Dodgers Minor League Report

I will cover the Dodgers – Reds game on Saturday as part of the Minor League Report, because that is how they played… like a minor league affiliate. I will cover them last to teach them a lesson (yeah, that will work).

Great Lakes Loons – The Loons improved to 24-15 by destroying the West Michigan Whitecaps 7 – 1. Andre Jackson continues to shine and he did not disappoint last night as he went six innings, allowed 1 hit and no runs. He is 3-1 with a 2.24 ERA. In 36 IP he has given up 23 hits to go with 36 strikeouts and hitters are batting just .178 against him. He has given up 17 BB – that’s his problem. Last night, he failed to walk a batter (that’s a good thing), and he struck out 4. He now sports a 95 + MPH fastball, changeup, cutter, and curveball – a starters repertoire. At 6′ 3″ and 210 lbs. he has the build to do it, but he has been pitching just a short time. Watch him… he’s a mover. Jose Martinez pitched the last three innings, giving up just one run, for his third save. Vargas and Hulsizer had two hits each while Camargo had 3 hits.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – Jeter Downs had just one hit, but it was a double that drove in 3 runs, as Rancho beat the Modesto Nuts. 25 year-old Eric Peterson went 3-4 in just his second Cal League game. Gerardo Carrillo gave up all 4 runs in his 4 IP.

Tulsa Drillers – Cody Thomas continues to rake as he went 2-4 with the only RBI Tulsa had. He is hitting .304 with a .946 OPS, but Tulsa lost 2-1. He is certainly a rising prospect. Jordon Sheffield pitched 1.2 shutout innings as his star is still rising rapidly. Shea Spitzbath also continues to show out as he now has a 1.86 ERA – in 19 IP, he has 26 K’s but also 11 BB.

Oklahoma City Dodgers – OKC raised their record to a paltry 14-26 by beating the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-6. Peterson, Rios and Jackson all had 2 hits and Errol Robinson had a 3 RBI. Dennis Santana started and continued to pitch like the reliever he is – forget the stats: HE’S A RELIEVER!

Los Angeles Dodgers – There were 31,000 + fans at Great American Ballpark Saturday and there was an incredible amount of LA Dodger Fans in attendance. I would guess 7,000+. Great American and the City of Cincinnati are among the best baseball venues in the country, but one thing makes them the BEST: They serve Frisch’s Big Boy Burgers. Think “In n’ Out Burger on Steroids”. OMG, it was awesome!

Cincinnati fans are great. They root for their team and we root for the Dodgers and they are gracious winners… or losers. We had a great time, even though the Dodgers played like crap. There were highlights:

• Striker Buehler, while not having his best stuff, pitched well enough to win, but the odds of winning when you score 0 runs are slim and none.
• Cody Bellinger continues to show why he is the best player in baseball (so far). He can sell out with the biggest swing in baseball and then, on the next pitch, short up and hit it where it is pitched, getting a hit. If he keeps it up, he might hit close to .400.
• The good news is that Joe Kelly has had a few good outings now. For the most part, he looks like he is starting to figure it out.
• Chris Taylor looks to be in a dark hole with no way out. His body language screams “I am beaten.” Where does he go from here? On the other hand, Matt Beaty just looks like he can be “that guy” you trust to get a hit. He also looked solid at 1B.
• In all fairness, the Dodgers had quite a few hard hit balls. They just didn’t hit them where “they ain’t.” The temperature was in the mid-90’s but the humidity was low – it was a great day for a game – just a bad outcome. I would have thought the ball would be flying out of that bandbox, but it didn’t happen.
• Puig did get two hits, raising his average to .210
• Hopefully, they get ’em today and take the series.