In the first 45 days of the season, the NL West could have buried the Dodgers, but they didn’t… and then the Dodgers went 15-5 in their last 20 games, so they are right back in it. You can call them “lucky” for what they have done in the past 20 games… and you might be right, but they were about as unlucky as you can get before that. This is baseball – it evens out. The thing is: you need to have your eyes wide open and see what is happening as we speak.
- Matt Kemp is a bonafide MVP Candidate and if you think he’s brittle, you would be wrong, although at age 33, Doc will give him plenty of rest.
- Walker Buehler is a Rookie of the Year Candidate if he keeps it up… the problem is: he is the Dodgers Ace or #2 at worst.
- Ross Stripling is good, but he ain’t THIS good (is he?)! Well, he could be pretty good…
- Cody Bellinger is starting to figure it out as is Joc. I have all the confidence in the world in Cody and hope Joc can do it too… it’s just that he has had multiple, duplicate flops in the past. Ancient history and hopefully never repeated. If Joc gets locked in, this is a different team.
- Justin Turner’s wrist still hurts and will for a while – it might be 30-60 days before he feels normal.
- Chris Taylor is picking it up too. He was not a one-year wonder.
- Max Muncy is a nice hitter, but the glove is suspect anywhere
- Yasiel Puig will do his thing if they keep the pressure off him (i.e., hit him 7th or 8th).
- The team has to realize that Sandy Koufax was done at 30 and Clayton might be too. At the very least, he will miss one of the next 2-1/2 seasons. The back and arm ain’t what they used to be. I hope he doesn’t opt out, but if he does, they should let him walk. The gig is over. I love you Clayton!
- Hill and Maeda will be back in the next two weeks. Maybe Hill starts out in the pen, but he needs to be the horse FAZ thought he was down the stretch.
- Ryu and Urias will be back the second half. The Dodgers have Santana and Ferguson at the ready – there is no reason to make a dope-fiend move for a starter. Here’s the list:
- Kershaw
- Hill
- Maeda
- Ryu
- Stripling
- Buehler
- Urias
- Santana
- Ferguson
- Wood – I list him last because he might be injured as well. His velocity is WAY down. Something is going on…
- Rich Hill could be the wild card. He is absolutely filthy when right. Let’s hope he is! We can’t count on Clayton.
- Tom Koehler will be back and what will he be? I have no clue….
- This team could use another bat at 2B, like Scooter Gennett, but what about Muncy? Can he play 2B? Not sure.
- Andrew Toles? Where does he fit? Trade bait?
- I am for trading Verdugo and others….
- MLB Trade Rumors rates Yasmani Grandal as the #9 Free Agent!
The Dodgers could use a few pieces, Gennett and a power bullpen arm. The starters? I think they can put 5 on the mound within a couple of weeks. No dope-fiend moves!
Dodgers Minor League Report by AlwaysCompete
Dodger affiliates recorded 5 wins against 1 loss.
OKC – 10-6 Win over Sacramento River Cats (Giants)
Tyler Pill started and went 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 10 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. I inning each for Chad Girodo, Logan Ondrusek (1st AAA game), and Joe Broussard. Girodo and Ondrusek each allowed a solo HR, and Broussard recorded his 3rd save with no base runners and 3 Ks.
Offensively, the Dodgers were paced by a couple of 4—5 nights by Travis Taijeron and Angelo Mora (2nd 4 hit night in 3 days). Taijeron hit his 4th HR and 9th double, while Mora registered his 1st triple. Edwin Rios went 2-5 with a double (4), and pitcher Tyler Pill had a 2-3 night. Andrew Toles and Henry Ramos each had 1 hit but made them count with a 3 RBI night for both. Toles hit a double (5) and Ramos slugged his 4th HR.
Tulsa – 6-4 Win over Arkansas Travelers (Royals)
This was the second consecutive solid 5 inning start for Mitchell White. It looks like he is getting comfortable and gaining confidence. I expect a big 2nd half out of White. Ariel Hernandez went 2 solid innings allowing a single walk. However in the 8th, he walked 2 of the first three batters before he was pulled. Shea Spitzbarth inherited 2 runners and one scored in his .2 innings allowing 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 sac fly. Corey Copping pitched the 9th but gave up 2 runs to make the game closer.
The offense was led by Luke Raley who went 3-5, and is now 6-7 against former Dodger Chase De Jong. Keibert Ruiz went 2-5 with a double (5), and DJ Peters finally found his HR stroke again. He hit a 3 run HR in the 8th for his 11th HR and 1st since May 27. Zach Reks hit his 6th double of the campaign.
A good pitching duel between Mitchell White and Chase De Jong going 1-1 into the 8th. The Drillers score 4 in the 8th largely due to DJ Peters HR, and 1 in the 9th. The Travelers made in close with 1 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th.
Rancho – 4-2 Win over Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies)
The win kept the Quakes 1 game behind the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) in the 1st half with 10 games to go. The Quakes have a 4 game series against the Storm starting next Monday.
The offense was supplied by OF Logan Landon who supplied all four RBIs with a 2-4 night including his 2nd triple and 6th HR. Logan was the 10th pick in Billy Gasparino’s inaugural draft (2015). He is a 25 year old 6’ 2” 180 pound OF from Texas-Pan American. A little older for the California League, but he is having a solid season.
Other than Raley, the stars were the pitchers. Dean Kremer started and went 5 innings, surrendering 2 runs (1 earned) on 9 hits and 1 walk. He registered 7 walks. Kremer was followed by two dominating relievers who could find themselves in Tulsa before too long. Both Zach Pop and Nolan Long pitched 2 innings allowing 1 hit with 3 strikeouts.
Pop was promoted from GL on 5/15 and has pitched 8 games with 13.0 IP, 6 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and 15K. He has a 0.69 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and .167 batting average against.
After starting the season in Rancho, Nolan Long was promoted to Tulsa on 04/21 and returned to Rancho on 06/01. Over his season at Rancho, Long has pitched in 9 games, 20.0 IP, allowing 2 runs on 10 hits and 8 walks and 27 K. He has a 0.90 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and .152 BAA. Including Marshall Kasowski, the RC bullpen is solid helping with a lackluster starting rotation.
Great Lakes – 6-1 Loss to West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers)
Marcus Chiu and Brandon Montgomery each has 2 hit nights with both hitting doubles; Chiu (7) and Montgomery (3). Leo Crawford and Max Gamboa were the two pitchers who combined allowed the 6 runs on 16 hits 1 walk and 7 strikeouts in their 8 innings. Brayan Morales stole his 27th base.
DSL Dodgers Guerrero – 14-4 Win over DSL Indians/Braves
The Dodgers scored 14 runs on only 9 hits, but received 13 walks. With the 11 walks the DSL Dodgers Robinson team received that was 24 walks in one day, which is unheard of in a free-swinging DSL.
Jenderson Jardines and Randy Rodriguez each had 2 hits including their 1st HR. 17 year old RHP Israiky Berroa started and went 4.0 scoreless innings allowing 3 hits and 1 walk, with 2 Ks. I will continue to follow him for his next start.
DSL Dodgers Robinson – 8-6 win over DSL Braves
DH Luis Carlos Diaz had 2 this and 19 year old RHP Jersson Cabrera also pitched 4.0 scoreless innings allowing 4 hits and 0 walks, with 2 K’s. He is a little older, but this is his 1st season in the DSL so he merits a second look.
Promotion – Andrew Sopko was promoted to Tulsa. Hopefully this time will be more successful than last year. He should be pushed to see if he can succeed at AA to see if there is anything there. He is worth a second look. I wish him success.
Today’s pitchers:
The problems with the parent club pitching has far reaching effects in the farm. Today there are two teams with the pitcher TBD (Tulsa and Great Lakes), and two questionable pitchers going for OKC (Daniel Corcino), and RC (Isaac Anderson). Corcino is a reliever forced into starting, while Anderson seems to just be hanging on. He did have a good outing last time, so hopefully that will continue. While Pop and Long will not be available, I am sure that Marshall Kasowski will see action today.
Discussion (59)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I liked tonight’s batting order. Anyone know why Puig was pinch hit for.
I think Honeycutt would make a good manager
So Dodgers now have the sexiest offense in the game. Ain’t life funny? Well, some parts are.
ok what the hell happened to Buehler
Warriors looking really good so far.
Will Kemp do to Atlanta what he did to San Diego?
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Turner out again. How sore is that forearm?
Some people expect the Mets should strongly consider trading either de Grom or Syndergard. If the Dodgers stay close, would you trade for either one and if so what would it take (it won’t come cheap, but it would allow the Dodgers to have some insurance against Kershaw either opting out or pitching at a less than stellar level).
Az travels to Coors for 3 and the Giants are in DC, I know the Braves are tough but the Dodgers get them at home and have their 2 best pitchers lined up. This is a chance to make up some ground in a hurry. Wood needs to have his best command and go 5 against a quality lineup, if he can’t then shut him down and let him work through his issues.
I wanted Machado but maybe the Dodgers need Archer more. A package of Forsythe (Rays fans like him), Stewart, Verdugo could get the conversation started for Archer. FAZ can take it from there. I think Santana offers more for the bullpen than Fergusson offers for the rotation and if true, Fergusson might be the one included in that trade.
The Dodgers need more than luck to get through this next week. They should be okay for the weekend with Buehler vs McCarthy on Friday, Wood vs Sanchez on Saturday, and Stripling vs TBD on Sunday. It was originally reported that Sean Newcomb was to be Sunday’s starter, but now it is TBD. If Wood is truly injured, there is not much left to pull from. They get a break with an open date on Monday. If Santana does go on the DL as expected, then I would expect to see Caleb Ferguson get recalled to start Tuesday’s game. But what about Wednesday. It is scheduled to be Buehler, but with an open date on Thursday, I would expect this could be a good time to really monitor the innings for Buehler/Wood/Stripling giving them extra days’ rest before next weekend’s series vs SF. Wednesday could be another bullpen day or maybe the Dodgers purchase the contract of Manny Banuelos. Besides the issue of finding a spot on the 40 man, Banuelos would have to pass through waivers to get back to OKC. It is highly unlikely that Banuelos would pass through waivers and the Dodgers need him in OKC to stop the bleeding there and below. If Kershaw or Ryu cannot make it back, that is when Banuelos would be called, but I do not see FAZ losing Banuelos for one game against the Rangers. It is possible to start Stewart to see how far he can go and then make it a bullpen game from there.
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The offense has been bolstered with the recent power and improved results from Joc, Cody, CT3, Muncy, and Puig. While JT is not on the DL, he might as well be. He is going to have a tough year coming back from the broken wrist for a while. It may be healed, but it is not right. He is needed in the lineup, so he will stay off the DL until he cannot grip the bat.
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For those that want to see Daniel Hudson gone, I would not expect that. He has a rubber arm, and right now that is what they need.
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The Dodgers are only 1.5 games out of 1st. If they can stay close until they get some of the starters back, they will be a tough team to beat in the 2nd half.
Minor League Report updated above.
It is a lot easier to be lucky with good pitching and the Dodgers are gonna need more than 2 consistent starters if they’re gonna stay lucky.
If we’re talking 2b, I wonder if Brian Dozier would be an option again? He’ll be a free agent after this year, and undoubtedly be seeking a large deal. Minnesota isn’t all that great and I”m sure Dozier’s cost would be lower now than before last season, when Minny was asking for Bellinger for Dozier.
He’s right handed. He has pop. He plays solid 2b. He isn’t off to the hottest start in the world, but batting 5 or 6 for us might be great for him?
Rudy: Off topic but what do you think of Justify and his chances in the Belmont tomorrow? The Triple Crown is an impressive guantlet of races and Bob Baffert has done it before with American Pharoah (who added the Breeders Cup Classic before retiring to stud.) Affirmed did it back in 1978 and during the 37 years between him and Pharaoh I believe 12 times a horse won the first 2 legs then failed in the Belmont (including Seattle Slew and Spectacular Bid.) It is quite a feat and I will be rooting for him but of course as the odds on favorite I would bet against him or try to find a pricey exacta and trifecta partner. I have never seen Baffert so confident in a horse he trains and I have watched him for many years.
Mark, I agree with most of your thoughts above although I am hoping Kershaw will opt out after the season and like you I would hope the Dodgers let him go, if he decides not to opt out I hope the Dodgers do not give him an extension.
I don’t think Hill can be counted on to be anything more then what he has shown and that will not be enough.
I think the Dodgers are looking at making some trades and I think second base and the rotation is where they are looking.
Here is a statistical summary of yesterday’s game: 31 – 31 – 31
Been reading with interest the comments about Verdugo and his attitude.
I felt much the same about Puig when I first saw him, and was all for trading him. However, I’ve grown to like Puig over time.
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I think in sport that self belief is huge.
Verdugo has probably always had a high opinions of himself, fuelled by his father’s ambition.
The comparison to Harper is interesting. Harper was probably like Verdugo as a young player, full of self assurance. It’s probably what’s made him what he is.
Many of the best sports stars of the world have a large amount of arrogance. It gives them the fearlessness to go out and perform.
I like what I’ve seen of Verdugo at MLB level, and think he will be in the Team sooner rather than later.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the peripheral stuff. Look how long it’s tsken Joc & Puig to work things out.
Some incredible games on the Road Trip, with lots of positives.
The resurgence of Joc, Taylor & Puig.
The surprise package of Muncy, and the continued performance of Matt Kemp, who Doc is managing very well.
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The Pen, although lacking any real Stand Outs, is doing a job.
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The real problem is of course the Rotation.
Wood is the only one of the original 5 Starters still going, but he’s running on fumes.
I know you paint an optimistic picture Mark, about the returning Cavalry, but they are on the DL for a reason, and even if they get back, they will have to throw some innings to get back up to speed.
It will take a huge effort to maintain this momentum with the reserve squad starting every game.
One other thing. I looked up Machado’s salary for this year after posting above. It’s $16M, so there is no doubt that the Dodgers would also have to move some salary in such a deal in order to remain under the luxury tax threshhold. Not sure if the Orioles would take on any salary, but there is nothing stopping the Dodgers from unloading some salary in separate deals or in a multiple team deal. I’ll leave the salary calculations to the Dodgers, who I am sure can do the math.
Scooter Gennett appears to be a good player, but I’m not totally sold. Looking at his career stats, it appears that his power began to spike up after going to the Reds, who we all know play half their games in the Great American Bandbox. Although he would hit for some power, I’m not convinced it would be enough when he began playing more than half of his games at Dodger Stadium, AT&T Park and Petco Park. In fact, his numbers in general spiked up after joining the Reds. He also strikes out a lot, and the Dodgers are more in need of another righthanded impact hitter, and Gennett hits from the left side.
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https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gennesc01.shtml
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If the Dodgers are willing to part with several top prospects, then I think it would be wiser for the Dodgers to jump in with both feet, and go the rental route, and try to make a deal for Manny Machado, with the idea that they would have a decent chance of re-signing him to a long-term deal in the offseason. Machado would a true replacement for Corey Seager this year, and would enable Chris Taylor to take over at 2B. And if he could be re-signed, I’m sure the Dodgers would have no problem fitting him into their scheme for next year. I seriously doubt if there would be any problems figuring out where everyone would play at that time.
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here(over a year) but I’ve been following our team and this blog on a daily basis. The tragic loss on April 10th of last year hit me a lot harder than I thought possible. I’m better now and stronger in mind and spirit.
Mark: I, too, would love to have Scooter Gennett along with Iglesias. They would take care of our 2nd Base problem and havre a true setup man for the 8th inning. I would offer Forsythe(for salary relief);Verdugo, Alverez, Diaz,Stewart, and Baez. Maybe even Peters or Kendall to sweeten the pot.
SP is terribly suspect right now. Buehler, Wood and then question marks and Wood’s last start was a 2 inning start. With Santana ailing, and a “not ready for primetime” Ferguson I wonder where the FO turns for another SP. Brock Stewart doesn’t look at all like big league SP, the BP is taxed and who knows what Maeda and Hill will be when they come back.
A healthy Urias would be a plus but this team will need some bailing wire and duct tape to keep five ready SP in the game. Depth will be tested. 34 games to play until the AS break. If they can win 20 of those games and go into the break at 51-45 I like our chances, but then again two weeks ago I didn’t think we would be at .500 by now.