The New… & (Greatly) Improved LADT

Posted By on April 2, 2026

This was supposed to happen NEXT YEAR. By “this,” I mean Michael Norris and Jeff Dominique were going to join LA DODGER TALK a year from now… but due to technical difficulties, it happened a year early… but for me, it was right on time. I am allegedly retired, but it doesn’t feel that way most days. US Water Systems is growing at 35% year-over-year with no end in sight. My wife is in the process of opening two restaurants (I am involved with construction and permitting).

I maintain our property (including mowing), which is 3.7 acres and has the house and three other buildings. We opened a new branch in Tampa, Florida yesterday, and oh, I am in the final editing stages for the next 15 weeks on my book, which will be released in July (“The Mountain Mover”), so I am insanely busy. My overall health is great, but arthritis is gradually taking all my joints. I need a second hip replacement, back surgery, and knee replacement surgery. I have had hip and shoulder replacement already.

I am not complaining – life is good. Five Kids, seven grandchildren (and counting), and a Shadrack.

I am beyond blessed. However, I was glad to get Jeff’s call about moving up the timeline. Jeff and Bear have Carte Blanche to do whatever they want. I have never edited or censored what they say, and I never will. This is their home as much as it is mine. I am beyond happy they are both here. WOW!

Also, everyone from LA Dodger Chronicles is welcome here. Welcome to the new LA Dodger Talk. I’m glad you are all here.

Let’s Roll!

This article has 56 Comments

    2. And a fly out to dead CF at the 415 sign. It feels even better that the Vagiants had him and traded him for a cancer

      2. You have to wonder what was the GM in Boston thinking for making the Tibbs and Ehrhard trade for Dustin May?

        1. Desperation, pressure, delusion.

          I forget the pitcher but Boston felt they were close on someone and it fell through.

          AF masterfully extracted two upper level offensive prospects with surprising polish.

          Boston had a logjam in their major league OF and perhaps felt those two were expendable.

          Nobody’s really ever expendable if you just give them away.

          I liked May but the risk wasn’t worth it. He busted and we have the hottest prospect in baseball. And Ehrhard, who looks to be a protype 4th OF.

          Huge win of a trade.

        2. I mean the Sox were, and are, replete with OFs both at the MLB level and below (don’t sleep on J. Garcia.) Tibbs’s swing and approach made him (and still may have him) as a platoon bat. And beyond Crochet they were lacking at SP. So a lottery ticket at a highly valued position (SP) for a platoon player and lottery ticket at an overloaded and undervalued positon (OF) was probably an overpay but really not too bad of one.

  3. Anyone have an update on the minors prospects, specifically the ones we saw in SP that amazed us?

    The European cruise is wonderful but internet is sporadic at best. Today is Carnival’s first ever visit to Tangier. Morocco. Looking forward to it.

    1. With the Minor League season opening this week, here’s where the Dodgers’ Top 30 Prospects are projected to start:
      Dodgers Top 30 prospects

      1. Josue De Paula (MLB No. 13), OF — Tulsa (Double-A)
      2. Zyhir Hope (MLB No. 25), OF — Tulsa (Double-A)
      3. Eduardo Quintero (MLB No. 28), OF — Great Lakes (High-A)
      4. Mike Sirota (MLB No. 58), OF — Great Lakes (High-A)
      5. Emil Morales (MLB No. 89), SS — Ontario (Single-A)
      6. River Ryan, RHP — Extended spring training
      7. Jackson Ferris, LHP — Extended spring training
      8. Alex Freeland, INF — Los Angeles (MLB)
      9. Charles Davalan, OF — Great Lakes (High-A)
      10. Christian Zazueta, RHP — Great Lakes (High-A)
      11. James Tibbs III, OF/1B — Oklahoma City (Triple-A)
      12. Adam Serwinowski, LHP — Tulsa (Double-A)
      13. Zach Root, LHP — Great Lakes (High-A)
      14. Kendall George, OF — Tulsa (Double-A)
      15. Ching-Hsien Ko, OF — Extended spring training
      16. Kellon Lindsey, SS — Extended spring training
      17. Chase Harlan, 3B — Ontario (Single-A)
      18. Zach Ehrhard, OF — Oklahoma City (Triple-A)
      19. Marlon Nieves, RHP — Ontario (Single-A)
      20. Ryan Ward, OF/1B — Oklahoma City (Triple-A)
      21. Joendry Vargas, SS — Ontario (Single-A)
      22. Cam Leiter, RHP — Ontario (Single-A)
      23. Sterling Patick, LHP — Great Lakes (High-A)
      24. Kyle Hurt, RHP — Oklahoma City (Triple-A)
      25. Payton Martin, RHP — Tulsa (Double-A)
      26. Elijah Hainline, INF — Tulsa (Double-A)
      27. Landyn Vidourek, OF — Ontario (Single-A)
      28. Brendan Tunink, OF — Ontario (Single-A)
      29. Noah Miller, SS — Oklahoma City (Triple-A)
      30. Patrick Copen, RHP — Tulsa (Double-A)

      YOU CAN FOLLOW STATS ON THE ABOVE PLAYERS BY GOING TO MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATES AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE

      1. Hainline in Tulsa is more and more interesting.
        He and Tibbs could be big risers (of course for the latter.)

  4. The game, today in the series opener against the Washington Nationals, has the first pitch set for 1:05PM ET.

  5. Nice to see the two forums come full circle into one. Posted on both sites for awhile and then kind of took a step back as I wasn’t sure which one to post on and didn’t feel like posting on both.

    I always read the lead posts and comments on both sites but didn’t hardly comment at all for a few years.

    Anyway enough of that it’s great to have the 2026 season underway and should be another fun year.

  6. Mover, your overall health is great except for what’s going on in your entire body. Sounds like you’re being held together with surgical tape and baling wire. But I get it. Old ain’t easy. I’ve got similar problems, being shot up, blowed up, beat up playing years of football against guys who outweighed me by 50 pounds, cerebral malaria messing with brain function, motorcycle accidents. Guess I’m lucky to still be here. No surgeries yet, but I’m not ruling them out. Yet.

    Assuming we all will get a signed copy of that book. Feels like we’ve been reading your life story here for the last 25 years. You selling the movie rights yet? I’d like a small speaking role in it. Scale of course.

    Game time early today. Hope they packed their bats.

    1. Yeah old age is not for the faint of heart. I did have a brain transplant but my body rejected it. So there is that. The book is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s hard for me to believe some of it. But it happened.

  7. 1:05 PM ET EARLY GAME

    Dodgers (4-2)
    Nationals (3-3)

    SP Emmet Sheehan R
    0-0 10.80 ERA
    SP Miles Mikolas R
    0-1 7.20 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    DH S. Ohtani L
    RF Kyle Tucker L
    SS Mookie Betts R
    1B F. Freeman L
    C Will Smith R
    3B Max Muncy L
    LF T. Hernandez R
    CF Andy Pages R
    2B A. Freeland S

    72° Wind 14 mph

  8. I will have to watch the game after I get home. Have to run a friend up to the Springs so she can catch the bus to Denver. Pirates called up #1 prospect Konnor Griffin who will make his MLB debut today. Erhard and Tibbs have indeed been impressive.

    2. Luke Fox (LHSP) was a steal in 2023 draft (17th round). He missed his entire junior season at Duke (2023) due to Tommy John surgery. Teams were afraid to draft him and he fell into the laps of the Dodgers. He is 24 so he is properly assigned. I can put together a Meet Luke Fox post. I did not get a chance to post it on LADC, but he was my 2026 Dark Horse candidtate.

  10. For tonight, Friday, April 3, 2026, the scheduled starting pitchers for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ minor league affiliates are as follows:

    Triple-A (Oklahoma City Comets): Ryder Ryan is scheduled to start the second game of the season against the Las Vegas Aviators.

    Double-A (Tulsa Drillers): Adam Serwinowski, a left-handed pitcher, is the announced starter for game two of their series against the San Antonio Missions.

    High-A (Great Lakes Loons): While the official starter for tonight’s Opening Day home opener against the Fort Wayne TinCaps has not been explicitly confirmed, the Loons’ roster includes several top arms such as Christian Zazueta, who was the Dodgers’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2025.

    Single-A (Ontario Tower Buzzers): The Dodgers’ new Single-A affiliate (formerly the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes) has a game tonight, but their specific starter has not yet been named following their inaugural game on Thursday.

    1. LHP Sterling Patick has been announced as the starting pitcher for High A Great Lakes tonight.

          1. He looks the part.

            Quality at-bats, plays defense.

            Have to root for the guy.

            (If he’s the worst player in your lineup you have a good lineup.)

  16. Muncy, Teo and Pages. 6,7 and 8. Best in baseball!
    And 1-5 ain’t bad either. They must have been upset when the other day I said we should send them down to OKC.
    Is Sheehan just trying to make Roki feel better?

      1. I do think it’s mechanical but the loss in velocity is noticeable. 92-94 vs. 95-97.

  18. Mark, you are the journalistic version of Andrew Friedman. Your LADT lineup is as good as the Dodgers lineup. Thanks to all contributors. The stuff here is better that the LA Times, ESPN, and everything in between. And you all do it for free!!!!

  19. MLBTR has their early free agent rankings out. Skubal is # 1 no surprise there. Nice to see the offense wake up, but honestly, they have owned Mikolas for the last several years.

  20. “The MLB Players Association is reportedly continuing to prepare for a potential work stoppage ahead of collective bargaining agreement negotiations with MLB.

    The MLBPA increased their “war chest” of total assets, including receivables and fixed assets such as furniture and computer equipment, to $519 million, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

    It previously sat at $353 million at the end of 2024.

    The MLBPA also raised its cash and investments ahead of CBA discussions from $284 million at the start of 2025 to $415 million heading into 2026, via ESPN.

    Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post previously reported that MLB owners have also funded a “war chest” of roughly $75 million per team to provide financial protection in case of a lockout, with the fund containing a total value of over $2 billion.

    The war chests could end up being utilized, as MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer previously told Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that a work stoppage was “almost guaranteed” to occur.

    As for the current CBA, it expires on Dec. 1″.

  22. Triple-A: Oklahoma City Comets 7, Las Vegas Aviators 3
    The Comets rode a fast start to victory. Zach Ehrhard delivered a critical two-run triple to center field. Ryan Ward and Jack Suwinski also drove in runs early to help Oklahoma City bounce back from a previous late-inning loss.

    Double-A: San Antonio Missions 11, Tulsa Drillers 9
    The only Dodgers affiliate to lose, the Drillers struggled with command, walking 15 batters—matching a franchise high from 1993. Despite the loss, top prospect Josue De Paula recorded an RBI single and scored a run. A late seven-run rally by Tulsa fell just short.

    High-A: Great Lakes Loons 2, Fort Wayne TinCaps 1
    In their season opener, the Loons won a tight pitcher’s duel. Left-hander Sterling Patick set the tone with seven strikeouts. Cameron Decker broke a scoreless tie in the 5th inning with a solo home run, and the Loons held on after a late Fort Wayne rally.

    Single-A: Ontario Tower Buzzers 16, Lake Elsinore Storm 0
    In a dominant display, the Tower Buzzers secured a massive shutout victory. The offensive explosion was led by Brendan Tunink, who launched two home runs. Other key contributions included a bases-loaded walk by Victor Rodrigues to drive in Logan Wagner.

    YOU CAN FOLLOW STATS,SCORES AND STANDINGS BY GOING TO MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATES AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE

  24. Nice to see the bats come alive yesterday. Pages is red hot and nice to see Tucker get a multi-hit game.

    Kind of like the new ABS rule. It’s quick and doesn’t delay the game like replay does. I would imagine they will expand it at some point. 1 per inning would be nice but that may be too much.

    I am pretty sure they used this in the minor leagues but not sure if they still use it.
    Does anyone know the frequency of reviews they were allowed when they used it?

  25. Jeff,
    Just saw where Bruns got lit up his first outing. Got to believe this is a do or die season for him. And Ferris has dropped in our rankings.
    Who are Fox and Patick? They both pitched well opening the year. Thanks

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