Andrew Miller is a 6’7” left hander from Gainesville, FL and attended University of North Carolina. He was drafted in the first round by the Detroit Tigers in 2006. Miller was called up later that year and made his ML debut on August 30, 2006. From 2007-2010, he bounced up and down from the MiLB to MLB (Det/Fla). While he did have some very good starts, he never established himself as a reliable starter, and moved back and forth as a starter to the bullpen. In December 2010, Miller was non-tendered by Florida, and Terry Francona convinced Miller to sign with Boston because he saw a flaw in Miller’s delivery. Miller started the year in Pawtucket and was recalled June 2011. In 2012, he again started the season in the minors, and when recalled this time by Boston, he was assigned permanently to the bullpen where he has remained, and starred.
Alex Wood is a 6’4” left hander from Charlotte, NC and attended the University of Georgia. He was drafted in the second round by the Atlanta Braves in 2012. Wood made his ML debut on May 30, 2013. He moved down and was recalled one additional time in 2013, and was up to stay on July 25, 2013.
Both are relatively tall left handers from the south, who later went on to become high draft choices. Wood went to high school in North Carolina, and Miller went to college in North Carolina. While Wood has started his career with better results than Miller as a starting pitcher, neither one has overcome doubts about being full-time starters. Both have had some injury concerns but have overcome them. After six years, Miller was permanently moved to reliever and has not looked back. When Miller finally stuck as a reliever, his K/BB ratio started to improve, and so did his ERA. In 2013, Miller had a career best ERA of 2.64, and has been under 2.04 ever since. Miller is now back with Francona in Cleveland, and pitching superbly.
In 2014, Wood started the year in the Braves rotation, and pitched very well. He lost three games, 2-1 and 1-0 twice, including 1 complete game. He pitched into the 7th and 8th inning in the other two losses. He went to the bullpen on May 9, and returned to the rotation on June 25. He ended the year with a very respectable 171.2 IP and 2.78 ERA as a 23 year old. In 2015, he was traded to the Dodgers in a blockbuster three team deal. He has had a good/not so good start to his Dodger career as a starting pitcher. His 2016 season was derailed due to elbow debridement surgery. When Wood returned in 2016, he moved into the bullpen where he was excellent having pitched 4 games in September for 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K.
Thus far in 2017, Wood has been in the rotation and bullpen. He has been both okay and outstanding in his 3 starts, but has been nearly perfect in his two relief appearances…5.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K. Wood can be an effective starting pitcher for LAD, but he can be a force in the bullpen in high leverage situations. Is it time for Alex to follow the path laid out by Andrew Miller, and become a standout in the pen?
Minor League
OKC – Lost a pair of 2-1 games to the Omaha Storm Chasers. Justin Masterson pitched game 1 – 6 IP/5 H/1 R/3 BB/6 K – 2.16 ERA. The sole Dodger run came from Willie Calhoun’s 2nd HR of 2017. Steve Geltz gave up 4 consecutive hits for the walk off win.
Jair Jurrjens pitched game 2: 6.0 IP/4 H/1 R/1 BB/10 K – 2.51 ERA. Adam Liberatore pitched 2 innings giving up 1 BB with 4 K. Jacob Rhame had 1 IP with 1 BB and 2 K. Brandon Morrow gave up the walk off HR in the 11th.
Roster move – 2B Max Muncy signed a minor league contract on 04/28/17.
Tulsa – Lost 7-6 to Northwest Arkansas. Scott Barlow went 6 IP/4 h/3 R/2 BB/7 K/2 HR – 3.57 ERA. Newly promoted reliever Chris Powell pitched 2 innings, giving up 1 unearned run on 2 hits, 0 BB, and 2 K. OF Jacob Scavuzzo had 2 hits including in 2nd HR.
RC – The Quakes lost their 2nd walk-off game in a row; this one 2-1. Walker Buehler started and went 3.2 innings with 65 pitches. He gave up 3 H/ 1 R/ 2 BB/ 8 K. Joc Pederson and Josh Ravin both played in their 1st rehab game. Ravin pitched 1 inning giving up 1 hit with 1 strike out. Joc finished the night 0-2 with 1 BB/1 K.
Discussion (71)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I also believe Wood belongs in the pen. He has been great. Small sample, but he has looked good so far.
Puig hits the ball hard, but always on the ground. If he does hit the ball in the air he could be tough. Some of his ground balls got through the infield this evening.
Puig with a 3rd hit and 4th RBI tonight, all hard ground balls. If he gets on track watch out! Agon off the bench smokes a ball to RF for an RBI with Puig scoring from second easily. If Agon was on second he would have been held up or thrown out. 13-5 after 6 innings.
Wood had a rough night, 4 ER in 5 IP with 8 K’s but will likely get the win. He probably gets one more start before Hill or Ryu are ready to return.
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Bellinger is growing before our eyes and is a natural. If he stays up he gets Rookie of the Year. He is smooth at 1B and has backed off the plate a bit and seems to foul off tough pitches. His base clearing triple to left was a great swing. He seems to be able to handle lefties better than Joc or Agon and right up there with Seager.
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Kike made a horrible throw home, falling down to get extra on it and watching it sail wide. Also watching was Wood who forgot to back up the play allowing an extra run to score. He does not have a CF arm but at least get it online and hit the cutoff.
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Do you think AGon would have beat the throw to 2B on Puig’s hard hit ground ball? Taylor did on a close play and got Puig a hit out of it. Puig later got a clutch hit to RF to drive in 2 and Taylor worked 3 walks and made a nice play in the field to rob Posey. I love seeing a speedier lineup!
Well, I don’t think that Wood has much in common with Miller. He has more in common with Moore. Both are lefties with reasonably good stuff (Wood’s is better) who have trouble maintaining a release point. They get wild – sometime over the plate.
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We were ready to anoint Wood as the next big thing in the rotation – he has had 1 good start in 4. He’s probably better back in the ‘pen.
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How does Bellinger not stay in the big leagues?
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Puig is out of sync up there right now. He needs to work things out (again).
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Pederson is more fundamentally sound than Toles is right now, at least in the field. He does the swing and miss thing way too often, but that is the way that the Dodgers are built.
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League average K% is 21.5% Pederson is 30.5% and is the worst on the team. Grandal is 3rd worst at 23.9% (Forsyth is 2nd worst at 29.6%.) The best? Turner at 9.7%.
Right now there are 5 guys I love to see bat. They are Toles, Seager, Turner, Taylor and Bellinger.
I TOLD YOU BELLINGER WAS READY THIS YEAR!
Joc can’t do any of that either. Joc or Agon one has to sit and Cody needs to play.
If Bellinger continues and they send him down, FAZ should be sent to the asylum.
Adrian can’t do any of that stuff!
Cody Freaking Bellinger.
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The LA Dodgers New First Baseman!
Alex Wood looks like a guy who is trying to pace himself to go more innings. I like him in the pen.
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Alex, you have been reassigned. Back to the pen. Rich Hill is coming…
MJ, I like Toles but someone is going down when Joc comes back. If not Andrew then it’s Bellinger. I like Joc and the other 2 better than Gutierrez by a lot but they want a RH bat. The right move might be to tell Utley and AGon “hey, you’re hurt!” They both seem like they would take one for the team, and someone else might get hurt or go cold. Meanwhile Bellinger gets a start against a leftie and if he proves he can do that why send him down?
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I really think Kershaw had an off night against a team that’s seen him a lot, but he has not hit his stride yet either. Wood is out to prove his last start is who he is and can make a loud statement tonight. It’s about time the bats explode! The lineup looks a lot different without AGon and Grandal clogging up the middle. There is speed everywhere except the 4 hole and he’s not a turtle.
Joc needs to pick up the offense but no one else can run them down in the outfield like he can. If he learns to bunt and shorten up after two strikes we need him. Glad to see SVS get sent down as he’s totally lost at the plate. Hard call on Utley, but first year as a utility player could take a little more time to adjust.
I hope Gutierrez will do what he was hired to do. Do not hold your breath. Pederson needs to pick it up when he comes back. If Joc cannot bunt that is his fault. All he needs to do is practice. I am willing to give Joc and Puig till the end of July to prove they belong.
Bellinger and Toles are starting to look pretty good to me.
Yeah bobby I hate the giants to. It’s frustrating you are on a 4 game winning streak while the giants can’t beat anybody but us, kershaw on the mound, 2run homer right out of the box. Kershaw had 0-2 count on their 22 year old and let him off the hook. Then to hear kershaw saying give the giants credit they had a good game plan. “Bull”” over a 100 pitches in 6 innings he once again came up small in a big game. He is nowhere near as dominant as a year ago prior to injury I hope he is not still injured. With belt out of the lineup posey and pence were the only 2 who could hurt you so naturally he serves up a home run ball to both. He keeps giving up the home runs so if he is healthy maybe he just hasn’t hit his stride yet. I know this game is hard but to see our streak end with our ace on the mound at home against the giants I had to vent.
Long overdue optioning van slyke. I think his injuries may have done him in. Maybe playing everyday he can gain some confidence and get back to where he was a couple of years ago when he did mash lefties. Wait a minute wade Miley is in the American League so it may be tougher than I thought. I don’t know how much longer they can watch utley hit below a .100 when we are desperate for offense.
One more piece of the puzzle with SVS sent down for Franklin. Cody can give AGon a day off and maybe Taylor can slide over there. The Dodgers make moves almost every day now. Buehler with 27 K’s in 16 innings? Yikes! Next up is Joc and what do they do with Bellinger? If not him then Toles could go down and I like his speed. Even with his recent hot streak he is only hitting .240. And when Forsythe is ready what to do with Taylor? He deserves it more than Utley right now. Or the famous 10 day DL to keep the hottest bats awhile longer? I kind of like the mystery and intrigue.
line up:
Hernandez CF
Seager SS
Turner 3B
Gutierrez LF
Taylor 2B
Puig RF
Barnes C
Bellinger 1B
Wood P
Walker Buehler promoted to AA:
http://www.dailybulletin.com/sports/20170502/dodgers-promote-walker-buehler-to-double-a-tulsa
Los Angeles DodgersVerified account
Today, the #Dodgers reinstated Franklin Gutierrez from the 10-day DL and optioned Scott Van Slyke to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Somebody said why don’t Pederson do what bellinger did and bunt to beat the shift. I will tell you why because he can’t bunt and by the way he can’t hit either. Big time power but no contact. I think he tries hard but is overmatched. I would Trade him if possible.
Roberts made a comment after Kershaw’s last start that when it’s his turn, it’s a must win game because of the other problems with 2-5. Well, he lost last night to the f’n giants, so a losing streak is on the line tonight. 66 sucks. Period. Between him and Pederson, the team can only talk a good game. Get rid of both and move on. I hate the giants.
Nice post today AC! There are similarities between Miller and Wood that are eerie. He has high trade value but also high value to the Dodgers. Same for Pederson but there are a couple guys who could replace Joc in Cody and Verdugo. I think the Dodgers could and would package them but don’t think they necessarily will. They do need a RH bat and the best prospects are 2 years away. Dickson would be an upgrade over SVS today!
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Interesting that the Dodgers minor leagues lost 3 games 2-1 and in all 3 the starter pitched well and gave up 1 run but it was too much. You can’t always pitch a shutout! Kind of like the Big Club.
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So Ryu hurt himself sliding into second trying to break up a double play, sure maybe. The new 10 DL can give some teams an edge and the Dodgers will and should exploit it. The 6 man soon becomes a 7 man rotation with Hill’s return and they all can benefit from periodic rest due to injuries or performance. No one yet has any arm issues. I hope they don’t trot Kazmir out there without a rehab stint where he shows command and velocity. He’s the guy they would like to trade but hard to do when he throws 85.
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Speaking of 85 that’s where Cueto was sitting most of the night and yet he made it work. The Dodgers hitters helped him out swinging at balls at their feet but give him credit. He threw 6 straight change ups to Utley one at bat and got away with it. He’s a pitcher not just a thrower.
Let me see if I get this straight.
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Miller and Wood are both Southern, college graduates who throw with their left hand.
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Ergo, they must be qualified for the same role on a baseball team?
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Has Wood’s delivery given anyone hope that he can pitch in short relief? It hasn’t for me. Has Wood ever been used in high-leverage short relief situations at any level? College, minor, high-school, pick-up?
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Maybe the Dodgers should find another failed Starting Pitcher named Miller and turn him into a high-leverage specialist. I mean, they’ll both have the same last name.
Yeah, What’s not to like about 26 yrs old Alex Wood these days. 2.29 ERA and an OUTSTANDING .97 WHIP.
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As Mark says, his trade value should be very high right now. And Dodger are deep in starting pitching, but that starting pitching isn’t without questions, Ryu, Maeda, Hill, McCarthy, etc. Looks like FAZ enjoys all the options they currently possess. Although, they have shown us who they would like to trade among starting pitching, Kazmir and McCarthy. McCarthy is cooperating with 3 quality starts out of 5. Kazmir, get better soon!!
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Gonna be some interesting roster moves coming up soon. Gotta believe SVSs time has come. Hate to say it, but Utley looks like he is about done also, wouldn’t mind to somehow keep him around as a coach and a possible fill-in later, if necessary. Also looks like Gonzalez MUST go on the DL to see if he is injured or old. But, what do WE really know? I guess we have to trust the experts, they have the inside poop. But to my untrained eye it looks like “out with the old and in with the new”!!
Totally agree Mark – a lot of dead wood on this roster that is screaming for some legitimate bats. Why send down guys that are hitting and keep the dead wood. Seems to be the Dodger way though. Loosing patience with Puig – will the guy ever hit, he’s starting to look a lot like Pederson: good defense, very little offense.
If I were Cody Bellinger and Dave Roberts told me I was going back to AAA, I would punch him in the face!
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They can’t send Bellinger back!
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The Cubs 1B had 10 RBI Sunday. A-Gon has 10 RBI on the season. STOP THE INSANITY!
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They can’t send Taylor back either.
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DL Gonzo, Option SVS, Figure it out. Leave Cody and Chris on the roster. Get rid of the dead wood.
As I read that, what really jumped out to me is Alex Wood’s current value. While I like him in the Andrew Miller role, the fact is he could be worth a lot as a trade piece for a RH hitter. Teams are always looking for starting pitching and the Dodgers are loaded with it.
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To me Ryan Braun is still the biggest difference maker. What could we get with a package of Wood, Pederson and Calhoun? Think 3 or 4 way deal….
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I want a big RH bat in LF. I want Pederson gone… maybe Puig too!