… which is precisely why they will keep rolling him out there. His mechanics and release points are all all over place, but he has figured it out before and I believe he will do it again. He has struggled mightily with his control as he was shut-down and then activated and shut-down again and re-activated due to blisters. It appears that the blisters are gone, but if he is using a different grip, I don’t think it’s working. He will get 2 or 3 more starts before it’s panic time. He’s the #2 and needs to pitch like it.
Rich Hill is beloved by his teammates because he’s a hard worker and straight-up guy. He makes no excuses and recently said that he “Sucks!” He has also said he would go to the bullpen is asked. He’s a team player and I believe he will work through this due to his character and work ethic. It’s hard not to root for the guy!
He’s not the only #2 struggling. The Cubs Jake Arrieta has a 4.09 ERA and Johnny Cueto’s ERA is 4.57. Stuff like this happens and players get past it. Remember when we were all calling for Chase Utley’s head? The Dodgers pitching is still #1 in all of baseball, even after yesterday’s melt-down. Ross Stripling has been sent down to work on his control. Brandon Morrow would seem an obvious choice but what about Trevor Oaks. I’d like to see him in that “swingman” role, but is he as good a pinch runner as Stripling? That’s the thing…
Dodger Notes
- Jair Jurrjens career as a Dodger is likely over after he was suspended for 80 games for taking something he shouldn’t have.
- ThinkBlueLA weighed in on whether the Dodgers should trade Maeda and his value. Like me, they think he would draw a lot of interest:
The option to trade Maeda in just his second season as a Dodger is definitely risky. Trade is very extreme and it must be a perfect fit for both sides for it to work. Although he has not pitched well as a starter, Maeda would be sure to draw huge interest from teams of all calibers. Teams like the Cubs would be a perfect fit for the struggling right hander because they to have had a hard time with their starting pitchers as a whole. Trading Maeda now may seem like an irrational decision and it may come off as too quick on the draw but the possible return for somebody with the same potential as Kenta is pretty big. Kenta could potentially bring in a big name and that could be the person to push the Dodgers over that final hill to a World Series.
- Under Logan White the Dodgers frequently took high school players in the amateur draft, who take a long time to develop and are hard to project. This year, of the 40 players drafted, 35 were college players and only 5 were high schoolers. Billy Gasparino has a different plan…
- If Cody Bellinger hits another HR soon, he will tie Gary Sanchez for fastest to 19 in 50 games.
- It looks like A-Gon will be A-Gone for a while…
- No word on Julio Urias MRI – that does not bode well… or maybe it does. Indecision may or may not be part of my problem.
- I’d like to see Wood go 6 or 7 tonight.
- Alex Verdugo was 3-4 last night. His OPS is climbing – it’s up to .842.
- Trayce Thompson was 2-5 last night and is now at .209. It was a long climb out of that deep hole. Good for him!
- Kyle Farmer continues to hit (.319/.938 OPS) at AAA.
- Willie Calhoun (.300 /14 HR ) jacked another one out last night. Could we see him soon?
- Fernandez was 3-3 at Tulsa (.328 BA) – I don’t know what to think about him.
- Walker Buehler went 5, allowed 5 hits and 2 ER while striking out 6 and walking 1. He’s just building arm strength.
- Shea Spitzbarth went 2 but got the loss. His ERA is 2.25. I could see him in the Dodger pen…
- Istler got his 7th save for RC last night.
- Cruz hit his 5th HR for GL last night. He’s the 8 foot tall SS.
- May went 6.2 innings to get the win.
Cover image: Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire
Discussion (44)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Thursday night marked Rich Hill’s 10th consecutive start, dating back to last September, in which he recorded 15 or fewer outs. That’s the longest such streak by a Dodgers pitcher since the mound was set at its current distance in 1893. (Elias Sports Bureau)
From fanragsports–https://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/inside-baseball-potential-trade-deadline-buyers-needs/
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New York Yankees certainly have to be a buyer with their monster start, and they’re likely to look at rotation arms. Masahiro Tanaka hasn’t been himself, and CC Sabathia, who’s been better than anyone could have expected, has a hamstring issue now. Quintana, a former Yankees farmhand, was a target of theirs, even before it was obvious they would contend. They certainly have a major stash of prospects they could trade, though Gleyber Torres is surely off limits. Third base could be a question for them, too, though it’s not an area of desperation, and Torres could wind up being the answer there if Chase Headley doesn’t pick it up a bit.
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With Taylor, Hernandez, and Urias able to play second the Dodgers could help the Yankees fill their need at third by trading Forsythe and a pitcher to them. The Yankees have good prospects and depending on who the pitcher was from the Dodgers, the better the chance of getting a top prospect. The Yankees might even be interested in Kazmir and Masterson.
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Or, instead of prospects maybe the Dodgers could get Betances. He would be an outstanding setup up guy for the pen.
Anybody out there got a bad feeling Cody B. takes a shot at the ASG Home Run Derby and it affects him negatively as with some players in the past???
Castillo goes tonight. If he’s good, call him up.
Hill can’t pitch in the bullpen. He can’t get the ball over the plate. Stripling’s biggest problem is the called for location. He can’t pitch high in the zone. His natural plane is high to low. Not high to higher. I don’t know why the brains can’t see that. Let him pitch the way he is best. A stupid demotion.
From DodgerBlue:
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With a farm system that’s rated among the best in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers have had several prospects named to Minor League All-Star teams. Their strongest showing will come in the Texas League All-Star Game, which will feature nine players from the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.
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That includes starters Michael Ahmed and Edwin Rios. Also selected for the North Division team were position players Matt Beaty, Kyle Garlick, Paul Hoenecke and Tim Locastro; and pitchers Scott Barlow, Walker Buehler and Corey Copping.
Not sure Mark is someone “in the know” when it comes to Gonzalez:
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLBNetworkRadio that he expects Adrian Gonzalez (@Adrian_ElTitan) to return from DL in the “near future.”
Great look at Hill’s struggle here:
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http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/rich-hill-is-out-of-whack/
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Summarized below:
Batters are hitting the curve in the air. They’re not destroying it, but they’re making better decisions and applying better swings. That pitch has been less useful for Hill, which is a problem, given how often he prefers to throw it. …Velocity down. Location off, mostly up and arm-side. It could be something subtle and mechanical, with Hill flying open, or alternatively throwing a little too much across his body…
DODGERS RECALL JOSH RAVIN
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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today recalled right-handed pitcher Josh Ravin from Triple-A Oklahoma City and optioned right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to Triple-A OKC.
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Ravin, 29, who will make his second stint with the big league club this season, last pitched on Sunday for the OKC Dodgers allowing four runs on two hits with two strikeouts in an inning of relief against Triple-A Round Rock (Rangers). In 11 games with Oklahoma City this year, Ravin has gone 3-0 with one save while posting a 7.94 ERA (10 ER/11.1 IP). He has struck out 17 against just five walks. The West Hills native is in his third season with Los Angeles, going 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA (8 ER/19.0 IP) in 19 career big league games, while punching out 25 batters in 19.0 innings.
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Stripling, 27, last pitched for the Dodgers in yesterday’s contest against the Indians, allowing a season-high four runs on five hits in 1.2 innings of relief. Stripling has gone 0-3 with one save and has posted a 4.00 ERA (16 ER/36.0 IP) in 21 relief appearances, while striking out 39 batters against only eight walks. He currently is tied for third among National League relievers in innings pitched with 36.0 innings.
I can see a couple of relievers being added but I think the starters are just fine.
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If they don’t pitch deep into games, they will be fresher in the playoffs. The relievers may already be in the system.
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I think at some point, they try Calhoun or Verdugo in LF.
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What about this:
1. Verdugo LF
2. Seager SS
3. Turner 3B
4. Bellinger 1B
5. Grandal C
6. Taylor CF
7. Forsythe/Utley 2B
8. Puig RF
Right now, I have confidence when Kershaw, McCarthy or Wood take the ball. As Bum has noted, the problem here is we don’t know whether Wood or McCarthy will last the season.
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Yesterday, Mark suggested that having a pitching staff constructed of the old and infirm is a good idea. So – Riddle me this, Batman; if Hill, Maeda and Ryu don’t pitch well enough often enough to be trusted in the regular season, let alone the post-season, and McCarthy and Wood have health that is hanging by a thread, who exactly do you trust to be there to pitch and pitch well in the post-season? Kazmir? Masterson? Urias?
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As I have posited before, the 15 man rotation employed by the Dodgers may help to get you through the regular season but isn’t designed to win in the post-season.
I think Hill should go down to AAA and pitch three or four games in a row, to prove he has command of his pitches, just like Urias was sent down for..
He is not helping the team right now, so the team isn’t going to miss him.
Hill hasn’t pitched well all year!
And if he is changing his grip like Hawkeye said, it isn’t helping.
It is better to have him pitch Iike a number two with his old grips, and miss some starts, because of blisters.
And I expected Hill to miss some starts because of blisters, anyways.
But I knew we had enough depth to fill in for Hill, when he had a blister problem.
Hill is not only costing us games, he is making the bullpen have to pitch to much, almost every time he starts.
Just thinking out loud about the rotation.
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Kershaw = Solid and should be available throughout the playoffs and WS.
Wood = Solid but has a history of DL stints and could run out of innings before the playoffs are completed/
Hill = Has had stretches where he has pitched like an ace and like a #5 and is 1 blister from the DL.
McCarthy = Solid but probably should not be expected to last through 162 games; questionable for the playoffs.
Maeda = Looking like a #5 now but has shown #2 or 3 skills last year and should be available for the playoffs.
Urias = This is a tuneup year for next year and hopefully will get 10 good starts from him. Playoff doubtful.
Ryu = Promising and could pitch anywhere between a #2.5 to 4 but innings limits will keep him out of playoffs.
Stewart = Could pitch as a #3 and should be available for playoffs. A #5 innings eater would help Dodgers.
Oaks = Is pushing for an opportunity to be a #5 innings eater this year and should be available for playoffs.
Masterson = Could make a good contribution and provides rotation depth.
Buehler = Best if he waits for next year to protect his arm.
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The Dodgers could use Archer to strengthen reliability of the rotation.
Could Matt Harvey be one of Rick Honeycutt’s project’s? Or is he damaged goods?
Stripling being optioned to AAA, per TrueBlueLA. Has given jp 7 runs and 2 HR in last 2 appearances. Dodger pen to be short-handed with Maeda getting spot start and a fresh arm is needed.
Teams typically don’t want to trade with teams wither in their own division or who they expect to go against in the playoffs but looking at the Cubs roster maybe a starter could be traded for a reliever as in Maeda for Carl Edwards.
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http://m.mlb.com/player/605218/carl-edwards-jr.
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Other players would have to be involved to balance the trade. The Dodgers could add Hatcher while the Cubs could add prospects.
Dodgers got good news on young southpaw Julio Urias, as Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports (Twitter links). While he’ll still be shut down until the soreness in his shoulder subsides, Urias did not exhibit any structural issues in an MRI.