Brandon and Brock
In a game which saw Brandon McCarthy drop his ERA to 2.87 and the Dodgers score 12 runs, Brock Stewart quietly showed why he could be a very valuable piece in the Dodger bullpen. The bullpen is his role at least this year. I think he can be a starter in the future, but his exceptional control (1.4 walks per 9 innings in 2016), and arsenal of pitches makes him
In a game which saw Brandon McCarthy drop his ERA to 2.87 and the Dodgers score 12 runs, Brock Stewart quietly showed why he could be a very valuable piece in the Dodger bullpen. The bullpen is his role… at least this year. I think he can be a starter in the future, but his exceptional control (1.4 walks per 9 innings in 2016), and arsenal of pitches makes him a perfect fit for the bullpen. He has a two-seamer and a four-seamer that touches 97 with movement, and his changeup is also a plus pitch. His slider is really a cutter and is also a very good pitch for a pitcher who can pitch multiple innings.
Dave Roberts waited for the perfect opportunity to bring in Brock and last night was it. I think it was important that he start his 2017 MLB season with a successful outing and that was it! 3 IP/0 Hits/4 K’s and 1 BB was his stat line and it was a resounding success. I think he will switch roles with Ross Stripling whom the Dodgers believe can be a set-up man. Brock is fresh and strong and able to go multiple innings after missing a third of the season. He’s a horse and able to pitch like that.
I see him as a key bullpen piece. You will still see the bullpen shuffle to AAA or the DL and back. Morrow, Fields, Liberatore, et al will flip and flop back and forth. Personally, I don’t see the Dodgers adding an arn in the rotation or the bullpen. Too much depth. The Mets had the best starting rotation in baseball according to many, but the depth was lacking and look what has happened! Their rotation is a trainwreck as are lots of other teams. I believe that many other teams will follow the FAZ blueprint. By the way, how many Number two starters have an ERA below 3.00?
It was nice to see Corey Seager get his MVP-Type Game back!
Minor Leagues
- Ross Stripling again pitched one inning at AAA last night – it was his second perfect outing in a row – all 1 inning!
- Alex Verdugo went 2-4 again at leadoff and played CF. It was only his second game of the season in CF, so don’t think he will play Center in LA – he won’t! His BA is .335 and OB% is .413. It was predicted by someone yesterday that the Dodgers likely won’t call him up until after the All-Star Game and I agree with that.
- Rios hit his 14th HR and drove in all four runs for Tulsa last night.
- Walker Buehler went 4, allowing 5 hits and 2 ER, while striking out 5 and walking none.
- Yasiel Sierra went two in getting his 3rd save, allowed 1 hit and struck out 4. His ERA is 2.79. You could see him min the dodger pen this year as well.
- DJ Peters and Will Smith both got hits in the Cal League All Star Game and Dennis Santana pitched a perfect inning. Istler allowed 2 hits and 1 run in his inning of work.
- In the Midwest League All-Star Game, Dustin May pitched a scoreless inning and Ruiz got a hit.
Photo Credit: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers
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Discussion (118)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I appreciate the varying points of view here on this blog. We have glass half full people and glass half empty people. That’s OK – everyone has a point of view. The reason I started this blog was because I was tired of the incessant trying to belittle FAZ no matter what they did. Some people just have an irrational view of anything FAZ and contort and distort the facts to fit that warped view.
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It turns out that are doing a lot right – Quite a lot!
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I appreciate everyone’s input!
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On a side note, I have received some e-mails from some of you asking if Dodgerpatch would be interested in writing some blogs. So, here it is: Would you, DodgerPatch?
FAZ catches a lot of grief for perceived errors in player evaluation judgement. I think this has a lot to do with certain pitcher FA signings and trades, as well as not making a trade for an ACE at the trade deadline. FAZ bashers are great at reminding all of us about Mat Latos & Jim Johnson, but NOW ignore Alex Wood and Luis Avilan who came with Latos and Johnson. I say NOW because while everyone is jumping on the Alex Wood bandwagon, Wood was not appreciated at all, especially after the 2015 NLDS Game 3. Some started to see what he could do last year before his injury, but then blasted FAZ again for trading for an injury prone pitcher.
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Kazmir does not look like a good FA signing, but I agree with Bums and others that I beleive he will be heard from again. I have already labeled him the 2017 version of Ricky Nolasco. Will he ever be worth the contract cost? Absolutely not!! Everyone blasted the Brandon McCarthy FA signing. I think most are happy he is a Dodger this year. Will he ever be worth the contract cost? No!! But if if he gets the Dodgers into the WS, nobody will care what the cost was. Anderson is not a Dodger and we do not need to rehash a player who has no impact on this year’s team. Signing Anderson did not cost the Dodgers any other pitcher FAZ would have wanted. I think it is clear that FAZ would have loaded the team up with 7-8 starting pitchers if they thought there were others available not costing $150M+.
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But as much as I am a fan of what FAZ has done (not all but in total), I am more of a fan for what they did not do. They have never panicked. They could have traded for Cole Hamels but it would have cost at least Seager and maybe Urias. Those that believe that the best player the Dodgers would have had to trade was JDL are delusional. The second non-trade was last year at the deadline – Puig/McCarthy/Prospect for Ryan Braun. I think most believe that would have been disastrous this year. Instead they went for Hill & Reddick. Some liked it, some do not. The Dodgers could have traded for Brian Dozier or Ian Kinsler this Winter/Spring, but the cost would have been Bellinger. Seager and Bellinger are the future face of the team (after Kershaw), so as a fan, I am very glad FAZ did not panic and trade the future to satisfy some fans desire to do something.
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I think the secret is that FAZ do not react on emotion. I think they look at their player assets objectively, determine their value, and look for equal or more value. If they do not get their perceived value, they do not make the move. I think in their mind, no player is untouchable, including Kershaw, Seager, and Bellinger. But the return would have to be astronomical/impractical/irrational to make them seem untouchable. We fans are emotionally invested in certain players, and do not want to see them moved for anyone. That’s why I have so many Dodger jerseys. But FAZ cannot afford to be emotionally involved in any player asset.
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FAZ has put together a very good 40 man roster. Can it be improved? Sure. I do not beleive they HAVE to make a trade, but there are impact arms and bats that could make a difference. If they do make a deadline trade, some will love it, some will hate it. Just the nature of the business of sports. I enjoy trade rumors. I like to project them and to respond to others’ trade alternatives. But I beleive that FAZ will only make the trade if they truly believe it will help the Dodgers this year and perhaps future years.
I said above that Grandal probably leads the league in cheap hits. He seems to be fooled more than Barnes does but gets enough bloopers and seeing eye soft grounders to keep his average decent.’
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We might guess that Bellinger or Seager or Turner has the highest average exit velocity on hits on the Dodger team but they don’t. The person that has the highest average exit value also has an average launch angle of 10.4 degrees. Bellinger however has an average launch angle of 20.3 degrees.
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Here is the site that tells us the mlb leaders: http://m.mlb.com/statcast/leaderboard#avg-hit-velo
Click on the column labeled average exit velocity to sort by that category.
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That’s right, Joc leads the Dodgers in average exit velocity but is the player with the 10.4 launch angle. Joc has always had a high average exit value but this year’s launch angle is low for him, probably still adjusting to what Ward is doing with his swing. Joc has the 11th highest average exit velocity in the MLB.
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Grandal is way down the list with an average exit velocity of 88.3 mph. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_leaderboard
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Sometimes we think players are doing better than they really are and sometimes we think players are doing worse.
Brock Stewart just an injury or 2 away from a starter role. This is, after all, MLB. And in MLB you never know nothin.
This is the best Puig has looked at the plate since his rookie season. Much more control at the plate. Much more relaxed. McCarthy was efficient with his stuff. Looked like the seasoned veteran we have been looking for a couple of years. Stewart was incredible. Lots of swings and misses. This stretch of games starting about a month ago was supposed to be tough. No one expected the offensive explosion. Bellinger is the reason. Rockies series this weekend will be mid season playoff atmosphere. I’d like to see Kershaw sharper. Should be a million runs scored tonight. Can Hill go 5?
Right Knights27. Some people wanted to trade Seager and Bellinger. Not me. I think some of our prospects can be trade. However, FAZ should know which ones cannot be traded. It looks to me like Calhoun can be traded and Verdugo cannot be traded. Calhoun just does not have a defensive position he can play. He would be better in the American League. Verdugo looks like a contact hitter, but he is now developing some power. There must be some good players at AA. To have nine on he all-star team says a lot.
How many FAZ detractors were screaming for the FO to trade Cody Bellinger for Brian Dozier? There’s no arguing about winding up with Logan Forsythe (and giving up JDL) instead of landing Brian Dozier (and giving up Cody Bellinger). And how stupid would it have been to trade Corey Seager for Cole Hammels? Just sayin…
I have liked Brock Stewart a lot too.
And it was good to see him pitch again.
Since Urias is not pitching right now, Brock may pick up some starts, even in the bullpen.
I read that the Dodgers still consider Brock as a starter.
But this is the way the Dodgers use to get their young pitchers feet wet, by bringing then up, to pitch in the bullpen.
I hope we face one of the Met’s real major league starters, to get ready to face the Rockies, this weekend, because the Met’s pitching, isn’t very good right now.
We are not the same team that faced the Rockies and the Dbacks, earlier in the season.
Both of these teams, are in for a surprise, when we face them again!
A very pleasant read, first thing in the morning! Is this what a Juggernaut looks like?
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Here is something interesting.
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Best run differentials in MLB:
1. Dodgers +114.
2. HOU +113.
3. NYY +103.
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Worst run differentials:
30. SD -118.
29. Phillies -97
28. SF -88.
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I remember when people were telling us Midget Management knew how to build a winning team! NOT!!
Well, you never know what this front office is up to – you could see a blockbuster deal, or nothing!
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It’s not like the team has to do anything, but if they do they can deal from surplus. I could see some of the following players moved in the right deal:
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Alvarez
Calhoun
Forsythe (although his clubhouse persona is outstanding)
Rios
Puig
Pederson
Thompson
Diaz
Maeda
Ryu
Oaks
Hatcher
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I do not see them trading Verdugo or Buehler… They should be able to get a couple of difference makers without compromising the system.
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Barring some significant injuries, I do not see Stewart in the rotation THIS year.
Grandal might lead MLB in cheap hits this year but when he is streaking hot, he hits them hard. Looks like he is on the upswing again.
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I have been saying that Stewart would be in the rotation and I still believe that. I think Stripling will excel in the bullpen whether as a Miller type pitcher or as a pure setup guy. Maybe Ryu can take Wood’s place in the bullpen and excel there as well. Wood is locked into the rotation.
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The rotation will do well with Kershaw, McCarthy, Wood, and Stewart and one of Hill, Maeda, Kazmir, Ryu will wind up in the rotation as well.
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A bullpen of Jansen, Stripling, Baez, Ryu, Maeda, and one more lefty should be a good one. I like players that always wanted to be Dodgers so I hope Romo can at least stay on the team through the All Star game.
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Puig is going to try to catch everything he thinks he can get to and do it without deference to the center fielder. Puig needs to play center field for some team or he is going to kill somebody if he stays in RF. That is why I would trade him. Verdugo can play RF if the Dodgers want to bring him up to take the place of Puig. Thompson could play RF as well. Hopefully Bellinger stays at first instead of returning to the outfield and Agon becomes the clutch pinch hitter every team needs–the next Manny Mota, Dave Hansen, Lenny Harris.
Tonight it is Hill’s turn. Hope he does well.
Felt sorry for Taylor last night. You can see where they are trying to pitch him. Outside and low. I thought some of the called strikes were outside. He does not complain.
When you are ahead 4-0 and no out recorded, it was going to be a long night.