After a week of games, we see things happening and note who is doing what! If you are forming an opinion about certain players… keep forming! There are four more weeks. Some guys are working on certain aspects of their games and others are trying to “show out” in order to make the team. Sometimes the “plodders” win out… you just never know – have you ever heard the term “a flash in the pan?” Keep watching! Here are some things I am seeing, but it is by no means definitive or final:
- Of all the Rookies, James Outman is showing he may very well deserve to make the team… if he can keep it up! Not only is he hitting .375, and he is fielding like a madman, but it is early!
- JD Martinez – In Spring Training of 2019, JDM hit .200. He followed that up with 36 HR. 105 RBI, .304 BA and .940 OPS. Spring Training means very little, but it’s still early!
- Miguel Rojas showed a Classic Example of what putting the ball in play is about in the 3rd inning. With a runner on 2b with I out, he grounded to the second baseman, which moved the runner to 3B, with one out, but it’s still early!
- Don’t count out Yonny Hernandez making the team. He is very fast, a switch-hitter who can play all over the diamond and is only 24. He has very limited MLB experience, and maybe it is his time. Stay tuned. He is hitting .400, but it is still early!
- Devin Mann is another guy who can play all over the field and is starting to show his ability this Spring. He is on just about nobody’s radar. It’s still early!
- Miguel Vargas is taking to playing 2B, and has difficulty with balls hit to his backhand side, as one would expect from someone who has never played 2B. He is third on the team in OB%, although he has never swung at a pitch. I think he will start swinging soon, but it’s still early.
- Ryan Ward and Drew Avans look like they could be of assistance, but they have no shot at making the team… but it’s still early!
- Jason Heyward has shown he can play the outfield in three spots and has hit and played well, but it’s still early.
- Diego Cartaya shows that he has a high baseball IQ, and acts like it is his first Spring Training… but it’s still early.
- Mike Busch: Ditto, but it is still early!
- Trayce Thompson is someone who I do not think deserves to make the team (and he is showing that right about now), but it is still early!
- Andy Pages has lost 25 pounds, and it is apparent. However, he likely is a year away, but it is still early!
I think Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Will Smith, Miguel Rojas, Mookie Betts, Austin Barnes, Chris Taylor, David Peralta, and JD Martinez are fine. I think Miguel Vargas will make the team. That leaves just three spots open for Trayce Thompson, James Outman, Yonny Hernandez, and Jason Heyward. There are going to be some disappointed players and fans, and another player or two (Mike Busch, et al) could play their way into consideration.
Behind the scenes, Andrew Friedman and his minions are considering their options and what may or may not happen. Who will be available, and who won’t? Is Willy Adames an upgrade over Miguel Rojas… and at what price? Of course, Milwaukee isn’t trading him now unless Freidman wants to include Cartaya, Miller, and Vargas in the trade – then Milwaukee would jump at it because it would be a dope-fiend move on the Dodgers’ part.
The competition is going to be very interesting. It’s way too early to know who is going to make it.
Dodger News and Notes
- I have been wondering if the extra weight Gavin Lux put on was part of the reason his knee blew out. His ligaments were used to carrying 185 pounds (or whatever he was previously), and at 200 pounds, a ligament just popped. I would think that the weight had an effect.
- Thor might get his velocity back up to 96 or so, but he ain’t going to get back to 100. He is going to have to learn to pitch with what he has… and that’s where the Dodgers come in.
- It will be fun to watch Tony Gonsolin’s first start against Tyler Anderson. I wish Tyler well, except for today. I hope they beat him like a rented mule.
- Jason Heyward can play CF. Who knew
So far Heywood looks much better at the plate than I expected. And it really helps his cause if he can play CF. And I dont think it helps Thompson’s case playing in the WBC. I think Outman will have to significantly beat out Thompson to make the team. It can’t be close. But it’s still early!
Heyward! Tho a name change along with a swing change might also be good for him!
Outman needs to start.
If he can keep up what he is doing… he has a real shot!
Then he needs to earn it. I think the key for our offense this year is JDM and Muncy. They have to OPS around .850. If Vargas can do around .800 then all the other role players can be average. Of course Freddie, Mookie and Smith need to be all stars.
I expect Max and JDM to start slowly. They are both working on their mechanics. They dop not have to earn a spot. Actually, I look for Max and JDM to both OPS over .900.
If Vargas can deliver (and I believe he will), this lineup against RHP could be fierce:
1. Betts RF
2. Freeman 1B
3. JDM DH
4. Muncy 3B
5. Smith C
6. Peralta LF
7. Vargas 2B
8. Heyward or Outman CF
9. Rojas SS
Do not underestimate how putting the ball in pay (instead of striking out) can get you runs just by moving the runners. The first six have 30 HR Power and Vartgas will hit 30 as he gets a little bit older.
Wow! Max and JDM over .900! Mark I want you to be my new investment portfolio advisor! It may not be accurate but I’ll sure sleep a lot better at night!
Max has looked pretty good so far.
Outman looks the part at the plate and in the field. I see him as a straight Bellinger replacement. His potential is only reachable if he gets the ABs.
What? Peralta 30 HR power? He never came close to that except 1 year that he had 614 PA and hit exactly 30. He’ll be platooning and the best he’s done in 400+ AB is 12HR twice and 500+ AB 14 HR and 17 HR.
Martinez at age 35, 30 HR power?
You’re extremely optimistic. Extremely.
JDM was injured for most of last year. He is driven to return to his glory days. I think he has at least one more great year, which is why he came to LA to be with his hitting coach: Roberty Van Socyoc. He is three years younger than JT. I think you are extremely pessimistic. Extremely!
Keith Law made the point that Outman could benefit from Lux’s injury.
The line of thinking being that the Dodgers can’t afford to have Rojas and Trace in the bottom half of the lineup. Just not enough punch. Thus an opening for Outman.
Pretty cool!
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/tommy-lasorda-i-5-freeway-dedication-to-honor-the-late-dodger-great/
As in Very!
I heard a rumor there looking at Amer Rosario seriously from the Guardians because he will be a free agent at the end of this year. So the Guardians have shortstops in the minors ready so that could be on possibility to watch. The expectations of Rosario are about what Lux would have produced. The Dodgers then could sign him at then end of the years and have there shortstop for the next couple of years. They say Rosorio is only 29. That I could see. Then next year Lux goes back to second base . Then Vargas to third base. And Muncy to the DH position for 2024. And you get Rojas as your utility infielder. This could be possible at the trade deadline like the Machado deal was.
Amed Rosario for his career has a .308 OB% (it was .312 last year). He has hit 54 HR, but has little power.
Miguel Rojas for his career has a .314 OB% (it was .283 last when he was injured) and he has 39 Hr, so he has little power too.
So, you want to trade prospects and I mean several prospects for a guy who is arguably the same player as Rojas… minus the huge leadership role Rojas has?
I would not say No to that. I would say HELL NO!
Hey I just read in on MLB trade rumors who they could be interested in at shortstop and they said Rosorio. Because he will be a free agent and the guardians would like to get something for him. Rather then just lose him. That’s where I read it.
Mark
You listed Chris Taylor twice up top. So you have 3 spots open. Which means Outman makes the team. Because they are not carrying all 3 others.
Even if Lux didn’t go down he would have made the team.
Thanks – I did not catch that – It is fixed!
Again, I like Outman and he should be given every opportunity to start . I’m not certain that Heyward turns it around. I hope he does. But he has struggled for years. Defensively, he has always been pretty good. But the bat … we’ll see.
Obviously, Miguel Vargas is the guy that everyone believes will be a star. I’m exited to see how this plays out.
Apparently, the Padres are working to extend both Soto and Hader. Where exactly are they getting all this money? San Diego’s payroll may be headed for $300 million. It will be interesting to see where all this goes. You can understand why season ticket sales are soaring down south.
Soto turned down $440 million over 15 years. Will San Diego really try to beat that? Given what they’ve done this past off season, I guess anything is possible.
They’re obviously acting as a money-laundering operation for one of the Mexican drug cartels. 🙂
3:10 PM ET vs Angels
SP Tony Gonsolin R
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Tyler Anderson L
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
SS Chris Taylor R
C A. Barnes R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Martinez R
CF T. Thompson R
LF D. Peralta L
RF Jonny DeLuca R
Clear-day
0% Rain
55° Wind 3 mph L-R
The Destroyer of Pitchers is hitting Cleanup!
While I have my doubts about Outman, I think that it makes more sense to see if he has what it takes than it does to play washed up veterans like Heyward and Peralta. If Outman can hit .240 with power and can play good CF, that’s more than they are going to get from either one of the old guys.
If he can’t, then they will know and they can go to plan B.
It’s risky to put so much pressure on two rookies at once (Vargas and Outman), but I think that this is a transitional year for the Dodgers and they have to find out if the prospects are for real or are fool’s gold anyway.
Exactly.
Well, Peralta is going to start the season as the LF against RHP. I think he can be the equal of Joc with a higher BA. The best year he ever had was with RVS in AZ.
Heyward looks good to me, but I am aware of his history… and also aware of how hard he is working. He is quite the Athlete!
Caleb Ferguson has apparently gained couple of ticks on his fastball and has “more life on his pitches.”
We haven’t really talked about the potential bullpen pieces, but I’m impressed with the potential of this year’s bullpen.
And he was really good last year! Doesn’t seem Busch is getting much of a shot so far. I’d like to see more of him
That column is coming the third week of March.
With a little luck health wise, could be our best and deepest pen in a long time! I think we have the pitching to win it. Just need for the bats to show up in October!
Did you guys see the Dodgers new top 30 prospects list that came out today on dodgers.com
qui:
https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/los-angeles-dodgers-top-30-prospects-list-2023-preseason?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage
Doncon seems high
He was one of the top-rated international prospects when they signed him. He is a long way from the majors.
His tools are loud.
A couple of things. A. I believe Martinez can easily return to the 30-homer level. The one thing that derails the Dodgers from having more players hit 30 or 40 is the heavy marine layer in LA in April and May. At least at home. Once it warms up, balls fly out of Dodger Stadium. I think the home run seats help that. B. Outman needs to play every day. Will he get that chance in LA? Maybe. But I believe also that the only guy who plays every day is going to be Freeman with maybe 3 or 4 games off all year. C. Heyward has at this point in spring, an excellent chance of making the team. At whose expense remains to be seen. Peralta is a lock. D. I think anyone who believes Hernandez has a snowball’s chance in hell of making this team is delusional. No power, better than average glove. He is versatile, and capable of some very good plays in the field. But he also can do what he did yesterday and airmail a throw into the next time zone and cost you some runs. Not a need at this point. They need a solid bench, and right now I see the bench as a very iffy proposition.
It’s pretty clear if Heyward makes the team, Outman is likely the one who loses his spot [for now].
Also, if Yonny makes the team, it’s because Rojas is now the starting SS and we need a back-up bench infielder.
If not Yonny, who? Chris Taylor can only play one position at a time.
Bear , not advocating for Hernandez. Looked up his fielding percentage. It’s 988.
That’s eight points better than Rojas. Don’t know where to look up his airmails though!!
.988 in only 56 games. Sorry, not even close to the number of games Rojas has played. Last season Rojas had 15 defensive runs saved. That is beyond excellent. If anyone makes this team as a backup infielder, it would be maybe Busch. Or even Luke Williams. Hernandez can’t hit my grandma and she is dead. Rojas .980 as a SS over 719 games. Roberts has already said Taylor is going to play SS 20-25 percent of the time. Had to edit to get this added. Noname,,,,,He has sailed a couple of throws already in spring. He did one from SS and another from third. Now does he do it all the time? Probably not. But I do not see this guy making the roster. He will go to AAA as insurance for an injury to Taylor or Rojas. If they need someone, they will go get them at the deadline. Sorry Brian, I do not mean for it to sound confrontational. But seriously? The guy is a worse hitter than Gallo. His glove is not going to make up for that weak bat.
Like I said, I wasn’t advocating for Hernandez my real point was where did you get the information on his tendency to throw the ball away?
You keep saying things and that doesn’t make them right. You state that Hernandez not only has no shot at making the team but that anyone who thinks he does is delusional. That’s a bit confrontational. I think he has a chance. Does that make me delusional? I thought I was just following the Dodgers’ roster shape up.
Busch will not be a back-up infielder this year because he can play 2b, 3b & 1b. Not SS. Considering we lost our starting SS for the year, Busch serves no purpose if he can’t play SS.
Williams is an even longer shot.
But keep saying things and then freaking out on other people who hold opposing opinions. It’s a little bit embarrassing to read this tripe coming from a supposed “writer.”
I have read on other sites that Yonny has a legitimate chance to make the team. You are not alone.
Yonny is a long shot to make the team, but the Dodgers think highly of him. He has a high baseball IQ, and he can play his way onto the team (or not). He will have to keep up what he is doing and even do better, and much of whether he can make it depends upon what other players (Outman, Heyward, Thompson, et al) do.
With Joey Gallo batting, the Red Sox moved their left fielder to short right field. Wonder if other teams will do this against dead pull hitters (i.e., Max Muncy).
Dammit. The fuckery begins anew.
Max can and will go the other way. Gallo is one-dimensional. Max is not. If they do that to him, he will make them pay!
Max is going to have a big year.
I hate to get the blow back Bear got, but he is right, Hernandez is not making the team.
1) Doc already said Taylor will play some SS. So there’s your backup SS.
2) With all the platoon guys the Dodgers are going to carry and Rojas shitty bat, Hernandez won’t be on the team.
As it stands right now without a trade these are the 13 position players: Martinez, Smith, Barnes, Freeman, Vargas, Rojas, Muncy, Betts, Outman, Peralta, Taylor, Heyward, Thompson.
Either Heyward or Thompson got lucky because Lux went down to injury. And those 2 are going to be on the bench. Outman is going to get his shot in CF and Peralta and Taylor will platoon in LF. Slight possibility it could be Heyward platooning with Taylor instead of Peralta.
The offense will not be as good as last year and the Dodgers will struggle against LHP.
Oh I forgot. The offense will be good enough along with the good pitching that the Dodgers will still make it to the playoffs. But AF is going to need to make a trade later for either a guy that can hit both RHP and LHP or a guy that can hit LHP only if AF wants to make the offense better for the playoffs.
When I read stuff like “Rojas shitty bat” I will go bat-shit crazy on you!
How well did you hit in MLB?
Oh, wait, you never made it?
Oh, how did you do in the minors?
Oh, you didn’t play there either.
Then I would advise you to shut the fuck up, before your really piss me off, Moron!
I know I didn’t play baseball, but look at his stats and compare them to A LOT of other players. What word am I supose to use?
Do you have any idea how hard it is to get to MLB?
He has a career BA of .260 career.
He is also a superb fielder and a great teammate, and he is highly respected.
He is not a slugger, but he does not have a shitty bat. Don’t ever talk that way here again!
And a career .672 OPS. What word am I supose to use?
Obsessing about a SS who has a .260 Career BA is silly.
The Astros won the World Series with a SS who hit less than that.
Along with a CF’er who did the same.
And a catcher who hit .186.
Knock it off… it’s silly!
The Astros had great pitching. They rode that to a World Series win.
Again what word am I supose to use? If you tell me I will use that word instead.
Goodnight!
That’s all, folks.