- I watched OKC last night and while Clayton Kershaw was obviously a little rusty, he was throwing free and easy. While they don’t show the radar gun in AAA, it looked to me that Clayton was around 90 MPH. He’s ready and I think he will be pitching for the LA Dodgers in 5 days.
- If Edwin Rios can hit at the Major League level (I am not convinced he has enough bat speed), I think he can be a decent third-baseman. He has improved dramatically.
- I really did not expect the Dodgers to hit this well coming out of the gate. I thought that going from the traditional Turner Ward to the New Age Psychic Robert Van Socyoc was going to take some time. I am cautiously optimistic but what can we expect in two more months? This could really be amazing.
- I hear some people complaining that the Dodgers got rid of Josh Fields, but he is pitching at AAA as you read this. No one else thought he could be a difference-maker on a MLB team.
- Will Smith looked much more comfortable with the bat this year at AAA than last year. The defensive skills are unquestioned. He remains a valuable trade piece.
- What happens to Kenley Jansen in Denver may have a large impact on the Dodgers prospects for 2019. I have no opinion as to what happens. We shall see. Let’s hope it is good!
- I am very impressed with Daniel Castro. He could serve as a utility man for many teams, even though he is 27. He is very solid in every phase of the game.
- Kyle Garlick should be a 4th or 5th outfielder for some team in the near future. He is also trade bait.
- I happen to believe that Joc or Max could be traded because I thunk the Dodgers need another RH bat. I did not say Nick Castellanos, but I was thinking it. I think RVS can do wonders with Nick….
- This just in from the Reds who fleeced the Dodgers over the winter by stealing 3 great sluggers: Puig is hitting .150; Kemp is hitting .077; Farmer is at .000. Turner Ward is a ____________ (you fill in the blank). Of course, they were so important to the Dodgers’ offense… I say dripping with sarcasm!
Minor League Report
- OKC lost 5-3 in Kershaw’s debut. Kyle Garlick hit a HR off old friend Josh Fields. Justin had a Grimm ending (see what I did there? Justin Grimm… ok, never mind) as he gave up 3 runs in the 9th to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Will Smith was 1-2 with a walk.
- Tulsa lost 6-4, but Dustin May pitched 5 innings of 2 hits ball while walking just 1 and striking out 9. Spitzbarth, Somsen and McCreery coughed up hairballs after that. Reks and Parmalee homered and Lux and Peters doubled. Lux was 2-5 and Estevez was 2-4.
- Rancho Cucamonga lost 4-1 and leadoff man, Jeren Kendall, struck out 3 out of 4 at bats. RC had only 2 hits. Liput had one of them. Nothing to see here, folks…. move along!
- Great Lakes continued the theme, losing 4-0 in John Shoemakers re-debut. The Loons had 5 hits and 2 errors. Not much too see here either as the Dodger Minor League teams were all beat like rented mules. Better days are ahead.
Discussion (52)
Disagree, not disagreeable
So far great start but hopefully it keeps this way. I think Puig and Kemp started out really bad with CIN but also weather is probably affecting them specially Puig but we will judge at the end of the year and see what kind of stats they put . But Dodgers offense is looking very good so far. Bullpen has been terrible ( Yimmi, Stewart, Kelly ) . Need to reinforce that once Kershaw and Hill comeback probably Yimmi and Stewart would have to go. With Kelly we have to hope for better results. But even do i was not a fan of trading Puig and Kemp. I am starting to like this. I am glad Dodgers did not sign Harper. What a show off the way he acted on first day back in DC. Not even Puig does that i am sure at LA.
I see that many posters have finally come around to my view on Stewart. What we see here is the same pitcher that has not figured out why he is being tagged over and over again in his relief appearances for the last few years. It’s hard to imagine that the pitching coaches have not tried to work with him all this time but there seems to be little response on Stewart’s part to understanding his own weaknesses.
I didn’t see the game but I noticed Kelly coming in for 1 batter. That was generous of Doc to re-start him in a small dose. Success is a series of steps. Maybe Doc is a lot smarter than we all believe. He certainly believes in ‘no player left behind’. In any case, Stewart and Yimi will not last on this roster. Neither can be relied on and neither have figured out what it takes to make the roster save for injuries. Look for the hook pretty soon.
Seager and Turner coming alive, coming alive. Ah ah ah ah, coming alive…………………
Munceeeeeeeee
This is a fun ride.
Kelly only faced one batter because he took a hard line drive that he gloved but apparently the ball hit his pitching hand. X-rays were negative. He would have stayed in the game to pitch if not taken out for precautionary reasons.
Yimi and Brock Stewart are not major league pitchers right now and both will be sent out or put on the IL with a phantom injury when CK and Hill come back and Strip and Julio are sent to the BP.
Right now the only relief pitchers that I have confidence in is Ferguson, Floro and KJ. Alexander, Baez, Kelly, Yimi and Stewart are not pitching well and after 8 games changes are indeed needed and and we will see some movement in the next week to ten days.
Norcal,
Thanks for the info on Kelly. Maybe that was a cosmic message to Doc to keep him benched a bit longer! lol
What do you have against Alexander? He is perfect so far in 2019. Baez has also come out of his funk.
Jeff
It seems much of this talk about Muncy’s demise was just talk.
And let’s hope what I said here, doesn’t make it go in the wrong direction.
Never believed in jinx. Muncy is due.
I’m still waiting for Kenley’s appearance. I hope he makes a strong showing. I will be able to watch the next 2 games.
From Tulsa:
RHP Yadier Alvarez tonight — after 2 very disappointing years this is a pivotal time for the former top prospect — he looks really sharp with a 97-98 mph fastball and some very nice off-speed pitches early in the game.
I thought Therealten was joking because didn’t know Kelly came in this game, and got hit,
Maybe it was because I just had watched a film of Rodney Dangerfield on Johnny Carson.
Wasn’t joking only wish I had been! The only joke today was our bullpen. Great win today for LA! It’s early but bellinger is so athletic with the speed, the power, the arm, the versatility, with just tremendous tools. When his game matures into consistency over time he can be one of the dodger greats! When seager, turner, and bellinger are hitting on all cylinders we are a tough lineup. It’s tough but Roberts has got to figure out a way to keep joc from getting rusty.
Long term we cannot get by with this bullpen. I know that is the obvious understatement of the year. Stripling would probably help the most but he is a very good starter more consistent than maeda. Garcia just cannot stay away from the home rum ball. Stewart looks like he just can’t pitch starter or reliever. Cingrani just can’t stay healthy. Floro is capable as a middle reliever. Baez who knows one outing to the next. Alexander is a high wire act every appearance. Kelley, should get better and throw a lot of innings. Urias should be good wherever he pitches but I believe he is a starter. I agree you have to manage his innings.we are off to a fantastic start thankfully in spite of the bullpen.
Btw mark I commend Roberts for sticking with freese the other night. I don’t think it was a hard decision. It was either freese vs. the righty or muncy against the lefty. Freese hits lefties and righty’s while muncy had been cold. I didn’t believe the phony explanation he gave but the bottom line is it was a good decision. Go Dodgers!!
Therealten
I guess I could say Kelly right now is more like Rodney Dangerfield then I even thought, when I wrote that.
Because right now Kelly has no respect when it comes to Dodger fans.
He will have to earn it.
I knew Corey was getting closer after all the walks he picked up in the last couple games, because it looked like he was seeing the ball better.
They took x-rays on Kelly. Apparently the ball glanced off his glove and hit right on his throwing wrist.
X-rays came back negative
If Stewart has any value as a starter we should trade him as soon as either CK or the mountain man come off the IL. It doesn’t look to me like he has bought in to his place in the pen. I think he would have more value in a trade to a team that needs pitching than he will to the Dodgers spending time in OKC – which is where he is destined to go.
Why was I nervous with one out and a five run lead in the bottom of the 9th? It seems like no lead is safe.
I like trading players when their values are at their low.
Actually, I don’t. Nor does the FO.
What happened to Kelley?
Therealten
Now that is funny!
wow what the hell was that. We need some dudes in the pen who have some confidence!
Well, that was dodgey.
Yasmani who? I don’t miss him at all. Stewart sucks.
Garcia?
So umm, when does Stewart get sent down for…….. anyone?
Hopefully tonight. He’s terrible but I suspect in about 9 days when CK is activated off the IL.
Cody hurt his arm on the throw to home….
This is concerning. I watched him…
Stop it! Don’t say it, don’t think it!
Wait.
What?
When?
Belly came thru huge. Man this is fun to watch!
Muncy’s unassisted double play just in time!
Good lineup, nothing abnormal today.
Watching pre-game right now. Nomar commented on it being tough for Joc to be out 5 straight days.
I’m wondering if they’re giving Kenley an I V to keep him hydrated.
Kershaw’s main goal in the offseason was to work on regaining velocity, everyone here thinks he should just turn into Maddux.
Day game, good weather Orel and Joe are talking home runs.
Nice prospect report BlackMirror99. Big year for Peters, he needs to K less. Amaya is a local boy from San Gabriel Valley, I’m really pulling for him. Jaren’s swing looks awkward at best.
Thank you, 59. Even after listing all those names, I still left off several very promising pitchers who could easily jump into top ten consideration by the end of the season. I’ve always enjoyed following our farm system and I think this is one of our deeper groups I can remember. Some people get caught up in our lack of one true superstar-type prospect but I don’t care about that nonsense. Prospects are largely a numbers game and the more we have the better off we should be. I also think for the most part Friedman has done an expert job of jettison guys he thought we could live without and hanging onto the ones we don’t want to lose. Unless it’s for a true game-changer, I don’t think we have to worry about trading any of our top five. Even Smith, who may seem expendable given the presence of Ruiz and our overall strength in that area, could be called upon to back up Barnes next season. I would be very wary of letting him go.
Totally, can’t hold on to everyone. Trade off the rest for help at the deadline. That’s been the MO and Friedman has done a great job of it. Ruiz is the one position player that has star potential. Peters and Lux both have a shot. I just really like the way Lux carries himself, like he knows he’s gonna be a star. The Dodgers don’t seem to get the press that other clubs do in regards to prospects. Hell, I’m not sure Bellinger ever cracked the top 30. A little East Coast Bias, a little jealousy might be the culprit. But, the shear number of really good pitching prospects is staggering. You would think teams would be lining up trying to pry Dennis Santana from us.
Happy to have afternoon baseball today.
Not a fan of “openers” but I think if we ever used one it would be Maeda.
Just throw him out there and have him go max effort until we pull him.
Or is that what Roberts already does?
The biggest problem with openers is what happens after they are gone.
Yes, looking forward to a 1pm game. So far really excited about this team’s potential.
1. Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B
2. Corey Seager (L) SS
3. Justin Turner (R) 3B
4. Cody Bellinger (L) RF
5. A.J. Pollock (R) CF
6. Max Muncy (L) 1B
7. Chris Taylor (R) LF
8. Russell Martin (R) C
9. Kenta Maeda (R) P
Joc a whopping 1 for 3 and Taylor 2 for 16 historically against Anderson.
Martin and Barnes have alternated every game so far. Kinda cool.
Post-Spring Training Top Ten Prospect List [excluding anyone on the current 25 man roster]
1. May–Looks to be a full step ahead of AA batters. Just needs polish, stamina, & experience before he’s ready.
2. Ruiz–Nothing has really changed in his prospect profile except maybe a bit of brake pumping by fanatics.
3. Lux–Throwing woes are a concern but physical strength is impressive; looks the part of future cog.
4. Gonsolin–Best pure arm in the org; high likelihood of seeing him in the pen this year; postseason wild card.
5. Smith–Flaws and all, a defense-first backstop with game power is a valuable commodity.
6. Santana–Waiting for his chance; could be next starter tabbed if anyone else falters; relief potential too.
7. Downs–Impressed in his first Spring with us; polished game and demeanor point to positive things ahead.
8. Peters–All the tools in the tool shed but needs to fix that hole in his bat; could whiff 200x this season.
9. White–Ideal frame; prototype body and MLB arm need to stay healthy and let command catch up.
10. Rios–Improved 3B defense and power bat make him close to ready; whether for us or other team in question.
Honorable Mention:
Estevez–Perpetually under-ranked; no true “carrying tool” but overall game is solid and pop is surprising.
Cartaya–How many catchers could one organization catch if an organization could catch catchers?
Grove–Don’t compare him to Buehler or people will get mad; could be our next major arm.
Gray–Like Downs, will get first look in organization; curious how they develop him.
Wong–Seems to be focusing more on catching and less on other positions; nice surplus piece.
Bonus sleeper:
Amaya–Maybe our truest true SS prospect; solid tools across the board.
Missouri Category:
Alvarez & Kendall–The former is starting today for Tulsa; the latter is looking decidedly bust-ish.
You’re right, his first start probably won’t be his top velocity. But, I was a little skeptical when reports after his sim games were about his slider depth and his curveball. If he can get up to sitting 92, he’ll be a force again. If not, he’ll figure out how to win ugly. But, with all the talk about regaining velocity this offseason, this is certainly disappointing.
Someone mentioned his back as being the root of all the issues he’s experiencing. I agree that until he gets his back fixed, he’s never going to be the same. 3 years of DL stints related to his back, but no surgery. I can’t help but think of Randy Johnson and how successful and dominant he was after back surgery and I’m wondering why Kersh won’t get it done. Randy was 32 when he had his surgery and pitched until he was 45.
Pitching in a major league stadium with a big crowd adds 2 mph to a fastball alone compared to a rehab start.
Until proven otherwise I expect Kershaw to be at 93 in May.
Playoff Rotation:
1. Buehler
2. Urias
3. Kershaw
4. Ryu
With Hill, Stripling, Maeda, Gonsolin, Alexander, Baez, Kelly and Jansen in the pen.
I agree about Hill being in the pen barring injury. I also think any of those four starters you name could theoretically be the postseason opener. I’d probably put Ferguson next on your bullpen depth chart.
Forgot Caleb… some tough choices…
I wonder if we could swap 5 years of Dylan Floro for 1 year of someone better.
If CK no longer throws 93-95 he’ll have to reinvent himself with pinpoint control and off speed stuff that keeps hitters off balance a la Maddux and others. What concerns me greatly is CK’s belief he can still get hitters out by blowing a fastball by them.
Rich Hill is an example of a pitcher CK might emulate now that he has a decreased velocity on his fastball. Use his curveball more often, and further develop his changeup. Throw more first pitch off speed pitchers as opposed to “grooving” a first pitch fastball.
Perhaps we’ll see a new CK for the remainder of his contract and we’ll be talking about extending him again. Whatever happens with CK he needs to be a Dodger for life. He should never be allowed to wear any other major league uniform and he WILL be in the HOF. The Dodgers are CK’s team right now as he is the unofficial captain and team leader.
CK had been working all winter on his change up. That’s Maddux-esque.
Kershaw needs to adjust and pitch at diminished velocity and gain endurance again. He cannot be a power pitcher anymore and can risk injury by doing so. Hopefully velocity comes back but we have to accept he is not the overpowering pitcher anymore that will blow hitters away. But if he can become kind of a Rich Hill type he could still dominate but let him get healthy. But being honest, Kershaw and Hill have become 20- 25 starts pitchers and DL Prone (Hil has always been). Mr Blister Rich Hill has been good and very clutch on post season but endurance and health are not his strong point. But at the end of the year you can expect mid 3 ERA and 20- 25 starts with 130 innings or so and that could be Kershaw as well .
Topping out at 88 mph is nothing to be alarmed at, given Kershaw’s limited work this spring. If he’s topping out at that number a month from now, then it will be time for concern. I seriously doubt if he was going all out in his first rehab start. Maybe a little more exertion in his next rehab start. I’d much rather he just take this a step at a time. Rehab starts are just as meaningless as ST starts. Maybe Kershaw has become damaged goods, but let’s not jump to conclusions at this early stage. Time will tell.
According to the LA Times “His fastball velocity, according to a radar gun at the stadium, twice touched 90 mph in the first inning and sat in the upper 80s.
So much for regaining velocity. Topping out at 88 doesn’t sound good at all. Is this the beginning of the end for Kersh?
Just enjoy the ride. We’ll never see his peak again but he’s still ours and he can help us.
It’s his first start after an injury. The only thing I would take from the start is that he was throwing free and easy. I think he can get back to 91 to 92, but if he can’t then he can just Greg Maddux it.
ESPN report had Kershaw topping out at 88 mph. Not sure what this was based on, so consider the source.
I would would not be surprised if he was under 90. I thought it was close. I probably can’t tell 88 from 90 anyway!
It’s looking like they want to have him make one more start before being activated…
Seems very prudent.
Thanks for the minor league report. We’ll go ahead and give May player of the day honors.