Well, we are three games in. Last year’s team won 8 straight out of the gate. The sweep of the Tokyo series against the Cubs, then sweeping the Tigers and the Braves in LA. The biggest question mark heading into the season was the bullpen. So far, so good. The pen has been nails and Diaz has 2 saves already. Also, all three of the wins have been of the comeback variety.
Tonight Sasaki makes his season debut, and if there is a huge question mark in the rotation, Roki is it. Consider the fact that he did not have a very good spring training. He was 1-0 with a 15.58 ERA in four games. He also pitched just 8.2 innings. He allowed 9 hits, walked 15 and struck out 12. He allowed 2 homers. Not exactly inspiring stuff. Those stats do not include the game he pitched on the back field at Camelback, where he was much more effective.
But the Dodgers made the choice to keep Roki and put him in the rotation over Ryan or Wrobleski, whom I believe they will initially use as a piggyback to Sasaki. Wrobo is the only lefty starter until Snell gets back, and when they go to a six man supposedly in May, he will most likely get that spot.
It is way too early to even suggest how the pen will play out, but Diaz has looked nasty and so has Tanner Scott. Blake Treinen got through his first inning relatively easy, and Vesia has looked just like his old self. I was not impressed with the work by Sheehan in his first game. Too many long at bats.
The competition gets tougher with Cleveland coming in. They are 2-2 so far, and it seems the problem has been their pitching. They have scored 13 runs and given up 22. It would be nice to see the Dodgers jump out to a lead.
Chase DeLauter has 4 homers already and is their best hitter so far. Jose Ramirez is hitting just .125. They do seem to strike out a lot with 48 Ks in four games. DeLauter has all of their homers. The Guardians staff has given up 8 homers. Cam Smith and former Dodger, Connor Brogdon have their two saves. Their starting staff has averaged less than 5 innings a start.
Sasaki will be followed by Ohtani and then Yamamoto. The Dodgers are still waiting for the big-4 to get rolling. Ohtani, Betts, Hernandez, and Tucker are all under .200 right now. Smith, .273, and Freeman, .250, have the highest BA of the regulars. They have hit 5 homers with Will Smith leading the team with 2.
LA is hitting .222 as a team, but the good news is that they have struck out just 15 times in three games and walked 11. Sooner or later, the big guns will be firing on all cylinders, and we could see separation from the rest of the West soon. Hard to believe they are already 3 games up on the Giants, who so far have scored just one run.
Giants have DFAd Tyler Fitzgerald.
Class-A Ontario Tower Buzzers inaugural roster
Isaac Ayon RHP 24 2024 draft (18th)
Javier Bartolozzi RHP 21 2023 int’l FA
Luis Carias RHP 21 2023 int’l FA
Mason Estrada* RHP 22 2025 draft (7th)
Will Gagnon* RHP 22 2024 draft (14th)
Domingo Geronimo RHP 21 2022 int’l FA
Jholbran Herder RHP 21 2022 int’l FA
Jhonny Jimenez RHP 22 2021 int’l FA
Cam Leiter* RHP 22 2025 draft (2nd)
Jecsua Liborius RHP 21 2023 int’l FA
Logan Lunceford* RHP 22 2025 draft (12th)
Matt Lanzendorfer* LHP 24 2025 draft (15th)
Accimias Morales RHP 21 2022 int’l FA
Marlon Nieves RHP 21 2023 int’l FA
Robby Porco* RHP 22 2025 draft (13th)
Brady Smith RHP 21 2023 draft (3rd)
Jesus Tillero RHP 20 2023 int’l FA
Anson Aroz* C 23 2025 draft (19th)
Conner O’Neal* C 23 2025 draft (9th)
Chase Harlan 3B 19 2024 draft (3rd)
Jose Hernández IF/OF 23 2019 int’l FA
Mairoshendrick Martinus IF/OF 21 2022 int’l FA
Emil Morales SS 19 2024 int’l FA
Easton Shelton 1B 20 2023 undrafted FA
Joendy Vargas IF 20 2023 int’l FA
Jaron Elkins OF 21 2023 draft (8th)
AJ Soldra* OF 22 2025 draft (16th)
Brandon Tunink OF 20 2024 draft (8th)
Landyn Vidourek OF 22 2025 draft (3rd)
*making pro debut
Looks like Lindsey, Ko and Davalan will be headed to Great Lakes
That Morales kid impressed me during spring training.
From AI:
Emil Morales is a 19-year-old shortstop and third baseman in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system. Born in Spain and trained in the Dominican Republic, he was the “jewel” of the Dodgers’ 2024 international signing class.
Signing & Early Career
International Free Agent: The Dodgers signed Morales to a minor league contract on January 15, 2024, for a signing bonus of $1,897,500.
Dominican Summer League (2024): In his professional debut, he was named the DSL MVP. He led the league in home runs (14), slugging percentage (.691), and OPS (1.169) across 46 games.
Stateside Debut (2025): After transitioning to the Arizona Complex League (ACL), he topped the league in hits (70) and total bases (116). He finished the season at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, batting .339 with 5 home runs in 30 games.
Scouting Profile
Morales is widely regarded for his elite power potential and mature offensive approach.
Attribute Grade (20-80 Scale) Scouting Notes
Power 60 (Plus) Hits the ball exceptionally hard; potential for 25-30 HRs at the MLB level.
Hit 50 (Average) Mature approach with good pitch recognition, though has questions against secondary pitches.
Arm 55 (Above Average) Strong, accurate arm that fits well at either shortstop or third base.
Fielding 45-50 Steady defender but lacks elite range; many scouts project a future move to third base as he matures.
Prospect Rankings (as of early 2026)
Morales has steadily climbed prospect boards and is consistently ranked among the Dodgers’ top young talents:
MLB Pipeline: No. 92 overall prospect / No. 5 in the Dodgers system.
Baseball America: No. 9 Dodgers prospect.
The Athletic: No. 65 overall prospect.
He is expected to begin the 2026 season with the Ontario Tower Buzzers (the Dodgers’ High-A affiliate), under the management of veteran John Shoemaker.
10:10 PM ET
Guardians (2-2)
Dodgers (3-0)
SP Parker Messick L
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Roki Sasaki R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
RF Kyle Tucker L
SS Mookie Betts R
LF T. Hernandez R
1B F. Freeman L
CF Andy Pages R
3B Max Muncy L
2B Miguel Rojas R
C D. Rushing L
69° Wind 7 mph Out
Rushing with a start against a lefty and Muncy too. Works for me.
Yes Dalton should be playing minimum 2x a week, whether at catcher or 1b
According to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya,Kike Hernandez is hitting in batting practice, a positive step forward for the defensive ace who has also been seen fielding ground balls and moving on the field over the past few weeks.
After Hernandez’s session, Roberts was quite positive about where the player was at.
“Taking grounders, the way he’s moving, the way he’s throwing, catching it, the swing, the ball coming off the bat, all that stuff, if I didn’t know any better, I would think he was in the lineup tonight,” Roberts said, adding that he would be “shocked” if he was not back by the end of his time on the 60-Day injured list”.
Espinal will be gone when Kiki is activated.
Kike is not eligible to come off of the IL until May 14th. That is a month and a half away. So saying it will be Espinal is pretty premature. Depends on how Freeland performs his role.
Kike will replace Espinal as the right handed platoon player who can play everywhere.Freeland or Call will be outrighted when when Edman returns. Both have options remaining.Call has 1 option left and Freeland has 2 left.
I doubt they send Call down. He can play all three outfield spots.
I think the Dodgers will get a Call for Call at the trade deadline.
Shout out to Will Klein looking like a set-up man.
Roki Sasaki showed amazing progress. He still throws too many non-competitive pitches, but he has shown great progress so far. He also looks much tougher mentally!
Who said Rushing can’t hit LH pitching!
Much improved from Roki. Still work to be done.
I think that’s the best Tanner Scott outing I’ve seen. Progress from Roki. Cleveland being aggressive hitters definitely helped.
I was disappointed to see Jeff’s blog shut down, but I think he served his time, and deserves to be paroled. Mark I’ve been following Bear, Badger, and Singing the Blue, from Dennis to Jeff, and now here, I hope you don’t mind another orphan hanging out here.
The more the Merrier.
Welcome.
Maybe our hole is early offense.
Not a well played game overall by the Dodgers last night. IMO I would bat Tucker third and Mookie second and breakup the back to back lefties.
I think they will stick with this setup for at least 20-25 games before making a move like that. I don’t disagree with it, but they need to let it play out.
I think I agree with you
What I saw last night is something I have seen for years. When a kid pitcher whom they have never seen before faces the Dodgers, they have trouble scoring runs, and it hasn’t mattered who was in the lineup. The one bad trend I see in all four games is falling behind. They haven’t scored before the fifth inning yet. Need to jump on opponents early. Rockies got their first win against the Jays and they crushed them.
Rojas lost us the game so now we’re even.
Because he got picked off? Not a chance. The top five in the lineup are all batting .200 or less. Very few hard-hit balls, and a couple that were, were hit right at someone. He also saved a run with his great catch of that shallow fly to right and throw that was right on target. How about that lame bunt by Rushing that was ruled a hit but should have been caught by the pitcher. Offense is not even close to being efficient right now. Sasaki made some progress, but way too many pitches out of the zone.
I am encouraged by Sasaki, though. In his last start, he was “aiming” the ball, like he was throwing darts.
He did throw several non-competitive pitches last night, but he was actually throwing the ball… not aiming it. His confidence level was much improved.
Now, let’s hope he can build on it.
My best take is that they are not striking out as much. Only 6 last night. 5 in each of the first three games. Scott looked very good. Rojas has the best BA on the team right now.
We haven’t lost a meaningful game since Oct , 2025. So I guess we were due
Someone explain to me why we need 36 year old Kiki when we have all these younger studs.
He’s the Dodgers version of Ringo. Was Ringo critical to the Beatles success? Of course not. And yet somehow it just wouldn’t be the same.
Well, you started out with the wrong information. He is 34… not 36. So, there is that!
So, you are asking, “Why sign a perfectly useful Swiss Army knife when you already own a toolbox?”
Let’s talk about Enrique Hernández — or as October knows him, Kiké “randomly turns into a demigod” Hernández.
Why the Dodgers bring him back (again… and again…)?
1. Because baseball rosters are lies in April and chaos by August
2. On paper, the Los Angeles Dodgers look like they have 14 starting-caliber players for 9 spots.
3. By midseason? Half of them are on the IL, one guy forgot how to hit sliders, and another is learning left field via YouTube.
Kiké’s role:
“Oh, you need a center fielder tonight? Cool.”
“Second base tomorrow? Sure.”
“Emergency shortstop while eating sunflower seeds? Obviously.”
He’s the duct tape of contenders.
He hits like a backup… until he absolutely doesn’t.
Regular season Kiké: A .220 hitter who occasionally looks like he’s swinging underwater
Postseason Kiké: A mythical creature sent to torment pitchers and Padres fans alike
Vibes are a real stat (even if Fangraphs won’t admit it)
This team is loaded with stars: Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani — basically an Avengers lineup.
But every Avengers team still needs: the chaos gremlin, the dugout comedian, the guy who keeps things loose when October pressure hits like a freight train.
That’s Kiké. He’s not the engine. He’s the spark plug that occasionally explodes and somehow fixes everything.
Depth isn’t about “too many players” — it’s about “too many things going wrong”
The Dodgers don’t sign him despite their depth.
They sign him because they’ve lived through seasons where depth evaporates like spilled bourbon on hot asphalt.
Kiké is insurance. Weird, loud, occasionally streaky insurance.
The sarcastic summary:
“Why sign Kiké Hernández when you already have depth?”
Because the Dodgers know something the rest of us pretend not to:
Depth isn’t real until you’ve lost it.
And when that happens, you either panic…
or you casually plug in Kiké and hope October magic boots up like an old Windows computer that somehow still works.
PLUS, tell any of his teammates he is not necessary to their face, but before you do, make sure your life insurance is paid up.
Why did we resign Meggy and Kike ?
I think Andrew thought getting the band back together for a run at the 3 peat was a good idea and I agree.
Andrew listed the inaugural Ontario Tower Buzzers roster above. Four pitchers I am very anxious to follow are Cam Leiter, Brady Smith, Marlon Nieves, and Jesus Tillero. Emil Morales, Chase Harlan, and Joendry Vargas are the position players that interest me the most. I agree with Ron Fairly Fan that Kellon Lindsey, Charles Davalan, and Ching-Hsien Ko all look to have made the Great Lakes roster. The initial Great Lakes roster has not yet been reported.
However, the initial Tulsa roster has been reported and I do have questions.
Pitchers:
Maddux Bruns (L)
Patrick Copen (R)
Wyatt Crowell (L)
Cam Day (R)
Luke Fox (L)
Roque Gutierrez (R)
Joel Ibarra (R)
Payton Martin (R)
Nick Nastrini (R)
Kelvin Ramirez (R)
Nick Robertson (R)
Adam Serwinowski (L)
Evan Shaw (L)
Christian Suarez (L)
Lucas Wepf (R)
Catchers
Yeiner Fernandez
Griffin Lockwood-Powell (GLP)
Frank Rodriguez (Development List)
Nelson Quiroz
Infielders
Jake Gelof
Elijah Hainline
Sean McLain
Joe Vetrano
Outfielders
Josue De Paula
Kendall George
Zyhir Hope
Kole Myers
Kyle Nevin
Chris Newell
Jared Karros is also on the roster, but is on the 60 day IL.
Jackson Ferris is not named. I still think he is headed to OKC. But the other missing name is Mike Sirota. I do not know if his start was delayed and is being held back at Camelback to get more work on his swing. But if he has to start at Great Lakes, that is not something I understand. I will withhold my queries until Friday’s Great Lakes game. Ontario and Tulsa start on Thursday.
Who will be the weekend starters for Tulsa? Serwinowski has to be one. I will guess Copen and Crowell for the other two.
I hear Ferris is at Camelback getting treatment for an adductor injury.
Sirota is in extended Spring Training. Why? It’s allegedly not injury related and he should start the season with Tulsa.
Yeah, there are always a lot of extended ST for some. I did not hear about Ferris’ injury. Teams are not required to report MiLB player injuries. I do not like adductor injuries, especially for pitchers. I did not think Sirota was injured. I do think he got a late start to ST, so it makes sense.
That’s from a person I consider “pretty reliable.”
10:10 PM ET
Guardians (3-2)
Dodgers (3-1)
SP Tanner Bibee R
0-0 5.40 ERA
SP Shohei Ohtani R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
RF Kyle Tucker L
SS Mookie Betts R
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
3B Max Muncy L
LF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
2B A. Freeland S
65% Rain
68° Wind 7 mph Out
Wow! Major lineup changes…. 😉
How about we score 10 tonight?
03/27/26 Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent RHP Eliezel Marte to a minor league contract.
03/27/26 Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent RHP Angel Rodriguez to a minor league contract.
As of their signing on March 27, 2026, the two pitchers are both young prospects in their teens:
Eliezel Marte is 17 years old. He was born on February 13, 2009, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Angel Rodriguez is 19 years old. He was born on September 10, 2006, in Santiago, Dominican Republic.
My man Mark! Excellent and very humorous take on Kike.
My thoughts……
He’s Mr. Rocktober!
Book em
Mets To Hire J.D. Martinez As Special Advisor
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/los-angeles-dodgers
Padres now 1-4 after losing to the Giants.