The Dodgers 2019 draft was perhaps an unusual one in that they targeted college relief pitchers. I don’t think the plan is to transform them into starters but more so to continue their present path. Relief pitching is the fastest way to MLB unless one is a budding superstar and relief pitchers most certainly are in demand. Why not develop your own and in due course have a stable of…
While reviewing the list of LAD pitchers, the Dodgers have 66 pitchers currently in their organization. Per Fangraph’s Roster Resource the breakdown is as follows: MLB Starting Pitchers (5) MLB Relief Pitchers (9) MiLB Starting Pitchers (34) – 9 Rule 5 Eligible MiLB Relief Pitchers (18) – 13 Rule 5 Eligible With the pending MiLB contraction, those numbers are obviously going to decrease. Many of these pitchers are organizational depth,…
Game 1 is in the books. Behind the solid pitching of Clayton Kershaw and a trio of relievers, the Dodgers shutout the Giants, and the Dodger batters crushed Johnny Cueto 15-0. LAD fell short of their 8 home runs hit in last year’s opener, but they did manage 6, including a grand slam by Joc Pederson. Corey Seager, Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger (2), and Will Smith all hit 4-baggers. Besides…
Before I got sidetracked with the spring training heroics of Cody Thomas and Zach McKinstry, I had been providing a thumbnail sketch of the relief pitchers the Dodgers had signed in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft. Those profiles included Logan Boyer, Jacob Cantleberry, Jeff Belge, Nick Robertson, and Alec Gamboa as well as Ryan Pepiot whom I think will start the 2020 season in a starting role. There are still…
One thing that I have come to realize is that when AF and the other Dodger baseball FO personnel determine that there is a weakness in their organization, they address it head on. Most everyone has come to realize that the current Dodgers have a significant weakness in their bullpen, and they went full on in last year’s draft. I know DC is working his way through the recently drafted…
There has been considerable discussion on LADT regarding relief pitchers and more specifically what the Dodgers could or should do to strengthen the bullpen. It is a conundrum in that standing pat might fit the definition of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Yet with relief pitchers who knows. How many have that dominant year and then what follows is not nearly as dominant…
The MLB draft has come and gone, and the draft talent evaluators have opined that the Dodgers had a top 5 draft. This year’s draft pool was not considered very good, but the Dodgers were able to draft for value and need. The Dodgers are getting good at finding value in the low order they pick from. They even picked up a top potential HS draft pick in SS/3B Brennan…