seamer, Slider (his best pitch) and a 12-6 curveball. I didn’t see a cutter yesterday. His fastball was at 87, slider at 83 and curve at 73. He never throws his change. Bieber was in the low 90’s and we commented that with the pop of the catchers mitt, and the effort being generated, maybe it was a slow gun. Then Treinen came in and erased that idea at 96.
We are all watching CK for the same reason. He could well be easing into shape at 87 and locating. I don’t know. Health is the most important deal right now. But maybe that’s going to be the top end now and he will need to learn to get outs without being a power pitch. Many power guys have made that transition.
But Clayton isn’t Greg Maddux. Never will be. Completely differ stuff. Maddux was a surgeon. He started his stuff right down the middle and the sinker dove in to a RHH, down and in. The slider or cutter or whatever he called it went the opposite way to low and away. He added and subtracted speed so he was hard to time even if he never touched 90. Jaime Moyer did the same thing. Stay off the plate, add and subtract and make the hitters get themselves out. And he got a lot of marginal pitches from the ump until playoff time.
A couple of things will be a challenge to CK if he in fact has reduced velocity, yet stays healthy: Except for pinpoint fastball location, he possesses no pitch that goes into a lefty and away from a righty. His slider and curve are both glove side and he he doesn’t throw the change. If he could get a change-up to tumble, arm-side, that would be a new and good look. And addition and subtraction. What he won’t be able to do is stay at 88 all day with an 84 slider.
Anyway you stack it, his command will have to be improved and impeccable to get away with location errors that he could get away with at 95. The Margin for error is far less.
That is assuming 90+ isn’t in his bag anymore. We don’t know. Time will tell.
I never said Kershaw was Maddux. What I said was Maddux won without having a great fastball. And a pitcher of Kershaw’s intellect and baseball savvy should have no problem getting hitters out without his best stuff.
This was a really good response. It was worth reading a couple of times.
Tyler Anderson, David Price, and Andrew Heaney are completely different animals:
TYLER ANDERSON – He is a “soft-tossing Lefty with a solid changeup. His major question is health. I could see him as a bulk reliever this year. He is insurance.
DAVID PRICE – The Dodgers had to take him to get Betts. He is at the end of his career but still is a solid pitcher. The only question is how many innings can he go at a time.
ANDREW HEANEY – He has an Elite Fastball Spin Rate (90%+) and a good curveball spin (67%). When you look at any given pitch, you realize his stuff is filthy. He is a pitcher whose stats do not match his ability.
Heaney will be given the first shot. He could be roughed up all spring as they work to “fix” him. The Dodgers have these guys for 2022 and that’s it. No need to block Miller, Beeter, Pepiot and/or Knack.
I’m not sure the exuberance over Lamb is necessarily irrational. 65-70 extra base hits in his best years at age 25-26 is nothing to scoff at. If you’re watching the games, he looks good and possibly healthier than he’s ever been. His best years look largely better than Joc’s best years, unless you really like walks. With that said, I would rather have Rios on the opening day roster and it isn’t even close. It would make sense to stash Lamb in AAA and see what Rios delivers.
As far as Heaney and Anderson go, Heaney has lot of upside, but it looks like there’s some work to do. Anderson has a high floor, low ceiling. I don’t think there’s something that can be fixed to make him dominant. I wouldn’t want to see a 28 man roster with Heaney, Anderson and Price all on it. Even worse when it becomes a 26 man roster. Look for 1, 2 or all 3 of them to start the season on the IL if all the other pitchers are healthy.
What I find funny is that David Price seems to be lower on the depth chart than the other two, but his ERA was better than either of them last year. After watching Heaney get shelled, I’m hoping we see something from Price.
I know he’s pitched only 3.2 innings so far, but Clayton is not making me feel too good and that 7.36 ERA really catches my eye. He’s made hitters look foolish, but it seems like a key hit drives in runs in both of his games. Should I be worried?
I sure hope to see Gonsolin do well today. Did anyone notice that MLB implemented the rule that you can only have 13 pitchers on the roster at any given time. (Not applicable to the 28 man roster during the first month of the season.)
That 13 pitcher rule was in effect last year. Beaty spent parts of three seasons with LA and had decent stats. He played probably one years worth of games. 502 at bats, 18 homers and 91 RBI’s. He was a solid PH. He and Pujols were their best options off the bench last year. None of the other players plugged in did very well at all. Still cannot understand why MLB.TV blacks out spring training games. Arizona is 800 miles away, and I can’t watch todays game with the Rockies. Idiotic.
No it wasn’t.
https://www.mlb.com/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-mlb-in-2021
Totally agree that I’d rather see Rios on the opening day roster instead of Lamb. There definitely isn’t room for both of them.
Gonsolin seems to be the forgotten man these days. Glad to see he’s getting a start. To me, of all the potential 4-5 starters, he’s got the highest potential upside……………………………..if his shoulder is healthy and if he hasn’t now formed some bad habits because of what he was doing when it wasn’t.
Considering the depth of the bullpen, I wouldn’t be surprised to see AF send Price and cash to some team, assuming that he isn’t needed as a starter. With Vgon, Vesia, Bruihl and Fergy available I don’t see any reason to keep Price here as a member of the bullpen.
I just saw some descriptions of Lamb from the last thread as an All Star and a “stud.” Ok, let’s just calm down a little, here!
You’re right, though, that 2016-17 were pretty productive years. Pretty comparable to Joc in the few years that Joc was decent, although Joc had a little more power. He hasn’t been good since 2017, though, and I’m not sure that he’ll want to be stashed at AAA. If he looks healthy and has a good Spring I’d think he’d want to test the market and see if he can land a spot on an MLB roster somewhere.
I’m honestly not sure who I’d go with right now – Rios or Lamb. Lamb is a veteran, and the Dodgers love experience on the bench (Utley, Pujols, Friese) and got seriously burned with the rookies last year. Rios has more natural power and showed some glimpses of breaking out prior to last year.
Price is an enigma to me. I’m not entirely sure he’s really that into baseball anymore. He’s paid 32 million no matter what and knows he won’t sign another contract. I’d like him to help the team, but, even though the Dodgers lost a bundle of starters last year he just really didn’t factor in all that much. I think he’s just kind of checked out. That’s my hunch. If the Dodgers could have traded him already, I think they would have.
Maybe AF knows a bit more about Dustin May’s recovery, and he’s counting on him for the second half?
Seems ridiculous to me that the Bauer situation is still rumbling on.
Smells of a conspiracy to me, as AC and others have alluded to.
We need him, or at least we need to know what’s happening with him.
The second half should yield May and Duffy – that could be pretty nice!
I don’t think May is going to help out a lot this year. I think it takes a while after Tommy John for pitchers to regain that feel for pitching, even when they’re physically healthy.
Walker Buehler Gets the Ball on Opening Day
I know everyone is always ‘100%’ ready to go when the season starts and you have to wait and see how true it is. Cody, Muncy, Betts I want to wait and see. Didn’t Shawn Green have shoulder issues and he was never the same. Didn’t Max say a few weeks ago that he was 85% Yikes!!! I am predicting 20 homers maximum from Muncy this year. Hope I am wrong
85% is old news. Here’s the latest:
“It felt good to be back. The elbow felt fine doing ABs against guys in the back field, but you get a little adrenaline going and see how it feels with those types of swings. It felt good today.”
As I said, its always ‘100% ready to go’. Lets wait and see what it really is.
`Why are there no more knuckle ball nor screw ball pitchers any more ? Is there a good reason for that ?
The old screw ball is pretty much a (pronated circle) change up in today’s baseball language. Most folks don’t teach that old heavy pronation release for fear of elbow damage.
Kids don’t practice a knuckleball. In the old days every infielder had a sideline K-ball that was a dead fish until it was throw in earnest from incline. Some guys went to it when there arm or stuff went south. Now guys get a job. Not too many teachers of the K-ball either. an old Big League knuckle-baller, Bob Tiefenauer, told me once that the secret to a good knuckle is to stride 1/2 as far. It works. It’s a stand up pitch with little extension . The ball is ‘pushed” toward home and a long stride hurts that action. I had a pretty good one.
Thanks Phil, I appreciate it.
Dodger pitching so far this spring:
22 innings
25 strike outs
1 walk
Gonsolin looked as good as he ever has today.
Anderson also looked impressive.
Maybe that just means the Rockies are as bad as advertised.
Not this spring, in the last 3 games.
You’re right Bear. Thanks for the correction.
Still impressive though.
Has anyone ever won the Cy Young as the #5 starter? And loves cats?
Gonsolin was super efficient today: a “perfect” 3 innings, zero hits, 23 pitches including 18 strikes. He had 4 Ks.
Anderson was good but needed 51 pitches to go 3 innings. Seven Ks (!) to go with three hits. Allowed one run, but zero walks.
And Edwin Rios seems to realize that Jake Lamb wants his job. A HR, a double and a walk, with 3 RBI.
So edge to Gonsolin and Rios today….
I’ll say it again: Either Montaz or Manaea would slot behind Buhler and Urias in the current rotation, assuming that Bauer won’t be back.
And now I suddenly think it hasn’t happened because maybe AF expects Bauer back.
The possibility exists that Tony Gonsolin could be as good as either pitcher… maybe better. Gonsolin needs reps and confidence – he got a big dose today.
I think the Dodgers have an idea what is going to happen to Bauer.
And what do you think that will be? Will he ever pitch for the Dodgers again? I’d love to know what the locker room consensus is.
I have already gone on record.
I do not see how MLB can suspend him, but I am certain Manfred is that dumb. I do not believe MLB would prevail.
I do not know how the Dodgers feel, so I cannot say what they will do, but I do not think he will be suspended!
I agree that Bauer WILL be suspended and the Dodgers have probably been informed of this fact.
Moronta looks like he ate Matt Beaty.
You ain’t seen Beaty around have you?
The dudes’ stats are pretty amazing, however!
I’ll say 5’9″ 275lbs. Impressive stats! XXXL fits like a glove.
Career:
132 IP
82 H
162 K
.175 BA
1.17 ERA
2.65 ERA
And he is 1-12 in Saves!
Rios and Gonsolin show today! I really need Gonsolin to take a step forward this season. Remember when he was just as good/better than May a couple of years ago?
Maybe Rios can put together a hot start to the season. Invisible AJ Pollock had a blast and Cody’s striking out at a record clip. What a mess.
Cleavinger took Vesia’s shine.
Alright, maybe Anderson could be an acceptable 5 inning fifth starter until we get get guys back.
Urias tomorrow. Where’s Price? Did Moronta eat him too?
Saw Price out in the pen, so far he is safe.
Gonsolin gets in trouble when he throws his fastball mid mid. It’s mid nineties so it must have no movement. He needs to throw it less and keep it on the the edges and use his splitter and slider as his out pitches. If given a consistent role and healthy he could be a huge piece for us this year
Catman looked good today. As long as he can spot his two best pitches and just use his heater to keep them off balance, he will be fine. He is my # 5 right now. Otherwise the rotation is too lefty heavy for me.