Hyun-Jin Ryu looked much better last night as he pitched much differently than the power pitcher he used to be. The curve and changeup are his “go to” pitches with the fastball in the 89-90 MPH range and an occasional 91-92 MPH just for effect. He can be effective when pitching like this, but there is little margin for error. The way I see it, he is our Number 5. Lots of teams would love to have the Ryu who pitched last night as their Number 5.
Everyone’s Number 1 goes tonight, as again Clayton needs to step up… again! Brandon McCarthy is pitching like a Number 2. He is focused like I have never seen and has proven the half season with the Yankees was no fluke. Ladies and Gentlemen, as crazy as it seems, Brandon McCarthy may be the Dodgers #2. Thursday night, the Dodgers new Number 3 Starter gets his first start of the season. Julio Urias has only thrown 14 innings (15 K’s, 1.93 ERA) and I doubt they will let him go more than 5 or 6 in his first start. He proved he belonged last year. as he put up a rookie ERA that was a full run below Clayton Kershaw’s rookie numbers.
So the rotation is currently set at 1, 2, 3 and 5. leading to the question, who is Number 4? It appears that Rich Hill will go to the bullpen at least for a couple of weeks to help build up a callous on his blister finger. Alex Wood and Ross Stripling are too good in the pen to put them in the rotation, so that leaves the Number 4 spot up to someone in AAA. Now, the Dodgers may use Wood in the Starter Role, but I think that weakens the pen. I would not do it.
There are three possibilities at OKC:
- Trevor Oaks – 1.89 ERA in 19 IP, 16 Hits, 21 K’s, 5 BB, 0.89 WHIP – I like him a lot. He has a fastball that is 93-94 but can touch 96. He has excellent control but his secondary pitches are works in progress. He pitches deep into games having gone at least 7 innings on many occasions last year.
- Justin Masterson – 2.37 ERA in 19 IP, 10 Hits, 22 K’s, 7 BB, 0.89 WHIP – To top it off, he pitched 7 innings of 1 hit shutout baseball last night. He is 32 years old and once was a top talent until injuries. He has a “heavy” sinker and induces lots of ground balls. When healthy, this guy can be very, very good. He has pitched over 200 innings twice and 2011 was his best year as he put up a 3.21 ERA. To me, his career mirrors Brandon McCarthy. Maybe he too is a late bloomer.
- Jair Jurrjens – 3.78 ERA in 16.2 IP, 12 Hits, 11 K’s, 5 BB, 1.02 WHIP. He had a bad last outing which drove his ERA up. In 2009 he had a 2.60 ERA and in 2011, he had a 2.96 ERA. He was very good at one time before falling to the injury bug.
Jurrjens is currently behind Oaks and Masterson. None of the three are on the 40-man roster, but I would think Masterson has an opt-out! If I were in charge (FAZ has yet to appoint me). I would call up Masterson to fill the Number 4 spot and see what happens. Oaks time will come. Just my two cents.
What about Maeda? “You forgot Maeda!” I’m trying to!
Discussion (78)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Good win although Kenley made hard work of it.
Grandal did a great job, and Mark, Pitch Framing IS a thing like you said.
He got Kenley out of a hole there.
I know it’s early, but I don’t see the Giants being a danger this season. Crawford left the game with s groin problem to add to their woes.
They just don’t have enough offense to compete.
I’m a big believer in the philosophy “if you are good enough, you are old enough”, so good to see Belinger up.
Additional story lines in the RC Quake 9-1 win over the San Jose Giants. Dennis Santana threw another big game. 6IP, 1 R, 6 H, 0 BB, and 7 K (73 pitches) for the win. His ERA is now 1.50. Offensively Ibandel Isabel had three hits including his 6th HR. Yusniel, Luke Raley, and Drew Jackson had two hits apiece. DJ Peters got 3 RBI.
Baez vs their 2-3-4? Not thrilled with this decision. I wonder if Clayton’s leg tightened up on him.
Bellinger wearing #35. He got Bob Welch’s number.
I am not near a TV so I did not see Kershaw’s fly ball with the bases loaded. With Bellinger in the game, wouldn’t it have made more sense for Toles to run for Gonzalez, or was the fly ball not deep enough to get anyone in?
In addition to OKC, Great Lakes also dialed up a shutout – 9-0. Devin Smeltzer, a 21 year old 2016 5th round draft pick out of San Jacinto College North in Texas, pitched 6 innings with 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, and 8K. He threw 66 pitches, averaging 11 pitches per inning with 8 K…pretty impressive. Offensively, Carlos Rincon and Mitch Hansen had 3 hits each. Brandon Davis continued solid hitting with 2 additional hits including his 2nd HR. Oneal Cruz, Cody Thomas, and Keibert Ruiz also had 2 hits each. The Loons were 8-17 RISP.
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The Tulsa Drillers lost 3-2 today, Isaac Anderson started his 4th game and the results were not pretty again. 4.1 IP, 3R (2 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, and 3K. Anderson may be working on a ticket to Rancho with Buehler or White getting to Tulsa. Tim Shibuya 3.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 4K, and Yaisel Sierra with 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, and 2 K both pitched well. Offensively, Edwin Rios and Matt Beatty had 3 hits each. Rios is now batting .386
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Grant Dayton started for Rancho this evening, went one inning, and struck out all three batters he faced. He is getting very close. I will see if I can include additional comments.
So, Here’s what I purpose:
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We trade Alvarez for Happ.
Pederson and Toles for Lorenzo Cain.
Feeling like all the pressure is on Kershaw in the 3rd. We can’t keep riding this guy. We gotta pull our head out our ass and start hitting. Somebody, ANYBODY, start a darn rally!!! Roberts must be dying inside…
Here’s what Jim Bowden said in February:
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““Here is where it gets tricky. To be conservative, the right move would be for Bellinger to start the year in Triple-A and be ready in case [Adrian] Gonzalez gets hurt in the middle of the season or once rosters expand in September. However, Bellinger’s bat is ready now — he’s arguably the Dodgers’ best hitter after Corey Seager.
I think FAZ made a mistake with Seager. He was ready but they traded for Rollins. They moved quicker with Urias and now Bellinger. Like Clayton, these guys are special talents.
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Verdugo could be – he’s very young for his age. 😉
Hey AC,
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Would you trade Alvarez for Happ?
I’m all for Bellinger being up if he’s playing every day. There’s no need to start his clock otherwise. Like Mark, I’m more worried about Gonzalez than anyone else on the team. Toles is getting himself out on the same pitch which is a breaking ball down and in. Grandal should never hit cleanup. Just shows how the injuries have messed with the lineup.
Very, very interesting that the Dodgers said Bellinger will be playing LF/CF, and nary a mention of 1B.
Don’t ask me. I was 1,000,000% wrong about Bellinger even coming up.
He is in the starting lineup hitting 8th and playing LF.
I wonder why Roberts keeps on hitting Puig fourth, against lefties.
Puig isn’t even hitting above 120 against lefties this year, and he has had reverse splits, against lefties, in his career.
And he has had quite a few at bats, against lefties this year, because we face so many more lefties, then most teams.
Looks like Gunkel is the odd man out (DFA’d)
I like what Brock Stewart tweeted:
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Hey World, if ya don’t know about him… you’re gonna find out reeeaaalll soon.
OKC followed up yesterday’s 3-0 2 hit shutout with a 4 hit shutout today. After Masterson pitched 7 shutout innings, Jurrjens followed up with 6 shutout innings today. Patrick Schuster (1 IP) and Layne Somsen (2 IP) finished the game with no hits and only 1 walk. Willie Calhoun had three hits including his 1st AAA HR. Dickson and Verdugo had two hits each with Dickson getting his 6th HR. Both Calhoun and Dickson had doubles as well. Calhoun has regained his stroke and his now at .333/.362/.470/.832 (only 6K). Dickson is at .328/.357/.672/1.029 (#3 in HR in PCL). Verdugo is at .369/.425/.492/.917 (only 8 K). The Dodgers do indeed have some solid prospects.
I still want Ian Happ.
I see that the Jeb Bush/Derek Jeter Group won the rights to buy the Marlins for $1.3 Billion.
I think I”ll have to go Friday now to see Cody’s first game at home
Put Bellinger in CF. we have another outfielder in AAA batting over 300.
Cody Freaking Bellinger!
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I have not been this excited about a prospect since Corey Seager and Julio Urias and before that…. (long time)…. it was Clayton Kershaw.
And who was that guy who said Cody would be up soon?
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Do you have the audacity, to doubt the veracity of a man of my capacity?
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😉
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Look, if you can play, you can play – screw the $$$$$
He’s coming!!
MLB Trade Rumors is reporting Dodgers calling up Bellinger!!!
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Good points dodgerrick. I usually enjoy reading your posts as they are well thought out, and your independent thinking resonates with me.
Watching the Dodger hitters ineptitude last night was frustrating.
It seems to me (bright baseball minds on this sight can provide the stats that say yea or ney)
that the inability to hit LH pitching or with RISP goes hand in hand with games like last night where there is a ‘hitting malaise’, when the whole team can’t hit to save their lives.
The above two lack of hitting stats are often sited, but the Dodgers seem to have a lot of games where the bats are silent where good pitching is not necessarily the reason. Last night seemed to be a case in point.
A few observations about last night:
1 – Ryu threw a lot of changeups. His fastball was 90 – 92 which is good but it didn’t have the movement that it used to have unless he elevated it. Maybe if he regains arm strength he will regain movement but it didn’t look too good last night. Giants’ broadcasters noted that the team’s scouting report on Ryu was that his fastball isn’t the same as it used to be.
2 – He rarely threw a slider or cutter last night. He threw more curves in the later innings and it was a good one.
3 – Dodger hitters are trying so hard to work the count that they frequently forgot the reason to work the count is to get a good pitch to hit. In the 1st inning, for example, with a man on and 2 out, Grandal faced Cain who, on the first pitch, threw a belt high fastball in at 89 MPH and Grandal just stared at it. Cain had nothing last night but the Dodgers wouldn’t swing at hittable pitches.
4 – Toles looked lost out there last night. And Kike looked totally overmatched against a very mediocre righty.
5 – Puig and Turner need baserunning lessons.
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On the premise of the article, I have confidence whenever Kershaw goes out there. McCarthy has been solid thus far. I can’t say that I have confidence in that yet as he has only made 4 starts, but I’m willing to be convinced.
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Hill is an enigma. Whether blisters or something else, if the team gets 20 starts and 100 innings out of him that will be a plus, but that may not be likely given his past and his season thus far. Kazmir may be finished in Blue – or maybe not but he can’t be relied upon. Ryu may develop arm strength or not but right now he looks iffy to me.
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Maeda wasn’t ever as good as we thought that he was. An interesting article in Dodgers’ Digest
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http://dodgersdigest.com/2017/04/24/kenta-maeda-also-has-a-fastball-problem-and-that-doesnt-change-his-2016/
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shows us that outside of last April and June, he hasn’t been a very good pitcher. His ERA last May was 5.04, in July was 4.61, in August 4.05 and September 4.03. I don’t really have confidence in Maeda either.
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So – Urias replaces Wood (who replaced Hill). Who replaces Maeda or Ryu? Does Hill do anything?
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And please no Masterson or Jurrjens. Jurrjens was another one of those pitchers who never was that good but had a good season or 2. I don’t recall him having a big injury. Masterson was never as good as his proponents hoped that he would be either. If we have to rely on either then the season has taken a left turn for sure.
When the season gets closer to the end, I expect to see Oaks and Stewart in the rotation.
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Pitch counts could keep McCarthy, Urias, Ryu from pitching in September.
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Kazmir might be pitching in September and beyond.
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Wil Smith pushing to get a promotion from high A to AA and doing it at three positions–C, 3B, and 2B. He could be heir apparent at any of those three.
Jim Palmer said yesterday on TV that the average pitch count per inning was 16. something. 6 innings get you to 96. 16 doesn’t sound like a whole lot to me. With the 100 pitch count the norm throughout baseball, I guess 5 innings sounds good. The 100 pitch count is now the “complete game.” Pretty pathetic. Kids are raised now to pitch 100 pitches, not to complete games. Only the elite think in terms of 9 innings. Kershaw is one. Hitters are expert on extending counts. Foul balls. That is an aspect of hitting that didn’t exist before the 100 pitch count. It used to be that you fouled off a 2 strike pitch. Now, foul as many as you can. Even striking out after 9 pitches is a win for the hitter. I hate the giants. The only reason Ryu is getting praise is that it was better than before. Otherwise he was average. In spring training I saw him with a swing and miss fastball. What happened since Glendale? I hate the giants.
Mark
I have to admit our pitching rotation looks a lot better, after the way, that Ryu pitched, last night.
I was watching his pitches, and he was still hitting 91, and 92, in the sixth inning.
You said that Ryu isn’t the same power pitcher, that he was before, but I thought he never threw above 92, when he pitched, before.
It wasn’t a fun game to watch, but Cain did, what he has been doing in his three previous starts, he caused our hitters, to have weak contact.
And he had only allowed one run, in his two previous starts, so it wasn’t as bad, as it looked.
It was also good to see Puig’s good throw to the plate, that saved a big run, and his usual good defense.
It looks like he is staying in games, better, and he had a nice hit, to right too.
It is going to take Urias a while to get up to major league speed, and to keep his pitch count down, especially in the early innings, but it is good to know, that he is starting in Thursday’s game.
And I do hope they have the answer to Hill’s problem, because that would make our rotation, even better.
Good analysis! I think Maeda gets one more start but he is on a short leash. He needs to pitch backwards like Ryu did last night, not rely so much on his fastball. His location of all his pitches must improve too. Wood is too valuable in the bullpen and is pitching better than Maeda right now but is not really stretched out to go more than 5. If a starter is called up the guy I would move off the 40 man is Gunkel unless they move Kazmir or Ethier to the 60 day DL. I am more than ready for Urias. Hill in the bullpen is interesting but he is a ways away from even doing that.
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Ryu pitched well enough for the win but the bats flattered Cain and the Giants pen. The Giants are really struggling but always get up for the Dodgers. There were weak at bats with bad takes and bad swings all night. If the ump gives the corner and the low breaking ball for strikes then adjust! Posey did a framing and game calling clinic and arguing the call does nothing (are you listening Grandal?) I want to see an aggressive mentality, put the ball in play and make the defense have to defend. And I don’t mean dribblers in the infield.
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What was up with guys out at second base ending both the 8th and 9th innings? I understand getting Taylor trying to get into scoring position but it took the bat out of Corey’s hands. Turner straying too far on a swing and miss shows that even he thought AGon would hit a pitch down the middle but he wiffed!
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The Dodgers need a spark, and luckily Kershaw goes tonight. They seem tight and pressing just a bit but are close to turning it around. Puig’s throw home to nail Belt and Grandal throwing out a runner of his own were big plays, but they could not get the offense going. Expect a mostly righty lineup tonight, and who plays LF, SVS or Eibner? Barnes probably behind the plate, Taylor at 2B and Kike in CF. Let’s hit some LHP!
I guess what really matters is what the starting rotation will look like for the playoffs. I can picture it looking like:
1. Kershaw
2. Hill
3. Urias
4. McCarthy
Ryu looked better last night, and Maeda could figure it out, so either one of those could fill in if the 3/4 falter.
As someone said in a comment recently, Hill has filthy stuff. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game when he’s pitching. Figure out the blisters and the team has a solid 1-2 punch.
I’m a little less concerned about SP than I am about holes in the offense. The Dodgers were terrible last year until the second half when they poured it on. I’m not so sure the talent is there for the team to do that again.