First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
We are down to 10 ST games with one week to go in Arizona followed by 3 against LAA. Two games in Anaheim and one game at Dodger Stadium. Thus far the Dodgers are 12-8-2, as if that means anything.
Who have been the surprises?
Offensively, Kike’ Hernandez and Austin Barnes have been red hot and IMO have established themselves as starters. Kike’ is hitting .351/.330/.676/1.066, 3 HR, 3 Dbl, 11 RBI, 2 BB, and 3 K. Barnes is hitting .323/.417/.613/1.03, b0, 2 HR 3 Dbl, 12 RBI (leads team), 5 BB, 7 K. Both are playing superb defense. Barnes has thrown out 2 of 5 would be base stealers, and has called great games. Kike’ has made some tremendous defensive plays, and a couple unbelievable plays. I am not ready to label Kike’ JDM but what he lacks in power compared to JDM, he more than makes up for in defense.
JT has been solid hitting .375/.500/.667/1.167 and Alex Verdugo is tied with JT with 9 hits and is hitting .281/.294/.375/.669. Not great numbers for a corner OF, but for a rookie he has certainly lived up to some of the hype with his bat to ball skills. He needs a little more plate discipline and not swing at too many of the pitchers’ pitch. One walk probably indicates a little too anxious, but good enough to make consistent contact. He needs more game experience to become more comfortable.
David Freese and AJ Pollock both have 8 hits. Both are professionals and when the bell rings on March 28, they will be ready to go.
There is no sugar coating it, CT3 has been a big disappointment thus far. He does have 7 hits including 3 doubles and 4 RBIs, but has struck out a team leading 15 times with only 2 walks and NO HRs. Is Brad Miller a better option for the utility player right now? Right behind CT3’s 15 Ks is Joc and 14. But Joc does have 4 doubles, 2 HRs, and 6 RBIs including a bases clearing double against SD lefty Robby Erlin. Max has not given any indication that he will have a repeat of his 2018 season, but he is still going to get his opportunity to make due. I do not expect a long leash for Max. He is going to need to produce, or Belli will be at 1B.
For the surprise prospects…the middle infield looks to be pretty deep with prospects. Gavin Lux had a tough spring BA but he showed signs that he is not far off. He only struck out 3 times in 20 AB and hit the ball hard. Unfortunately for Gavin the balls were on the ground where the defense could make the play. If he can elevate some of those pitches his BA will bounce back. What I absolutely love about Lux is his Chase Utley attitude running out ground balls. I saw Gavin nearly beat out a couple of routine ground balls to 2B.
Omar Estevez turned a lot of heads this spring. 7 for 24 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs, 4 RBI’s. He is still very young (just turned 21) and is just now getting comfortable in the US and may be ready to take off this year. He led the California League in doubles, and had a great 2nd half. There is no way he should return to RC. He and Gavin Lux should continue to be the SS/2B duo at Tulsa to start the season. I would expect Lux to get the promotion to AAA next summer.
Jeter Downs showed a little of why the Dodger scouts love this kid. He went 3-7 with a double and RBI in limited action, but did not strike out once. He showed confidence and was not one bit over-matched. Jeter does not turn 21 until July. He spent a full season in the Midwest League in 2018, so he should get a shot at RC.
Errol Robinson did not embarrass himself one bit. Errol went 3-5 with a double and triple and 2 RBIs. He is ready for AAA. There are multiple middle infielders at the lower levels (including a favorite of mine, Jacob Amaya), so I would expect the Dodgers to be set at SS/2B for a bit.
Keibert Ruiz and Will D. Smith both got a lot of catching in, and played well. Their hitting needs to come around, Neither are ready for The Show, but Smith can catch at the ML level right now, and I will be excited to see Ruiz continue with his development.
Matt Beaty showed that he absolutely belongs in the conversation for getting a call this year, as does Edwin Rios. Kyle Garlick continues to impress and might prove to be a quality #4 or #5 OF for LAD(or someone else). But he looks to be a genuine potential ML OF.
DJ Peters hit a couple of monster HRs and a triple. He had 3 RBIs, and his K numbers were not that distressing. 6 K’s with 22 AB. He will be in AAA this year, and has a chance to get called if he can cut back on his strikeouts. The Dodgers desperately need that RH power bat in the OF, and DJ is the closest they have.
It was great to see Hunter Feduccia and Cody Thomas single in their only ST AB.
Starting Pitching – The starters have been nothing but spectacular. My only concern is that they are not being stretched out at all. The most innings for any LAD is 10 for Ryu and Maeda, each with 4 starts. Urias also has 4 starts and 9 IP. Stripling 3 starts with 8.2 IP and Hill with 3 starts and 6.1 IP. SF Giants have 7 pitchers with more IP, DBacks have 5, all 5 NYM starters have more. Rockies Jon Gray has 5 starts and 17.2 IP and Max Scherzer also has 5 starts and 19.2 IP. With 10 games to go, the starters have a max of 2 more starts and that is if Buehler and/or Kershaw do not start any.
It looks like a lot of 5 inning starts to begin the season. The bullpen will be used.
Results wise, the starters have been fantastic. It will be difficult to keep Strip and Julio out of the rotation, but if Buehler and Kersh get healthy, both will be in the bullpen.
Two MiLB prospects have been absolutely lights out this Spring. Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May have shown that they are future mid to top of the rotation pitchers who are not far away.
Gonsolin – 4 games, 9 IP, 0 runs, 4 hits, 0 walks, and 5 strike outs.
May – 3 games, 6 IP, 0 runs, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strike outs.
They are not ready yet, but they are close.
Relief Pitching – The big surprises for the relievers are a couple of middle inning RHRP, Yimi Garcia and Jaime Schultz. Both have been in 7 games (to lead the team) and have 7.0 IP. Neither has surrendered an earned run, although Jaime was charged with an unearned run.
Garcia – 7 G, 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K
Schultz – 7 G, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K
The expected group have also pitched very well. Kenley Jansen has already pitched more innings this spring than all of last spring. Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, Dylan Floro, Joe Kelly, have all pitched 5.0 IP in 5 games.
Jansen – 5 G, 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Kelly – 5 G, 5 IP, 3 H, 1 run, 2 BB, 4 K
Scott Alexander – 5 G, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K
Pedro Baez – 5 G, 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2R, 0 BB, 7 K
Dylan Floro – 5 G, 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 3 K
JT Chargois – 3 G, 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K
Stetson Allie has shown a 100 MPH arm, but still shows that he has trouble controlling it. But perhaps someone to follow this year is a name brought up yesterday…Ryan Moseley. The Dodgers traded Vidal Nuno to the O’s in February 2017. DC wrote a very good article on Ryan at the time of the trade. Maybe we can entice him to do an update on Moseley. Ryan spent the entire year at RC and appeared in 47 games with 73 IP. He had a respectable 4.32 ERA in a very hitter friendly California League. He should be at AA this year. This spring, Ryan has appeared in 3 games, 4.2 IP, and has given up 0 runs on 0 hits, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. You really cannot do much better than that. He is not a high leverage reliever, but he can put together multiple innings and keep his team in the game.
Disappointments are probably Joe Broussard and Shea Spitzbarth. Both were considered potential relief possibilities at the ML level this year, but show no signs of being ready. Josh Sborz needs more work, and this will be a critical year for him. Stetson Allie and Yordy Cabrera should get a lot of late inning relief work this year at AAA.
Overall, this team is going to win because of their outstanding pitching, both starters and relievers. Caleb Ferguson, Dennis Santana, and Brock Stewart will be starters at OKC, but their true future is in the bullpen. Their offense still shows a lack of a lot of clutch hitting, but should still be potent enough to score sufficient runs for the pitching to shine.
I look forward to the next 10 games to see if some of the starters begin to break through. Also hoping for a Kershaw, Buehler, and Seager appearance. That would be very welcomed.
Discussion (61)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I think that was a fair question from Palmdale.
And I think both Palmdale and 59 summed this up well.
How many of those hits from Joc were when a runner was on base, or scoring position?
That has only happened once.
Because he has hit 3 HRs, and he hit in three runs with his double the other day, and that is his 6 RBIs.
Where is the adjustment?
I know at times Joc has lead off, but that doesn’t mean Joc leads off the rest of the game.
I do know Verdugo has gotten more hits in these situations.
But since I don’t know how many opportunities he has had, I can’t say if his number’s are good in those situations either.
But I do know Verdugo has the right approach in these situations.
But 59 summed it up best, when he said both Joc and Verdugo combined, would be an all star player.
Palmdale is right about Verdugo probably being better in the field too.
And Friedman did say part of the reason he got rid of Puig, was because he didn’t want to pay a player that much, that isn’t producing against lefties.
And that is what Palmdale is pointing out about Joc, and his pending FA.
I almost wonder if the Dodgers would rather have Miller on the team than Joc. Joc is fine as a 3.5th OF but Verdugo looks capable of doing that exact job. I assume we’ll see CT3 in LF against LHPs and assuming Kikè will be at 2B, that leaves just Freese and the back-up catcher as reserves. Even though he is valuable as depth. Miller also fits this roster pretty well as an Utley replacement with more versatility. Wouldn’t it be something if we replaced nearly our entire starting OF from last year? Joc/Kemp/Puig to Verdugo/Pollock/Bellinger. AAA OF looks to be a little light. Maybe we’ll play Rios in LF full-time. It’s clear LF is an open position with nobody outright claiming it.
I have to admit this place is entertaining when we are occasionally being nasty to each other 😉
I agree with Mark, Carlos, I loved the hell out of Puig, but like Mark mentioned a few posts ago, something might not have been right in that clubhouse with Puig. I think if he was hitting like crazy, they would have overlooked some things (over throwing the cut-off guy and allowing a free base so he could try hosing the runner, not hustling down the first base line, then get thrown out going for 2). There was a great MLB piece on Puig a few days ago, and one of the things he mentioned was being free without being told what to do. The writer mentioned that Puig is now playing for a team that is TRYING to contend, which is a way different atmosphere than the Dodgers, who EXPECT to win every year. You are held to a different level of accountability, and that is the culture that has been built here the last 3 or 4 years, which is great for us fans. Heard a great comment from Bumgarner of all people earlier this spring, and he said “When we play those guys they show up ready to go every game. They don’t take a play off “. I think Puig, once again one of my favorite players, starting getting tired of “throwing in for good of the team”, especially when he wasn’t playing everyday, and it really disappointed me when he said he didn’t try his hardest last year. I DO wish him well, like Mark, but I also think we will be a tighter ship going forward. On a last note, during that article , the writer noticed that Puig was the loudest guy in the Reds clubhouse, and some of the players love it right now, but how will that play out over 162 games when they aren’t doing so hot? We shall all see.
Puig with a Granny. He may be the MVP this year!
Seriously! I wish him well, but we will be better without him and in 3 years watch for the guys they got for him.
Bluto sees that too, Carlos and it aggravates him, but we all have our opinions.
I used to be worse than him, but I have mellowed in my old age.
Let’s just all get along is my motto… and if we don’t, I’ll beat the hell out of someone! 😉
I have a German name, a French nickname, maybe and have Indian blood. Also poor grammar, old with a broken leg and overweight in my old age to go along with fat fingers. So dump it on me all, I can take it!
I have an Indian name. Can I stay?
Free speech is allowed. I value both of your opinions. Bluto crossed the line first, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Keep it civil.
A Spanish name is no problem. Stay around.
I will be more careful next time posting and watching the grammar and Expressing my opinion because if it is not what Bluto thinks or likes he will get upset. Sorry everyone !!! I guess Free Speech is not allowed on this Forum or having a spanish name.
OK, everyone stop the personal attacks. Just stop!
This is not about English. I posted this from a phone. So sorry Mrs Bluto you got so offended and are Mr Grammar know when you can even post a proper name. Look at the comment and is the idea i wanted to post. I will be more careful with my grammar and i speak English just fine. But this had nothing to do with grammar. I am sure you barely passed high School or even played baseball. But that is okay.
Bluto
I don’t know this for sure, but you might keep in mind that English might be Carlos’s second language.
I am wondering if Muncy had a little injury that he was playing through, because he is not in the line up again today.
Taylor is in the line up again today, but that is not surprising, because he is going to have to fill in for Corey, until Corey is ready.
And Kike is probably going to play second because of that, although Kiké has earned that right up to now too, so I don’t know how anyone could suggest anything differently, when it comes to Kiké and Taylor.
I am not surprised Barnes came to spring training ready to hit, because that is the type of guy he is, and he was never able to get on track last year.
The Dodgers have showed some confidence with Barnes, and that goes a long way with a player.
But there are still players that are not adjusting in these different situations in games, and those are the players that concern me more.
I still think the Reds trade is terrible. Dodgers got nothing. In the last few years they given away Peraza, Schebler, etc. For nothing. That is one of the worst trades ever. Giving Puig, Kemp . Above average hitters and Kemp is an RBI machine. For nothing. Kemp had 85 Rbi , joc had 56 and played almost the same. It was a stupid trade. We got nothing in return and we are weaker now. Puig is better than Pollock and has produce more in his career. Idiot move. Kemp played well enough. What they needed to do was fire Roberts and all his coaching staff and of course at least Zaidi is gone. Also i do not agree with putting young coaches who have not even played in MLB or been good baseball players.
I like pulling for Stewart and Schultz because like Jansen and Baez were not originally pitchers. Stewart was a shortstop and Schultz starred in multiple sports before committing to baseball.
All last year I wanted to trade high on Muncy and he wound up proving me wrong until he didn’t. Now, for me, it is whether I would rather watch Verdugo in RF and Belli at 1B or Muncy at 1B and Belli at RF. I think the Dodgers really want Belli in RF and therefore will be patient with Muncy.
The majority of Pederson’s strike outs came in his first 20 PA’s. He has been making consistent contact in his last 20 PA’s. Colletti on yesterday’s telecast said most players need 50 PA’s to get ready for the season and less for guys like Turner.
I have said that it will take some time with the new hitting discipline. That’s part of the reason the Dodgers have three coaches dedicated to it. Van Scoyoc, Brandt Brown and Aaron Bates are all working with Dodger hitters because like Jeff said, not everyone “clicks” with each other.
Understand that the system Van Scoyoc teaches which is directly from Craig Wallenbrook is closer to Ted Williams’ theory of hitting than anything: “See the ball – hit the ball.” Launch angle can be part of it, but keeping the bat in the zone and shortening up with two strikes is the other part. The Dodgers will hit fewer HR this year, but score more runs.
It is slower out of the gate however, as the new process becomes habit. Remember, this is Spring Training, but the Dodgers are 2nd to LAST in MLB is batting average (St. Louis is dead last – that won’t continue). The Dodgers are 14th in Runs Scored and 21st in HR. As the season approaches, that will all trend up as these guys gain confidence in the system. So far, Martin, Barnes, Hernandez, Turner, Verdugo, Pollock and Bellinger have embraced the new deal.
Brad Miller is showing signs that he belongs on the roster. CT3, Muncy and Pederson are struggling. I am not worried right now, but if 3 weeks into the season they still are, then there are issues. This IS Spring Training.
AS expected, the Dodger Pitching is Number One in MLB. Early in the season, that is important. I think Urias will be in the pen early in the season and I still think Clayton will start on opening day… even if he only pitches 3 innings. Julio will be the long man and join the rotation as the season progresses.
Spring Training means very little, but the Dodgers have the second-best record in the Cactus League, despite obviously not trying to win a few games. If anything, we should be encouraged… nothing discouraging happening.
Nice article AC. You three guys really keep us informed. I read an article on Taylor. He said he probably has too many adjustments on his mind when he bats. He seems to be a really serious person. Maybe it is time for him to see the ball, hit the ball. You cannot be a good hitter thinking about adjustments. He may be his own worst enemy. I think Taylor, Joc and Muncey will all be on a short lease. I am happy to see Barnes doing well.
AC, I would add Quackenbush to the list of disappointments. I would also mention that Ferguson did not have very good showings in ST, so far. Has Stewart made any appearances in ST? I can’t remember seeing him this year. I have never really liked his game and am surprised he is still being talked about as a potential roster listing. I guess there is always the hope for improvement.
These kids, Robinson and Downs, look like real players, but both seem slight in body. In this day and age of the ripped slugger, their body types look weak, but I know this is somewhat of an illusion.
Regarding Muncy, I purposely disregarded comments about him not being anywhere near the hitter he was last season, but it’s looking more likely that I might have been incorrect in my estimation of him repeating his success. Defensively, he has passed the test, so far, but so little production from his bat. Is this a case of Van Scoyoc’s system being too difficult for him to implement? Surely, not everyone will benefit from one teacher/one system. Some players are destined for power, not contact hitting. What do you think?