It’s not “Does Chris Taylor deserve to start over Chase Utley?” That’s not even a question. The real question is “Does Logan Forsythe have a starting job when he comes back?” Chris Taylor is an animal. I have always said that FAZ likes to trade for guys before they become THOSE GUYS! They might have done just that with both Toles and Taylor! I really, really liked last night’s lineup, but Chris Freaking Taylor is starting to look like a guy who is to be reckoned with! It looks like he can hit righties, so Utley really has been Chased!
Yeah, it’s a small sampling, but Chris Taylor’s bat speed and stance suggests a 20 HR hitter. He’s solid with the glove, although he could use more work at 2B. I have little doubt, that with time, he can be a plus defender. If he keeps this up, maybe Logan Forsythe goes back to a utility role. Note: Still no Jose De Leon sightings. In case you are wondering, he is on the DL . Here’s the full report from Althea Pashman of Fansided:
The news broke just as the Tampa Bay Rays announced their minor league rosters was not what anyone wanted to hear which was their highly touted pitching prospect Jose De Leon would open the season on the minor league disabled list due to discomfort in the flexor mass muscle.
According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, De Leon had experienced forearm discomfort last week, which was resolved with rest. While that is all good news, it is still of concern as last season he spent time on the DL with Triple-A Oklahoma City due to soreness in his arm.
For those wondering what the flexor mass muscle is, well it is in your forearm by the elbow. They are the tendons that connect arm muscles to finger bones that stretch from the elbow to the fingers, which allow a pitcher to grip and throw a ball. Pitchers Andrew Miller, Stephen Strasburg, former Rays Wade Davis has sustained such an injury where they’ve miss a month or so. However, flexor mass problems can be a precursor to Tommy John surgery.
Dodger Notes
- It goes without saying that Alex Wood and Joc Pederson were also impressive but hey, it’s only the Indianapolis Indians, ‘er I mean, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Andrew Toles continues to look like a regular to me.
- 17 K’s! Koufaxian!!
- If Joc can get it going, he’s a nice #5 hitter – if he can get it going… like last night!
- Kike Hernandez has a .238 BA but he is OPS’ing .806. He has gotten some key hits and his versatility makes him a roster lock.
- The boat anchor in the lineup is currently Yasmani Grannydal. Last season, he hit .295 in April, but with no power. In May he hit .115, followed by .169 in June. Then he went off in July, hitting .324 with 8 HR. He is a streaky hitter and I thought he would have more consistency this year. It’s still early, but so far, he has disappointed with his hitting. Maybe, he started to awaken last night…. MAYBE!
- Revisiting the Rich Hill/Josh Reddick trade: I am somewhat surprised Frankie Montas is struggling (6.48 ERA). Cotton is struggling with control. Grant Holmes is at AA with a 5.16 ERA as he continues his downward spiral. Meanwhile Hill is on the DL and Josh Reddick is hitting .280 for Houston.
- Trevor Oaks went 5.2 and gave up 7 hits and 5 ER in his worst outing this year. It happens…
- Willie Calhoun led off and went 2-5 as the DH.
- Trayce Thompson is breaking out of his slump – 2-5 last night and played CF.
- Edwin Rios continues to rake at AA – .361/1.008 OPS 6 HR/27 RBI. I think he will like move to OKC soon.
- How long will McCarthy be out? It doesn’t matter… too many other pieces. At least it is his Left shoulder.
Discussion (63)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Frustrating to see Puig still chasing balls way off the plate, down and away in high leverage situations.
when are they going to stop bringing in Romo to blow high leverage situations?
Will Dave Roberts pull a no-no for a 3rd time?
The hated ones are losing 5-1 bottom of the 7th. LET’S GO METS!!!!!! Also Mark Melacon went to the DL. Couldn’t happen to a nicer team. Buster Posey seems to be the only hitter they have and I feel a bit sorry for him, not them, him.
Another “Wild Horse” has joined the Blue. Justin Marks LHP was signed today after TB DFA’d him 3 days ago.
Marks has pitched 12.1 Innings in the majors. Hits-13; BB-13; K’s-9; ERA 3.65. He will be assigned to OKC. Also AE has been put on the 60 day DL.
Some new blood familiar to Friedman
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/05/dodgers-claim-justin-marks.html?fv-home=true&post-id=91890
I will try to join the party late too, but inevitably I will forget someone:
Willie Davis and Crawford
Reggie Smith
Pedro Guerrero
Ramon Martinez
Hong Chi-Kuo
Fernando
Orel
Derrel Thomas
Piazza (until the trade)
Eddie Murray
Steve Garvey
Dusty Baker-the player
When I was very little I had two wooden Willie Davis model bats, but my memory of really starting to watch games with my Dad was the 1974 team so I could list about everyone and make the list too long from 1974-1981.
I was riding in the car for a while today listening to MLB.com and a Yankee fan called in talking about the Yankees prospects, but then he said he has been a fan since 46 and he has “never seen a team like the Dodgers who have two teams.” He went on to say they are the deepest team that he has ever seen.
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What do you think Alex Wood’s trade value is right about now?
I agree with you Rick. That is what Roberts said. Forsythe will start and so will Agon. Utley wiil be on the team unless he takes himself out. That will leave you with Barnes, Utley, Taylor, Bellinger, Kike and Gutierrez. Two will have to go down.
By the way, I was unable to respond to yesterday’s post. Some of my all-time favs are:
Maury Wills
Koufax (of course)
Bill Singer
Jim Lefebvre
Lou Johnson
Jim Brewer
Steve Garvey
Joe Ferguson
Manny Mota
Bob Welch
Orel
Raul Mondesi
Chan Ho Park
Russell Martin
Olmedo Saenz
Giovanni Carrera
Kershaw
Dave Roberts has previously stated that guys shouldn’t lose their jobs due to injury and that when they return that they will get their old jobs back.
http://www.truebluela.com/2017/4/30/15492832/justin-turner-returns-starting-lineup-cody-bellinger
I expect that Forsyth will start at 2B when he comes off of the DL and that either Taylor or Kike will be sent back down, unless they DL someone else (Gutierrez?).
I think Joc has changed his swing. He looked good last night. I agree with MJ. Joc has 3 years to figure this out. He will not bunt against the shifts. Do not tell me a major league batter cannot bunt. Joc needs to take what the other team is giving him. He is stubborn or a slow learner. I like Joc in the line up, but he has to get better.
Dave Cameron on Alex Wood’s return to quality:
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http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/welcome-back-again-alex-wood/
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The money, overly rosy, paragraph:
Wood has struck out 30 of the 84 batters since rejoining the rotation, including 11 strikeouts in his start against Pittsburgh last night. He’s walked just one batter in each of those four starts (one of them intentionally), so his 30/4 K/BB ratio shows how well he’s owned the strike zone. But his dominance goes beyond even that level, as 32 of the 50 batters to put the ball in play against him during that span have hit the ball on the ground. You almost never see a pitcher combine a better than 30% strikeout rate with a 60% ground ball rate, but during these last four starts, Wood’s at a 36% strikeout rate and a 64% groundball rate.
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That is Dallas Keuchel‘s groundball ways combined with Chris Sale‘s control of the strike zone. Those are good things to have, and insanely good things to have simultaneously.
Mitch White homecoming tonight at San Jose giants.
The worst record IN BASEBALL: the giants. The Bay Area is focusing on the Warriors now. Nothing but bitching about the orange and black. The Warriors are the new darlings in town. Our schedule has been light so far; the next 60 days don’t show much relief, and will be a test of how good the team can be. I expect Taylor to continue to be good, and I expect Bellinger will slide a bit, as the word gets around. We have some solid teams coming up to play. Will be interesting, and a test of the staff.
Agreed Hawkeye, Forsythe can be like Zobrist, he can play every position but catcher and pitcher. His option has to be picked up. if only because JDL was traded for him. Taylor is on fire, can play all of the IF spots and is making Utley look like a luxury security blanket, although I think he has something left. Decisions are looming, meanwhile Gutierrez can’t stay on the field-he can still hit but his body can’t take playing the field. First time he was hurt it was running the bases on a steal. Guys are getting a chance to play and then making the most of the opportunity.
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The rotation is another question mark, but perhaps the intent is to keep all of the innings down by using the 10 day DL as a periodic freshening for anyone with a minor tweak. I wanted Wood to stay in another inning but with a 10-0 lead why not save the bullets for another day? Urias is someone who can benefit from this approach and Maeda can use an extra day off like in Japan, hell even Kershaw would be fresher in the post season. Probably increases the chances that all stay healthy throughout the season.
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The Grant Dayton deal for Chris Reed (who recently retired) was a great pickup; Josh Fields was acquired for Yordan Alvaraz; Even Chase De Jong was picked up for international draft slots before being traded for Jackson and a young hard throwing pitcher.
Joc had a really good night, so I give credit, when credit is due!
And I have seen Joc do this before, and that is why I expect more from him.
My problem with Joc is that he doesn’t stick with what has made him be a better over all hitter, in the past.
Hopefully Joc enjoyed his success last night, and he will continue to shorten his swing, when runners are in scoring position, especially if he has two strikes.
The other thing I noticed last night, is that the Pirates are not the team they use to be.
I have been wanting the Dodgers to take a series against the Pirates for a while, but they looked more like a minor league team last night.
I like Puig’s contact rate. He has never had a swing that gets lift on the ball. He has always hit a lot of ground balls. What I worry the most about is his reverse split.
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Here is a good analysis of Puig’s swing. http://dodgersdigest.com/2017/05/08/yasiel-puig-is-hitting-into-a-lot-of-double-plays/
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The Dodgers have two righty bats in Turner and Puig that need to pound lefties and they unfortunately do better against righties. If Puig continues to not pound lefties and if Thompson starts to do so, I can see where Thompson will find a spot in the Dodger outfield.
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Toles can play RF now and eventually Verdugo will be ready to play RF. I think Thompson’s best position is LF. Peters will be pushing for a spot in a couple of years as well.
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Is Puig the most likely regular to be traded?
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I stuck this in the last thread just before it closed.
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I know that AC is most happy with the ROI on Zack Lee. When your team trades a favorite player, it is always nice to get a young player back that beats expectations. Taylor certainly has done that. Right now it looks like the Dodgers will reduce payroll next year by not having to use their option on Forsythe.
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Sometimes a young can’t miss stud doesn’t make it and sometimes a non-heralded player does. FAZ did well with Toles, Wood, and Taylor. The Dodgers were loaded with outfielders and light on infielders. They needed a prospect that looked to be a long-term solution for second and what seems like out of no where, Taylor steps in. Love it.
In Spring Training, Chris Taylor’s swing looked better and of course he had a great Spring, but when he went back down, his swing evolved even more, Some guys just suddenly “get it” and it is very early, but to be it looks like this is for real. Time will tell, but he he plays this way, there is no need for Ryan Braun.
Sorry, 3rd best record in the NL.
Don’t look now but the Dodgers have the fourth best record in the NL. The cream is starting to rise to the top. I want more of a sample size before crowning Taylor the starting 2nd baseman however he is currently in beast mode. It’s sad but Chase needs to find another team to ride off into the sunset with as there’s no room for him here. Chase’s time has come to hang up the cleats. As I said last week, just let Joc play and he is going to pull his own weight. He is the only true Center Fielder on the current team. Yes Kike is good but he’s not Joc. Let’s keep this thing rolling. Go Blue……………………………………….
Rios and Calhoun are eerily similar in that their best position is the hitter’s box.
Imagine is Chris Taylor, Toles and Bellinger all started for the rest of the year? You could have three possible ROY candidates. Taylor and Toles were unheralded moves by FAZ. “Oh, more reclamation projects. More churn.”
Sometimes those reclamation projects bear fruit. Brandon Beachy didn’t, but who cares? There’s not much lost except a million or two and a roster spot in AAA. Equity investors love to find those hidden gems, those companies with potential that break out and become ten baggers, to use investor parlance. Friedman is a Wall Street analyst by trade. It’s what he’s good at.
Don’t look now, but the Dodgers are first in the MLB in pitching and fourth in runs scored, and have won 8 out of their last ten.
In other news, Cole Hamels is injured and old. Texas is in last place. The Giants might have to unload Cueto to rebuild a depleted farm system. Samardzija continues to pitch the way he has his entire career, which is South of mediocre. Greinke’s pitching better this year…pretty well actually, but he’s 33 and the small market Dbacks only have to pay 172 more million of his contract, unless they can find a suitor to take him off their hands.