Well, as much as I like Gavin Stone (and I like him a lot), I confess that I mostly saw him as a high-leverage bullpen piece… until yesterday. 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. OK, yes, he was a bit lucky, but he went seven innings and allowed one earned run ! WOW! JUST WOW! In my defense, I have never seen Gavin Stone throw a large number of four-seam fastballs, and last night, it was extremely effective in generating soft contact, not swing-and-miss. In many ways, soft contact is much better, as you don’t have to throw as many pitches. Gavin Stone threw 94 pitches in his 7 innings. This is, by far, his best start. He will stay in the rotation for the foreseeable future.
Stone threw at least six different pitches and commanded them all: Cutter, Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Sinker, and Curve. If he can continue that, there may be a Cy Young in his future. IF… BIG IF! I have always been high on Gavin Stone, but down deep, I thought he would end up in the bullpen, ala, Michael Grove. Now, I am not so sure.
Andy Pages is looking more and more like a keeper, while CT3 is looking increasingly ineffective! Gavin Lux is showing signs of life, while James Outman continues to struggle. When Jason Heyward comes back, I can see a scenario where both Outman and Taylor are gone.
Rants & Raves
- We might have to give credit to RVS for helping Shoehi Ohtani be even better than anticipated!
- Hopefully, Gavin Lux can keep building on his success. Baby steps… but by the end of the year, I can see him no longer in a platoon. Mookie said this about Gavin, “It was great. It’s going to take all nine of us to win ballgames, and he knows that. He’s grinding. He’s working his butt off. That’s all you can ask for.” I wish I could say I have the same confidence about Outman and Taylor.
Minor League Notes
- Vargas, Lipcius, and Hoese continue to dominate at OKC – I don’t know what to make of Hoese… He looks like a different player… but he does not show much power. James Loneyesque!
- Treinen pitched again last night….never mind the results.
- Rooney (1.42 ERA) will likely get the call soon.
- OKC BOX
- TULSA BOX
- GREAT LAKES BOX
- RANCHO CUCAMONGA BOX
New world order:
1. Pages is now worthy of starting everyday. He has passed Outman on the depth chart. Heyward returns as a rotational option and not a full-time player.
2. Infield is stabilized with Lux at 2b and Betts at SS. Rojas good day-off option for Muncy or Lux.
3. Taylor 25th man on roster. Utility man and emergency bat. Has fallen behind Keekay now and could use a mental break.
4. Buehler has a runway to return. Give him what he needs. Piggyback Yarbrough with him. We need him and his fire.
5. Bullpen needs some new faces. Expect a lot of movement here. Treinen might be next man up.
1. Pages is already starting every day! I’m paraphrasing, but Roberts said something like, “We need to see what we have in him.” Excellent! So the plan was to give Pages that proverbial “runway” against lefties and righties until he shows a weakness or gets hurt. Right now, he and Teoscar are full-timers, while Outman, Kike and Taylor compete for ABs.
2. Or is the infield stabilized with Rojas platooning with Lux, with Betts shuttling between SS and 2B? Rojas is hitting lefties better than Lux is hitting righties, and he is the best defensive option at SS. (Lux and Outman face a catch-22: both need to show they can perform against lefties, but they aren’t getting the chance.)
3. Taylor is the 26th man these days. What happens when Heyward comes back? Taylor got a nice hit today, and Roberts seems committed to helping him get back on track.
4. Sure hope Buehler comes back strong. No guarantee of that. Piggyback with Yarbrough sounds good.
5. Nabil Crismatt is the new (a bit old) face in the BP, with Hurt going on the 60-day IL and Nick Ramirez optioned back to OKC.. (How hurt is Hurt? Not sure.) The bullpen churn will keep churning. Treinen, like Buehler, has struggled in rehab action. Graterol is out until late in the season, and Peter Gammons reports that Dodgers are interested in a lefty Red Sox reliever. So it seems that AF is shopping for new faces.
Really fun game to watch!
Also love the way the ASSTROS are playing!
Great win last night! Gavin Stone looked fantastic. Kept waiting for him to implode, but he kept on keeping on! Pitches like that and he’s a permanent fixture in starting rotation! Gavin lux Has had a different look in his eyes at the plate the last couple games. I think he’s starting to feel really comfortable. James outman had a nice hit last night, but not enough. If Pages continues to play the way, he has been he’s here for good. I don’t think Hernandez was hurt last night, I think Doc just wanted to get him off his feet early in the game when it was out of hand. I also think he was trying to give Chris Taylor an opportunity to establish some confidence. It just doesn’t seem to work. Bear said Hayward was a couple of weeks away from even swinging the bat so that gives Chris a little more time to try and write to ship . I really really don’t think Kiki is going anywhere. His versatility makes him valuable as he can every position on the field. I know in the past he’s been listed as an emergency catcher, no doubt he could do it if he had to. HEY! Barnes hit a rope last night! We thought we’d never see him pinch hit for Ohtani again but damn if he didn’t! I know it was a position player pitching, but good for Barnes! See what I did there mark? Does anybody think maybe the Dodgers could work Will Smith some at third base? It’s just awful. to take that bat out of the lineup! max had a nice game last night. Tough lefty on the mound today for the Blue Jays. I think the Dodgers as a whole need a good win today against the left-hander.. haven’t seen a lineup yet, but I’m assuming Chris Taylor will be back in the lineup again today. Another oh for four today and how much longer or should I say shorter the rope gets ?go Barnes!
I have suggested giving Will some reps at 3B.
He as 1 game in the majors at 3B, 1 in the minors, and 58 in college.
But, the Dodgers don’t see it that way.
A blow-out win is a great chance to give Mookie, Shohei and Freddie just a bit of rest, and give the bench guys some ABs.
But Barnes pinch-hitting for Shohei is pretty funny.
I thought he might come in at catcher, but Will Smith gets some regular rest.
Mark –
Just wanted to say “Thanks” again for re-starting this site.
The time and effort you put into this site is incredible – as I noted before the info you provide on the farm teams is awesome and gives us faces and names to future Dodgers.
I have been a strong supporter of Lux for awhile and it is very nice to see that he “may” be getting back into the hitting mode that I think all of us thought he was capable of, then throw in his above average defense at 2nd and we now only have one sub-par fielder in Muncy (although he does make a brilliant play every few games).
Was fun watching both Knack and Stone the past few games – while maybe not #1 or 2 starters they both could eat up some much needed innings to keep Glasnow, Yamamoto and Miller (when he gets back) fresh for the post-season.
Pages has been great so far – if he keeps this up the length of the Dodger lineup will be daunting for any opposing pitcher, and I think puts a subtle level of additional pressure on them to be perfect.
Thanks for the kind words. I think most of the knuckleheads have left.
Still some of us morons left tho!
As we see some of the fruits from the Dodgers development system, The Athletic recently did a survey of league front offices and they voted the Dodgers tops.
($$$$)
https://theathletic.com/5424700/2024/04/24/mlb-front-office-rankings/?source=user_shared_article
This quote, which centers on Friedman’s “superstars or value” philosophy stands out:
“One of the things he does so well is knowing which stars to sign,” another executive said. With the notable exception of Trevor Bauer, Friedman has aced that assignment in recent years by landing Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. In part, another executive explained, that stems from the front office’s “insane discipline,” not wasting resources on mid-tier players so that when a star becomes available, the team can pounce.
“Andrew,” another executive said, “is the best at this.”
Been reading for a while, but this is my first comment. I wanted to echo S. Murphys comment above, – Thank you Mark for re-starting this site. I am a life long Dodger fan, since 1959, and I really enjoy this site with all the knowledgeable and articulate comments from Mark and some others, that I don’t see anywhere else.
Thank you. I truly appreciate what you say.
3:07 PM ET
Dodgers (17-11)
Blue Jays (13-14)
SP Tyler Glasnow R
4-1 2.92 ERA
SP Yusei Kikuchi L
2-1 2.28 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
2B Mookie Betts R
DH S. Ohtani L
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
RF T. Hernandez R
3B E. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
SS Miguel Rojas R
LF Chris Taylor R
In Domed Stadium
Is Muncy also now in a platoon?
A third of the lineup as platoons feels a bit extreme to me, but things:
1. It feels a forced platoon because they are so devoted to getting Taylor going.
2. I think Muncy has batted against certain lefties, so maybe it’s more stuff than handed with him?
3. Maybe it’s just a sign of the team’s depth.
Kikuchi right now is their best pitcher. Lefties are hitting under .200 against him this year and hit .210 in his career. Swing and miss guy like Max probably would have a lot of trouble with him. Lux the same thing. It is a personal belief that Chris Taylor is not going to be a Dodger very much longer. They cannot have an anchor like that at the bottom of the lineup. Chris does not hit in the next two weeks, he is toast. At least Doc is starting Smith today. First time I have seen him play a day game after a night game this year.
Doc may not announce it, but it’s pretty obvious Max is in a platoon, although he will hit against certain lefties.
1. is somewhat true.
2. Correct
3. Maybe
Saturday Dodger Minor League Schedule
10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns) at Fort Wayne (Dylan Lesko)
5 p.m.: Tulsa (Hyun-il Choi) vs. Northwest Arkansas (Luinder Avila)
5:35 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Eduardo Salazar) at Albuquerque (TBD)
6:30 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Edgardo Henriquez) vs. Lake Elsinore (Miguel Mendez)
AAA – Oklahoma City Baseball Club 2nd place 1GB
AA – Tulsa Drillers 3rd place 4GB
A+ – Great Lakes Loons 1st place 2.5GA
A- – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 1st place 3GA
Oh great info, thanks’
My pleasure
MuncyNADO!
been critical of his defense but he is making a believer out of me ever so gradually.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
If you put Max anywhere, he will rise to being at least average. He is a baller.
Maddux Bruns lasted 1.2 innings, allowing 1 hit, 3 Runs (1 earned), 3 BB and 2 Ks.
CT3 goes up the middle to drive in a run. Thats the key for him. Stop trying to pull everything. Scary to say but Ohtani may be even better than I thought.
He was the MVP!
Twice.
What to make of Triple A? Our entire starting lineup yesterday at OKC has an OPS of .800 or better.
1B – Padlo .828 OPS
2B – Owings .809 OPS
SS – Sweeney .914 OPS
3B – Lipcius .950 OPS
LF – Vargas .995 OPS
CF- Avans .901 OPS
RF – Ward .856 OPS
Vargas is the only A-Type Prospect, Sweeney and Lipcius are C-Type and the rest are either AAAA or borderline.
The Dodgers have selected the contract of right-hander Nabil Crismatt from Triple-A. Right-hander Nick Ramirez was sent to Triple-A to make room on the active roster, and righty Kyle Hurt was moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot.
96 to 98mph fb w/extension combined with control of his secondaries
impressive, unfair stuff …classic old-school ace
Who dat?
Crismatt?
When was the last time a Dodger fielder sacrificed a runner to the next base as Taylor did in the 4th inning?
Amazing how there are never any accolades for Robert’s when bullpen pitches well but it’s always his fault when they don’t. You know it’s a good day when Taylor and Kelly play a big part in the win.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RVLbhg-OPHY
Let’s pull for old-friend Michael Busch, in a little bit of a cold spell.
Love that kid’s swing.
Love him
My prediction for ROY!
I’m sticking by my Konerko comp. Busch was blocked in LA and is blossoming in Chicago.
Yes… a blossoming Busch.
great win! winning streaks are fun , right? glasnow just keeps getting better! little hiccup for phillips but he’s ok. dodgers didn’t beat bluejays lefty up, but did more than enough to get him out of there! every body is happy now especially me! if chris taylor can lay down a sacrifice bunt why not barnes? 4 runs in first 2 games in toronto? yep, take it all day long! and yes, everyone has nothing negative to say during a winning streak. what the hell to complain about? who’s pitching tomorrow? haven’t seen yet, but a win tomorrow would make the road-trip a huge success! guessing barnes behind the plate tomorrow. go barnes!
Grove will open
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/40023865/michael-busch-chicago-cubs-trade-los-angeles-dodgers-hot-start
Nice article on Busch