Dustin May may be the Dodger’s best pitcher before the season is over. He did not have his best stuff or pinpoint control last night, but even when he is “off,” he is still extremely hard to hit. His “bad stuff” is better than most pitchers’ “good stuff!” Actually, the entire starting staff is pretty good, with an ERA of 1.76! Dustin May’s stuff was electric, however., as he is displaying “late movement” within the zone. Tony Gonsolin’s return is also imminent.
David Peralta, Chris Taylor, Max Muncy, and JD Martinez have not even got untracked yet, although most are showing signs of life – there is reason to be excited. The Dodgers took six walks to go with seven hits last night and that was without the human walking machine, Miguel Vargas! This team is going to surprise a lot of people.
Do you remember when just about everyone was crying about the outfield with Thompson, Peralta, Taylor, and Heyward? It seems to be working out just fine. Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace! Don’t Worry – Be Happy!
MadBum vs. Clayton tonight!
Down on the Farm
The Game Summaries are straight from each teams’ website
OKC Dodgers – They are off to a 5-1 start after a 5-4 win over Las Vegas last night. Luke Williams is off to a good start with a .391 BA and 1.226 OPS. He is another player to keep an eye on (like Jahmai Jones). If he remains hot by the midway point, he could get a “look-see.”
*Game Summary: *Down by one run with the bases empty and two outs in the ninth inning, the Oklahoma City Dodgers rallied for two runs to stun the Las Vegas Aviators, 5-4, Thursday night at Las Vegas Ballpark. The Aviators (1-5) had a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth inning, and each of the first two OKC batters struck out. Down to the team’s final strike, Michael Busch was hit by a pitch and Luke Williams followed with a double. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, Steven Duggar sent a sent single to right field, scoring both Busch and Williams to put the Dodgers (5-1) ahead. Reliever Bryan Hudson needed just nine pitches to complete the bottom of the inning and wrap-up the Dodgers’ fifth consecutive win. The Dodgers took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run double by Ryan Ward. However, the Aviators scored the game’s next four runs and led, 4-2, after six innings. Williams recorded a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning to bring the game to a one-run margin.
Tulsa Drillers – The Tulsa Drillers 2023 season opening game on Thursday night was a rousing success thanks to two straight big at-bats and an impressive combination on the mound. In the bottom of the third inning of a scoreless game, outfielders Jonny DeLuca and Yusniel Diaz hit back-to-back home runs to stake the Drillers to a three-run lead.
The support was enough thanks to a dominant performance from a pair of Tulsa hurlers, as Landon Knack and Emmet Sheehan combined to blank San Antonio on just two hits. The result was a 7-0 Drillers victory over the Missions before nearly 7,000 fans at ONEOK Field.
The win marked the first time the Drillers have recorded a shutout victory in a season opener since they blanked the Shreveport Swamp Dragons 1-0 at Drillers Stadium in the opening game of the 2002 season.
Thursday’s opener began with two scoreless innings, but Diaz and DeLuca quickly changed the direction of the game. After Kody Hoese singled to lead off the bottom of the third, Diaz hit the next pitch over the left-center field wall for the first two runs of the season.
DeLuca followed and belted a 3-2 pitch into the Budweiser Terrace in the left field terrace to up the Tulsa lead to three runs.
The home run continued a hot streak at ONEOK Field for Diaz, even though the streak is separated by nearly five years. The outfielder was with the Drillers in 2018 before a trade sent him to the Baltimore Orioles in July of that season. In his last two games at ONEOK Field prior to the trade, Diaz was seven for nine with a double, a homer and four runs batted in, making him 9-13 with 2 homers in his last three games in Tulsa in a period spanning 4½ years.
Drillers starting pitcher Knack fell one inning short of qualifying for the victory, but he was outstanding in his 2023 debut. Knack, who is rated among the Los Angeles Dodgers Top 20 prospects, allowed just two hits in four shutout innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out one.
Great Lakes Loons – Ronan Kopp starts tonight for their opening day.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – On what could be called a perfect weather night at LoanMart Field, the Quakes put together a near-perfect performance, topping Inland Empire in shutout fashion by a final of 3-0 in the first game of the season.
A terrific crowd of over 3,300 fans were treated to beautiful weather and strong pitching in Thursday’s opener.
Maddux Bruns tossed a career-best four scoreless innings and equaled his career high with seven strikeouts, while Chris Campos (1-0) and Lucas Wepf combined for five scoreless frames to seal the victory.
The Quakes struck for a run in the first on an RBI hit by Thayron Liranzo, taking a first-inning lead against rehabbing Angels pitcher Griffin Canning.
Rancho made it 2-0 against Canning (0-1) in the third, as Chris Newell doubled home Jose Izarra.
Liranzo, who threw out a pair of would-be base-stealers in Thursday’s win, completed his big night with a solo home run in the eighth, giving the Quakes some insurance at 3-0.
Wepf finished the ninth inning by working around a one-out walk, collecting his first save of the year in the process.
The Quakes’ pitching staff finished the game with 16 strikeouts, walking just three batters in the win.
Rancho (1-0) will send Peter Heubeck to the mound in his 2023 debut on Friday, as he’ll take on right-hander Caden Dana at 6:30pm in game two of the series.
Friday is Family RV Family Feast Night, with $2 hot dogs, $1 Pepsi products and $1 ice cream sandwiches. Tickets are available at rcquakes.com. Go Quakes!
And we haven’t had a gotta get Reynolds post in a while. Hopefully Vargas is back tonight. And CT3 has done a nice job at short. Love the minor league updates. Thx
By the way, Reynolds is off to an excellent start. Actually, he would be our best OFer.
See what I did there?
Ok. Here come the F bombs! I think I’ll take Mookie over Reynolds in the long run. Tho I wouldn’t mind seeing him in Dodger blue if the price was right.
$1 ice cream sandwiches?? I may have to go check this out
Looking good. Minors are loaded.
Vargas better watch his tail with Busch and Jahmai behind him.
I’d like to see him move to 3b next year with Muncy to DH.
We have ten legit Milb SP prospects right now.
Easy on the Jahmai Jones hype. He’s light years behind Busch.
Still unsure if his swing can handle velo. From what i have seen and heard the Dodgers didn’t do much to the swing but flatten it.
Just FYI,
At this time, no one in the Dodgers Organization regards Jones or Luke Williams as any more than “organizational depth’”
Jahmai is basically a top prospect who took a detour along the way.
Busch is not Jahmai’s obstacle.
Jones is just another zero risk signing. He was talented enough to be drafted in the second round and has had some success in the minors. He is a very good athlete. At worst, he fills in a role in AAA for a while. At best, maybe the Dodgers can do their magic and make his bat playable.
Jones is costing us nothing but a AAA roster spot. I wouldn’t say I’m excited, but I like this kind of move. And he’s off to a good start. This kind of “project” has produced AS level players for us in the past.
Light years?
They’re both 25 and both playing at OKC. Busch is considered the better prospect, but unlike Jones he has never played in the majors. Heck, if you believe the prospect rankings, Busch is even better than Outman. (Still waiting for someone to explain how that makes sense.)
The question is whether Jones finds another gear under Dodger system tutelage, just like Muncy, JT and Taylor before him–or like Heyward now. Busch, of course, has had that (presumed) benefit since he was drafted and signed.
I actually think Luke Williams, given his ML experience and proven versatility, could be called up ahead of both Busch and Jones. Yonny could be called up sooner for the same reason.
I still figure that Busch, a four-sport star in high school, is athletic enough to be decent at 2B or LF, in addition to 1B and DH. But he’s had a hard time getting into the ML conversation against internal rivals Vargas and Outman.
Perhaps Busch is just one injury away from getting the call to LA. We’ll see.
Great piece in the Athletic on Max Muncy’s Defensive Struggles.
Maybe hitting him 9th would take some pressure from him.
I am not against moving Rojas to third and for Muncy to share DH with Martinez. That would make Taylor SS. Muncy is a first baseman and DH. Taylor is a backup middle infielder who can play outfield but shouldn’t until he hits again.
I wonder if Betts could play 3rd base?
Are the Yankees ready to go with Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza up the middle? That would make Gleyber Torres expendable. I’d put him at third.
.. where he would proceed to make Max Muncy look like Brooks Robinson.
Gleyber has played shortstop. Max has not. Brooks doesn’t look good anymore.
Betts for SS!
Phillies could use a 1st baseman/DH. Trade Muncy. Put Busch at 1st.
What happens to Freddie?
Correction. Put Busch at 2nd and move Vargas to 3rd.
Fine with trading Max… if the return matches the Dodgers’ needs.
What will the Phillies give back?
I think Max can give us average D over time. I’m not giving up on him just yet. PS Max. Start swinging at first pitch mid mid fastballs!
Seriously! It’s almost like Max’s approach to simply to draw a walk. And then when he has two strikes he starts thinking of possibly hitting the ball. He need to be more aggressive.
Muncy continues to struggle in the 4 hole. I think he takes too many strikes, We all know that hitting behind in the count is difficult and Max does it way too much. The difference in BA for MLB players based on counts, tells the story. Up 2 and 0; BA = .372. Down 2 and 0; .157. Difference is 214 points. 2 and 1 vs 1 and 2 is 194 points. I know Max loves to draw walks but I say let it eat before he’s buried in a count.
Freddie is really good. He quietly is a superstar. He gets taken for granted. He’s like an old pair of slippers. Not appreciated until you don’t have them.
I really like May. Over time he will prove he’s an ace or a great 2. Sometimes he gets out of whack as many young TALL pitchers do. Lots of levers to keep track of and it takes more time with tall guys.
I would love to see him bring out that change up and throw less breaking balls. Last night the breaker was never a strike and becomes a chase pitch.. With his 3 difference fastballs moving in different quadrants at 100 to 94, a sinking change at 88-84 would be unhittable at the bottom of the zone.
Phillips is my guy to close of face the most difficult part of a line up, late.
Ump last night was awful. He missed pitches for both sides.
So far I like Vargas better than LF and SS. I’m bias when it comes to Outman and Smith my 2 favorites. I really think Outman’s speed, on base, power would go good at #1 in the lineup. I think Betts power would be better behind Freeman and Smith. I like Taylor at SS. I’m not into the L-R-L/R-L-R thing.
Outman (Permanent CF even against LHP)
Smith (I like him here better, but 3rd if fine)
Freeman (Same as Smith, 2nd is fine too)
Betts (His power here and faster than Muncy and Martinez)
Muncy
Martinez
Vargas (Better than LF and SS)
LF or Taylor
LF or Taylor
Whoever gets on track first between Taylor and LF bats 8th.
Then again things are working fine right now so……. But I’d like to see this.
This is taking in consideration of career stats (not the rookies of course) and age decline. LF getting on track = Peralta the primary LF. And I don’t expect Thompson and Heyward to hit bombs like crazy throughout the season.
I’m likening Outman so far. The big test will be how he handles his first serious slump. The more video other teams have on him the more they will find ways to trip him up. How he adjusts will be the key. But I like his makeup.
That’s fair and makes sense.
For sure Bear. De Jesus calls pitches in both rivers and a couple down. He has a big zone. Until he doesn’t. Not very accurate. Like a weak 86%.
It’s hard enough to hit.
The plate is 17 inches. Pitches that touch the black add 2 inches to each side. Now the plate is 21 inches wide with legit strikes. Add a generous one ball off the plate and the zone is 25 inches wide. Nobody can cover 25 inches.
Can you say…..ABS?
Don’t expect Peralta or CT3 to get on track hitting. What has Peralta done offensively in the Majors? We know CT3 is a batter who strikes out very often. Betts needs to get on track. He is striking out way to much.
What has Peralta done?
I am glad you asked.
David Peralta is a specialist against RHP.
For his career, he has a .833 OPS against RHP.
He has hit 30 HR in a season and has won a Silver Sluggar and a Gold Glove.
Not lately.
He was off to a good start last year, and then was traded and hurt his back (requiring surgery). He had 12 HR the first half and did not hit a HR in the second half.
SS ‘18. GG ‘19.
He’s capable, but I don’t expect much.
9:40 PM ET
Dodgers (5-2)
Diamondbacks (3-4)
Clayton Kershaw L
1-0 1.50 ERA 6IP 9K
M. Bumgarner L
0-1 11.25 ERA 4IP 2K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
DH J. Martinez R
3B Max Muncy L
2B M. Vargas R
CF T. Thompson R
LF James Outman L
SS Chris Taylor R
C A. Barnes R
In Domed Stadium
This would’ve been a good game to let Martinez try his hand in left field, and let Smith DH
Although that would leave Outman on the bench, and I would like to see him start against a left-hander
Agree!
Keep Martinez DH’ing. We have enough outfielders to cover it without JDM. Don’t give Doc anymore options to screw with. Mookie, Outman, Trayce and Peralta can handle the platoons for now with CT3 at SS. Outman needs to be in the line up defensively. JDM does not. We seem adamant not to have a dedicated DH.
Outman on the bench not necessarily. Instead Thompson who has reverse splits on the bench.
By the way I’m glad Outman is starting against a LHP.
Why does MLB not show the pitch clock on screen, every pitch? I’m looking all over the bottom tab & it’s not there.
philjones…. say, in the future, we’re facing a tough lefty like Max Fried in an important game.
And let’s say Trayce is back to his reverse splits like last year. Be nice to know if Martinez could cut the mustard out there. I don’t think JD is as slow or is bad with the glove as people make him out to be.
He isn’t.
Feed family of four:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRccpNLn/
Outman should sit against lefties. He can’t hit them!
Outman HR against a LHP.
I just realized. Not only against a LHP but against Bumgarner. Legit. Too legit to quit.
Bumgarner ain’t Bumgarner any more… but it was still very cool.
Re JDM…How’s his arm?
There must be some reason he’s not in the OF mix.
Remember Don Baylor playing LF after his arm gave out? Just sad to see. And so he became a full-time DH.
Re Outman… Mark, were you being serious or sarcastic about Outman not being able to hit lefties?
Can’t tell if you’re just stubborn about dissing the 5th best OF prospect in your rankings.
Outman should be Inman every Nightman
And yeah, mad bum used to be bad ass, now he’s just sorry ass
Jessica Mendoza’s Hyenna-Laughing, I could do without!
I am becoming extremely impressed by Miguel Vargas’s work at 2B!
Agree 100%. And I bet you he could play third just as well, the kids got talent
Taylor HR. Take that starting SS job permanently.
Pretty early to panic about Max. But why didn’t Vargas get more reps a 3B in the spring?
It’s good to see that Outman is getting his ABs. After his HR, he came up with runners on base. A less disciplined batter might have tried to be a hero and chased a pitch. Outman took a walk.
Meanwhile, Bryan Reynolds might be the NL MVP so far. His price is going up. An OF of Betts, Outman and Reynolds could be nice.
Reynolds is not the Dodger answer to it’s current needs as we need a quality third baseman that can hit and field.
Fine with trading Max… if the return matches the Dodgers’ needs.
What will the Phillies give back?
I think the Dodgers haven gotten the best results from Max Muncy over the years and it’s time to move on by platooning him with Taylor when Rojas returns. That is not the final solution as AF and BG have to come up with another alternative by trade or from within. Also he should not be batting clean-up.
I was trying to decide last night which laugh is worse ,Jessica Mendoza or the incompetent Vice-President Kamala Harris. Tough choice.