I generally don’t have a “favorite” player… kind of like I don’t have a favorite kid… or grandkid. However, I am unashamed to say that Alex Freeland is now my favorite player, simply because of what he has had to overcome to get where he is. I admire his parents for what they did for him, and I admire his indomitable spirit. However, the time has come for Alex to go back to OKC as soon as Kike Hernandez is activated. The Dodgers won’t rush that one. Obliques are sneaky little gremlins. He allegedly took a live at-bat against Edwin Díaz on July 5, which is a good sign… for both of them.
Alex Freeland’s walk rate is 10.6% That’s good. For context:
| BB% | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 5–6% | Low |
| 7–8% | Average-ish |
| 9–10% | Good |
| 11–13% | Very good |
| 14%+ | Elite patience |
So the bat goblin math says: his walk rate is solid, but the 30.3% K-rate is the red flag. Ideally, you’d love to see him keep the walk rate around 10–12% while cutting the strikeouts closer to 24–26%.
When Kike comes up, Alex has to go back to OKC and work on that. He is only 24 and has time to improve. I don’t want to hear anything about Hyeseong Kim. He is OPS’ing about the same as Freeland… only he’s at AAA. The Dodgers will be just fine with Kike. I could also see Kevin Call being traded. He’s league average, but has a below-average arm and little pop. Could the Dodgers have the audacity to call up Mike Sirota to be the 5th outfielder at the trade deadline? Hummmm…
- Next year, I can see the Dodgers trading a couple of outfielders for a shortstop… with Mookie going to 2B. Alex will be Superutility.
- In a year or so, could the Dodgers go after Kyle Karros?
- I predict this is Teoscar’s last year with the Dodgers. New LF’er: Josue DePaula!
- Dalton Rushing is growing right before our eyes.
- Could Will be Wally Pipped?
2028 Opening Day
C – Dalton Rushing
1B – Kyle Tucker
2B – Mookie Betts
SS – Kevin McGonigal (Dodgers traded Hope, Kim, Davalan, Zazueta, Ko, and West)
3B – Kyle Karros
LF – Josue DePaula
CF – Mike Sirota
RF – Andy Pages
DH- Ohtani
Bench: Freeland, Miller, Tibbs III, Smith, George
Call me crazy!
ACL Dodgers 4 – ACL White Sox 1
The two ACL teams fought to a scoreless tie through 6.0 innings. Fresh off his ACL Pitcher of the Week award, RHSP Luis Gamez pitched 4.1 scoreless, hitless innings. He did not walk a batter, and of the 13 outs he recorded, 11 were strikeouts. That is domination. Gamez is a 19 year old from Mexico.
RHRP Josehp Marte pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings. He allowed 1 hit and struck out 2.
ACL White Sox scored an unearned run in the 7th inning to take a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 7th, with one out, 3B Elias Medina hit a game tying HR (3). LF Abel Lorenzo singled and 2B Reyli Mariano drew a BB. SS Sam Mongelli then hit a walkoff 3-run HR for thew win.
NO ACL Dodger had more than 1 hit.
DSL LAD Bautista 13 – DSL Astros Blue 11
DSL LAD Bautista sent 19 batters to the plate in the 1st inning and scored all 13 runs.
- BB – 10
- HBP – 1
- Singles – 2
- Doubles – 2
- Triples – 1
- Balk – 1
C Oliver Chapman had a 2 run double (4).
DH Fran-Jean Haseth had a 2 run double (6).
LF Willy Bergolla had a 2 run triple (2).
DSL Astros Blue scored 5 in the 3rd and 6 in the 7th.
DSL LAD Bautista did not get a hit after the first inning. They did get 1 HBP and 6 BB.
DSL LAD Mega 9 – DSL Royals Fortuna 0 – 7 innings
DSL LAD Mega scored in four straight innings, beginning with the 2nd.
In the 2nd, after a batter reached base on an error, and a 2nd was HBP, the pitcher unleashed a WP putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. C Jose Rivas singled to score both runners.
In the 3rd, with one out, CF Helvin Mendoza doubled (3) and scored on 2B Hendry Arvelo’s single. Arvelo scored when Erny Orellana reached 2nd on a fielding error. A RBI single by 3B Juan Macero scored the 3rd run of the inning.
With one out in the 4th, the batter reached on a BB. SS Antoni Urena doubled (3) and the next batter drew a BB to load the bases. Two runs scored on two WP.
In the 5th, Macero doubled (3). Two BB loaded the bases and a SF brought home Macero.
After a scoreless 6th, DSL LAD Mega got one more in the 7th. 2 singles put runners on 1st and 3rd. The lead runner scored on a PB.
- RHSP Gregg Ferrera pitched 4.0 scoreless innings on 2 hits, 2 BB, and 6 K.
- RHRP Micheal Morfe pitched 2.0 scoreless innings with no hits and 3 BB.
- RHRP Albert Feliz pitched a scoreless 7th. He allowed 1 hit and 2 BB to go with striking out the side.
Macero and Rivas had two hits
Agustin Acosta, ACL Player of the Week
Fresh off of an IL stint, Acosta showed just what he can do outside of the Dominican Summer League. He played five games last week, hitting a homer and driving in eight runs. He went 10-for-18 during that stretch, as his OPS on the season climbed to 1.185.
Luis Gamez, ACL
Gamez only pitched once for the ACL Dodgers last week, but he made the most of his sole appearance.
Through 4.2 innings pitched, Gamez only allowed three walks while striking out 11 batters to lower his season ERA to 3.52. He had a fantastic month of June, posting a 2.12 ERA through 17 innings pitched.
Discussion (127)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I remain convinced we will win it all this season.
Klein stunk. Walking the leadoff hitter is a huge no no. Then he puts one right in the happy zone. Miggy Ro makes an uncharacteristic error and Freeland a bad decision to throw to third and they end up losing by 1. But this is on the offense. 1-12 with RISP. Tucker another empty game. Muncy hit one on the screws but right at the right fielder. He might have been better off taking the 3-0 pitch. Ohtani and Pages with two of the worst at bats I have seen all year in the 9th. Tying run on second and they could not even move the runners over. Chuckie Robinson accepted an assignment to OKC. Joey Cora dumped by the Tigers. Wrobo robbed of a win by a leaky bullpen and bad defense.
Alex Freeland evidently reads LADT!
A few things:
1. John, I am sorry I kept your comment in jail so long. In the next couple of weeks, we will launch a new web platform, and it is amazing. Hopefully, you won’t be treated as a criminal there. 😉
2. Kevin McGonigle was just a fun concept, BUT could the Dodgers put a package together to get him? It would be a huge overpay, but I believe they could.
3. I have been really, really busy the past month, and Jeff and Bear have stepped up immensely.
4. I still can get a rise out of you. 😉
5. Dano, I am a savage! Genius? Not many would agree! Check my T-Shirt out:
6. Epigraph of my new book: “If you you ever want to beat my father, you have to kill him.” – Stephen Timmons
In Europe, the best young athletes play soccer. In USA soccer is WAY down the list.
Urgent message for Phil!
The following umps have announced that they will retire at the end of this season, accepting MLB buyout offers:
Lance Barksdale
CB Bucknor
Laz Diaz
Andy Fletcher
Marvin Hudson
Brian O’Nora
Tony Randazzo
Barksdale started a full time role in 2006 while the others all started in 1999.
Who says Rob Manfred hasn’t made baseball better?
Mr. Timmons you are savage and a genius! 103 comments and counting. As P.T. Barnum said….
Book em
In Europe , a talented 14-year-old earns his club money. In America, his parents pay the club $15,000 a year.
That single inversion explains the issues in American society work against US soccer.
Training compensation and solidarity payments send a cut of every transfer fee back to the clubs that developed the player, from age 12 onward. Develop one future pro and your academy gets paid for a decade. Barcelona’s La Masia, Ajax, every Bundesliga academy runs on this logic. The kid is the asset.
US Soccer refuses to enforce those rules. When Seattle’s Crossfire Premier claimed its $60,000 share of DeAndre Yedlin’s transfer to Tottenham, it got nothing. Claims on the Dempsey and Bradley transfers died partly because the federation couldn’t even produce the youth training records.
So American clubs earn zero dollars when a kid turns pro. They earn when a kid enrolls. Which makes the parent the customer, and the product is whatever keeps the parent writing checks: travel tournaments, hotel weekends, $500 showcase events, private training at $100 an hour. Elite pathways run $8,000 to $20,000 a year. A comparable academy spot in Italy costs about 120 euros.
Follow the incentive one level deeper and it gets darker. A club dependent on fees can’t cut its weakest paying players, so rosters optimize for retention over development. The scouting pool shrinks to families who can afford the cliff, which appears around age 11, exactly when development matters most. The country runs a talent filter sorted by household income instead of ability.
Every four years someone proposes fixing this. The proposal always requires the people profiting from the $15,000 model to vote themselves out of business.
One of the joys of being a young Dodgers fan in Southern California was realizing that I could claim Brooklyn as part of my heritage. I reveled in learning about Jackie, Pee Wee, Campy and the rest.
Seriously, I really did consider Roy Campanella’s uplifting autobiography to be my favorite book… until at age 13 or 14 I picked up “The Godfather” and got to the part about Sonny and the bridesmaid.
And now True Blue LA offers some Brooklyn/LA perspective:
Dodgers history reaches equilibrium between Los Angeles & Brooklyn
by Eric Stephen
Jul 7, 2026, 10:43 AM PDT
Monday night was a notable game in franchise history for the Dodgers, and not just because the team played their first extra-inning game of 2026, snapping a 91-game stretch that was the second-longest to open a season without playing past nine innings, seven games behind the 2005 Boston Red Sox.
The series opener against the Colorado Rockies was more historical, encompassing the entirety of 143 years as a franchise. Between the regular season and postseason combined, the Dodgers in Brooklyn played 11,109 games. Monday night was the Dodgers’ 11,109th such game since moving to Los Angeles.
The franchise started in Brooklyn in 1884 in the American Association, where they would play for six seasons before joining the National League in 1890.
The World Series as we know it didn’t begin until 1903, but earlier attempts to determine a champion were less series. For example, the Dodgers won the National League in 1890 and played the American Association-champion Louisville Cardinals in the “World’s Championship Series,” but the series ended in a tie (3-3-1) and was never settled. The Dodgers’ only other 19th century postseason was in 1889, when they lost in the postseason to the NL-champion New York Giants, six games to three.
Brooklyn also finished first in the National League in both 1899 and 1900, but had no postseason to play.
In the modern era, the Brooklyn Dodgers played in nine World Series, totaling 56 games. Since moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have played in 14 World Series and 79 Fall Classic games, but also 174 other postseason games.
Dodgers history in Brooklyn & Los Angeles
Location Games Record Pennants Titles
Brooklyn (1884-1957) 11,109 5,650-5,325-134 13 1
Los Angeles (1958-2026) 11,109 6,094-5,009-6 14 8
regular season and postseason combined, through July 6, 2026
At the moment, 143 years of Dodgers history is perfectly balanced between Brooklyn and Los Angeles
Keep an eye on:
Luis Gámez, a recent international signee
The Mexican pitcher has struck out 22 batters in his last 9 innings.
4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 11 SO
4.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 11 SO
07/07/26 Los Angeles Dodgers sent C Chuckie Robinson outright to Oklahoma City Comets.
10:10 PM ET
Rockies (37-55)
Dodgers (60-32)
SP Michael Lorenzen R
3-9 6.91 ERA
SP Justin Wrobleski L
10-2 2.80 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
CF Andy Pages R
1B F. Freeman L
3B Max Muncy L
LF Tommy Edman S
RF Kyle Tucker L
C D. Rushing L
2B A. Freeland S
SS Miguel Rojas R
76° Wind 8 mph Out
NO Mookie
2028 Starters- Go FA for more pitching and prospects especially a near ready catcher
C- Smith and Rushing
First- Pope
Second -Betts
SS-Emil Morales
Third-Chase Harlan
Left-Sirota
Center- DePaula
Right-Pages
Bench- Tucker, Hainline, Rushing, Lindsay
Here’s a question for the LADT brain trust…
We all know that MLB rules forbid trades of draft position, There is an exception for those “competitive balance” picks (such as the one that landed Davalan as part of the Lux deal).
But do the rules forbid a workaround like this:
Imagine that AF and the entire Guggenheim team gets fixated on a guy like the UCLA SS Roch Cholodsomthing or Grady Emerson. Could AF tell a team with a top pick, “If you draft the guy we want, we’ll give you Zyhir Hope + Alex Freeland + Kendall George for him.”
This sort of thing seems to happen often in the NBA and NFL. I don’t see it happening in MLB.
It also occurs to me that a high school draftee would be more excited about joining the Dodgers–and might opt for college with another team.
Am I right about this? And if so, why or why not?
I am not sure where this Kevin McGonigle trade notion came from. McGonigle is going to be the face of the Tigers. He will be the Tigers Bobby Witt Jr. Kevin is in the 1st year of a 9-year $150.78MM contract. He needs to average 2 fWAR per year over the life of the contract. He is 21 years old and is already at 3.8 fWAR this year. He will be 29 at the end of the contract.
At 21 he has an OPS of .817 and an OPS+ of 128. He is a stellar defender at both SS and 3B. The package of Hope, Kim, Davalan, Zazueta, Ko and West does include 3 top 100 prospects, but only 1 top 20 (per MLB Pipeline – Hope). Baseball America has one top 50 (Zazueta), one 55 (Hope) and a 98 (Davalan).. It doesn’t seem nearly enough for a 21 year old premier SS with 9 years team control at a team friendly deal.
On the Pages subject, his plate discipline will decide whether he does or doesn’t become a star. The All-Star break is coming at a good time for him. I’d like to see him out of the two hole but I don’t really have a good answer when it comes to replacing him other than potentially Edman. If Teo were hot I’d think about putting Mookie back with Teo hitting cleanup. A healthy Will Smith would make the decision easier. Was last night the first time this year Doc has finally alternated Left-Right all the way from 1-9 hitters?
Looking forward to Worbs tonight, who should be an All-Star regardless of tonight’s performance.
Also Paul Skenes Day, today. Let’s see if he starts to right the ship after his first brutal starts of his career. The Pirates have lost 9 straight games he has started.
Trade Pages? I have to admit it has crossed my mind too. Not saying I would, but not saying I wouldn’t. His plate discipline sometimes confounds me! Excellent center fielder, great arm, overly aggressive sometimes, tries to get to every ball in the outfield! Still don’t like him in the 2 spot. Don’t believe he goes anywhere except to right field when Sirota arrives.
Lauer was Lauer last night. Exactly what AF acquired him to be. Made 2 terrible pitches to Tovar! Other than that? Solid . Not spectacular, but very solid. And I agree with someone who said “quality “ start. In my opinion, a useless stat. It should be,(1) great. (2). Good. (3). Poor. (4) . Terrible. Just me.
The Rockies have a different look in their eyes now. Not intimidated, not scared, and very agressive. If they could only find some pitching that wanted to be there!
Dalton Rushing? Did nothing wrong last night. Had a great game! Caught a good game. Swung the bat very well. Sweet play on that tag at the plate! He ain’t going nowhere! And of course Rojas was right in the middle of that play. Going to be missed if he actually does retire.
I believe if Justin Wrob. Has a good game today, it’s going to be hard to keep him off the all star team. Major snub if he doesn’t make it.
Watched the entire game with the sound off. No way I could take even 2 minutes of the Drew Goodman I am a moron show. His analysts are not much better. I bet he was going nuts when the Rockies tied it in the 9th. the Carrigg kid is impressive with the bat. He is also a gamer. He was in the wrong on the slide home, but he seems to be the same kind of personality as Dalton.
I need to get up earlier and get in here earlier. Geez, already 33 comments.
Yes, I’m a huge Freeland rooter. I also rooted for Loney, Pederson, and John Hale but wasn’t rewarded as much as I had hoped. Okay, in Hale’s case, not at all. There is something about Freeland’s defense that screams out confidence and Gold. His power is as a righty bat, but he doesn’t get to use it as a Dodger. I thought he might have turned the corner a bit when he recently battled Miller. He fouled off pitches and worked the count full before flying out to left field.
Tucker’s batting average is climbing, and he has a decent ytd RBI number. Betts and Freeman no longer look old. Muncy is an All Star. Call is a left fielder. I might use Edman in CF and Pages in RF instead of putting Call in RF.
Sorry to see Chuckie go. He was a decent catcher. But his brief stint may earn him a second Dodger ring.
I forget which Rockie it was but it breaks my heart to see a perfectly good, bat intentionally broken in anger over a strike out. A beautiful $200 show piece of perfectly lacquered multi-colored maple, shattered, just seems like such a waste. As a kid, I would have slept with that bat and as a player I would have treated that bat like a piece of fine furniture giving it the respect it deserves. Ichiro used to treat his bats like precision tools that barely touched the ground. And this hitter just destroys it on purpose. Newsflash – it ain’t the bats fault partner.
Rushing had a career game. Nice to see him come through with a walk-off knock.
And a very nice catch on the popped-up sac bunt attempt. Less athletic catchers don’t make that play.
He does make life interesting. I think he was not-guilty in the little altercation at home, with Hunter Goodman. I have no idea what was said but Goodman appeared to take offense being tagged a second time by Rushing at home, when words were exchanged. But Dalton doesn’t appear to want to take shit from anybody.
Henriquez threw a pitch in the top of the 10th that made me blow a clot. I don’t know if Rushing called it but Henriguez threw it.
Top 10, Henriquez works from behind in the count, to get it to 3 and 2 to Mickey Moniak. Henriquez walked him on A FRICKIN BREAKING BALL.
WTF?? You throw 103mph? Why would you not throw your best fastball in that situation and take your chances? If I threw 103 I’m not going to try to trick anybody in that situation. It’s dead Red.
Bad choice by 2 youngsters, IMO.
My 2nd WTF last night was in the bottom of the 9th with the winning run on 3rd when Pages looked at 3 center-cut strikes to end the inning. My gawd, get a hack!!! Again, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Credit the Rockies for hanging around and giving the Dodgers all they could handle last night. They have some kids who can swing it.
Or do we try to stack the Pen.
7th–Scott
8th–Chapman
9th–Diaz
Baseball America / Future Projections preview the MLB draft:
“They’re probably going to take a player who 15 teams in front of them wish they took like a year from now. It seems to be what the Dodgers do every year. I’ve heard them connected to a lot of different profiles.
James Clark, Eric Becker, Aiden Ruiz, Bola Rantz, Kayden Sorel, Colt Prosek”
From Future Projection: Episode 195: The Ultimate 2026 MLB Draft Preview, Jul 7, 2026
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-projection/id1555299031?i=1000775768442&r=7479
This material may be protected by copyright.
Gunnar Henderson is really struggling, I wonder if he is a typical Friedman under-valued asset to acquire and rework?
His name is ALEX. Put some respect on him.
He is a valuable bench piece, he aint going no where.
Go get Skubal.
Stack the deck, it is no sure thing Glas and Snell will be back 100% for playoffs.
Yamamoto, Skubal, Ohtani and one of Glas and Snell.
How many times does a team get the chance to 3 peat….
Prospects are cool, Parades are cooler….
Hard to believe that was the first inning game the Dodgers have played in this year. I sure like the young core of the Rockies. They sure could resemble the Blake Street Bombers in a couple years where they just mash the ball and try to outscore you. They will always have pitching issues and attracting free agents.
Mark and others have stated the obvious that this teams superstars are starting to age so it got me thinking of who is the next big bat the Dodgers will acquire. Yes I know the current labor mess will definitely be a factor.
Betts was traded for, Freeman and Ohtani were signed as free agents. Who could be that next superstar? This is purely speculation and this is where Bradley excelled at with his crazy trade ideas but how about Junior Caminero. Kid is a stud and is only 23 years old. I have no idea of his contract status and how long he is under control. I am just throwing a name out there for the sake of conversation. We have a history of trading with the Rays so never say never.
Baseball America just released their Mid-Season Farm Rankings:
1. Milwaukee Brewers
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
4. Washington Nationals
5. Seattle Mariners
29. Philadelphia Phillies
30. San Diego Padres
An absolutely awesome piece in The Athletic on Max Muncy and the mental part of the game: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7424573/2026/07/06/dodgers-max-muncy-mental-skills-coach/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983&userId=147501&source=dailyemail&success_message=Login+successful
Like Yogi said, “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
On aggressive teams (undisciplined, too) like the Rockies, Tanner Scott can get lit up because he is typically in the strike zone. Soon, there will be Phillips, Diaz, and Scott. Remember when many wanted Henriquez and Klien gone? Me neither! 😉
Who is the calm, collected guy who replaced Rushing behind the dish? Actually the same person, just a different version. Rushing has transformed into solid, dependable and as of last night, heroic. The attitude adjustment is a game changer for him. He still has the fire but he didn’t take the bait when the runner got into his face at home. He is quickly transforming from a backup to an equal. Smitty may not be the same guy he was and Rushing is steadily filling the gap, not as a replacement, but as part of the best catching tandem in baseball.
Clearly, this team is great… and aging. The farm system is stacked. The Dodgers will almost certainly trade some prospect collateral – the question only remains: When and Who… not IF.
I too am rooting for Freeland but that strike out rate and no slug won’t fly.
Looks like both the Angels and the A’s will be in sell mode come the deadline. Mike Trout has a full no-trade in his contract and won’t waive it. Mozeliak won’t discuss moving controllable players. But he has several on expiring contracts who could be trade fodder, including Soler, d’Arnaud, Yates, Moncada, Frazier and Brent Suter.
Scott was due to have a stinker. No biggie. Rockies have some exciting new talent on the team. Good for Rushing to get the game winning hit.
3-0 and he swings at that. Stupid!
Dope fiend
Well, Id say there’s a better chance of the Dodgers trading for Skubal, and that ain’t gonna happen either.