All Over the Place Wednesday

It’s hard to imagine a better team in MLB than the Dodger right about now. Yes, I know the Twins are doing well, but I can’t see them keeping it up. Their underlying peripherals don’t support their record, but they have been a pleasant surprise and great story. They are allegedly talking to Dallas Keuchel and Craig Kimbrel, but I think Dallas goes to the Yankees and Kimbrel goes to the ATL. Just my opinion.

The Dodgers are second in runs scored in MLB to the Twins, but are tied for 5th in HR. They have effectively figured out how to score without the long-ball and are manufacturing runs while improving dramatically with RISP. RVS and Company deserve a lot of credit, in my opinion. After last night’s gem they are just .03 behind Houston for 2nd in MLB ERA. As starters, they have a 2.83 ERA, just behind Tampa Bay’s 2.79. The next nearest team is Minnesota at 3.55. YIKES! The bullpen is getting better as well, especially when they don’t get exposed as much. They have moved up from 26th in ERA to 19th. Remember that the Red Sox pen was 17th in ERA last year.

It’s what you do… when! At any rate, the Dodgers ave the best record in baseball and are on a roll. It’s a different way every night. They are 25-7 at home and now 18-12 on the road. It was said they needed to get better on the road and they have. The Doc Roberts bashing has evaporated. No one questions the Hyun-jin Ryu signing anymore, as he is simply the best pitcher in baseball right about now. Turn the page.

Max Muncy & Justin Turner

Justin Turner is signed for one more season and the short-term answer at 3B as well as being JT’s caddy until he is gone is Max Muncy. I believe that if he plays every day, he can be a solid 3B. He’s no Gold Glover, but not many are. He has the arm to play the position and he can hold his own. JT seems to be breaking down, even more, this year, and he will be 35 in November. Maybe next year, Justin slides over to 1B and platoons with Joc or Matt Beaty, after Freeze is gone. David will be 37 next year, so a decision will have to be made about him.

Alex Verdugo

I was listening to MLB.Radio yesterday and Jim Bowden was talking about Alex. He said he mentioned to Andrew Friedman that Verdugo didn’t have much power. He said Andrew looked at him and said, “The power will come.” Bowden next said “If Friedman says it, I believe it!” That’s exactly what I believe too. This kid is even better than I thought and his attitude is simply amazing!

Kike Hernandez

Quick! Name a 2B with a better arm than Enrique Hernandez. You can’t! Hopefully, he gets hot the second half… like last year! Kike doesn’t have to pull the ball – he has the power to hit it out to the opposite field.

Corey Seager

Before he was injured and missed the 2018 season, Corey was arguably the best SS in baseball. Even Manny Machado could not carry his… hat. Well, it’s been a long road, coming back from Tommy John and hip surgery, but it looks to me that he is BACK. That means that this potent Dodger Offense might become lethal. Wow!

Minor League Favorites

AC and DC have the corner on the Dodger’s Minor League System. No one does it better. They both love to watch unheralded players as they journey through the system… well maybe not just “unheralded” prospects, but actually any prospect. They just especially love it when the underdog prevails against all odds. They will weigh in on the Dodgers Draft soon enough, so I am going to leave that to them. I do think that the Dodgers Top Four Picks have a ton of promise.

I am more fixated on players who are closer to the show, although I was in on Kershaw, Urias, Seager, Bellinger, and Verdugo very early on. Exceptional talent is easy for me to spot. Even Ray Charles can see it. In other words, I am very adept at perceiving the obvious immediately. However, there are quite a few players in the Dodger System who have struggled at times and are not always highly drafted… and even among the highly drafted, there are questions. Here are a few players I follow and root for:

Gavin Lux – I confess that I thought this was a wasted draft pick and it looked like it for quite some time, but then “Little Gavin” grew up and got his “man strength.” Even after his 0-5 night last night, Gavin is hitting .306 with a .890 OPS in a league that is not hitter friendly. Still just 21, he is ready to move up to AAA and probably will very soon. He is still playing SS and could play there in the majors, but most likely he moves to 2B. This was not a wasted pick.

Jeren Kendall – This guy is a 5-tool player, but has a huge swing and strikes out way too much. This season, he has raised his strikeout rate from 36% to 42% but also has doubled his walk rate, from 12% to 24%, so his batting average is lower at .205 compared to .215 last year, but his OB% has increased from .300 to .363.  It’s incremental progress.  I have no predictions but I do see some progress in pitch recognition. Friedman took a chance on this guy who has a high ceiling, but also a low floor. There is still time… but the clock is ticking.

Marshall Kasowski – He is 4-2 with a 2.08 ERA at Tulsa. He has a plus fastball and all he needs to do is throw more strikes. He has allowed just 12 hits in 21.2 innings and has struck out 38. He has walked 12 and if he has the ability to cut-down on bases on balls he could wind up in LA THIS season.

Jordon Sheffield – At age 24 and freshly converted to a reliever, Sheffield has been nothing short of amazing out of the bullpen. This season, he has a 1.90 ERA allowing just 6 hits (I said 6 hits) in 23.2 innings to go with 35 K’s and an 0.85 WHIP. He could also see him the Dodger bullpen THIS season as well.

Keibert Ruiz – Barely 20 years old, KayBear is hitting .272 with a.361 OB%. His power will come and he is likely another full year away, but he is the real deal. The Dodgers won’t push it as Will Smith looks to be ready. Watch this kid. He has some of the best bat-to-ball skills I have ever seen.

Tony Gonsolin – He just turned 25 and missed several weeks with a side injury and is just starting to stretch out again. He dominated at A and AA last year and 14 IP this year has a 1.93 ERA. In addition to a 100 MPH Fastball, he has three other plus pitches and I believe he could help in the bullpen this year. If I were in charge (I’m not), I would not stretch him out, This would be a bullpen year.

Those are my favorites, but there are a lot more as the farm system is absolutely loaded with depth. There are a few gems but many solid future major league players, including Dennis Santana, Caleb Ferguson, Dustin May, Michael Grove, Will Smith, Zach Reks, Kyle Garlick, and a plethora of others. A couple might achieve stardom, but getting to the Show is pretty special, in and of itself.

Minor League Report by DC

Player of the Day – A coin toss between Carlos Rincon and Jeter Downs who lost the toss.

Rincon:  2 hits, 1 run home run, walk, three RBI

Pitcher of the Day – Josiah Gray: 5 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts

DSL Dodgers Shoemaker 11- DSL Red Sox2  15

Seven pitchers climbed the hill for the Dodgers. Five of them allowed runs ranging from one to six. Yamil Castillo did start with 2.2 scoreless innings with two hits, two walks and six strikeouts. Seventeen-year-old Frankelyn Felix atoned for his poor debut on Saturday by pitching a shutout inning on one hit.

Five Dodgers had multiple hit games. Of interest, Marlon Cairo from Havana, Cuba had two hits and six in his first three games in the DSL. Cairo is 23 years old and just beginning his career outside of Cuba. On the other end of the scale, 17-year-old Bladimir De La Rosa had his second consecutive game with three hits.

DSL Dodgers Bautista 3 – DSL Marlins 1

In this game five pitchers gave up only a total of three hits . They did walk five, three by starter Abel  Moya. Axel Acevedo got the win while Jesus Turigo picked up the save.

The Dodgers also had only three hits but made them count. Luis Morales hit a home run, the first for team Bautista and Luis Yan had a two-run pinch hit single.

Great Lakes Loons 0 – Lansing Lugnuts 8 (Toronto)

The Loons quickly found a mountain too high to climb. In three innings of work,19-year-old Robinson Ortiz gave up seven runs, six earned including three in the top of the first inning. He did pick off two Lugnuts. He has been overmatched in the Midwest League having allowed 16 earned runs in nine innings and no doubt will be assigned to the Ogden Raptors who begin play on June 14. He was followed by right-hander Justin Hagenman who tossed one-hit ball for four innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Drew Finley came on in the top of the eighth inning and gave up an additional run in his two innings pitched.

Offensively there was little to talk about by the Loons who were held to three hits, all singles

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 7 – Lancaster JetHawks 3 (Colorado)

Josiah Gray started for the Quakes and impressed early striking out the side in the top of the first inning throwing 15 pitches, 13 for strikes. In the top of the third inning Gray gave up a two-run home run to JetHawk second baseman Carlos Herrera. He finished the night with five innings and no more runs.

Relievers Melvin Jiminez, Wes Helsabck and Logan Salow finished off the last four innings with a single run by Jiminez and giving up a combined two hits.

With the bats Jeter Downs and Devin Mann had back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the first inning, the ninth for both.  They added three more with a hit parade in the bottom of the third inning including a Donovan Casey triple, an Austin Barnes single, a Jeter Downs double and a Devin Mann single. The Quakes expanded the lead to 7-2 scored in the fourth inning on a Jeren Kendall triple and a Nick Yarnell sacrifice fly, plus Drew Avans running wild after his single. He stole second, advanced to third on an error and headed home on a balk. Mann, Kendall, Casey and Avans had two hits while Jeter Downs had three.

Tulsa Drillers 7- Springfield Cardinals 5 (STL)

Edwin Uceta made his AA debut with the Drillers and sailed through the first three innings unscathed. In the top of the fourth inning following a HBP and a single, he served up a three-run home run to Cardinal center fielder Randy Arozaren. He returned for the fifth inning giving up a single and an intentional walk but no runs.  Chris Nunn pitched two clean innings and Shea Spitzbarth came on in the top of the eighth. After getting the first two hitters Spitzbarth played with fire walking the bases full on 15 pitches. He got burned by a two-run double dropping the Drillers behind 5-4. Marshall Kasowskiwas called upon to strand two runners and did so with a ground out. He finished off the top of the ninth for the win.

At the plate the Drillers took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Christian Santana and a two-run home run by Carlos Rincon.  The pair teamed up again in the bottom of the seventh inning when Rincon singled in Santana giving the Drillers a 4-3. The Drillers tied it up at five with a Zach McKinstry single in the bottom of the eighth inning and an error by Johan Mieses on a Cody Thomas single allowing McKinstry to score all the way from first base. Thomas then scored on a Keibert Ruiz sacrifice fly. An insurance run scored on a DJ Peters double giving the Drilers a 7-5 lead.

OKC Dodgers  6 – Sacramento River Cats 4 (SF)

Tony Gonsolin started for the Dodgers and did not have his best stuff giving up two runs,  both unearned in 2.1 innings pitched with three hits, one walk and two strikeouts. Justin Grimm followed with 1.2 scoreless innings while Rob Zastryzny went two innings giving up one run on three hits. Left-hander Caleb Ferguson came on in the top of the seventh inning and mirrored Grimm with 1.2 scoreless innings. JT Chargois finished up with a run on three hits.

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the second, the Dodgers scored in the next three innings. A Drew Jackson double brought home a  run in the bottom of the second while a Kyle Garlick double and a Shane Peterson home run brought home three more in the third inning. An additional run scored in each of the fourth and fifth innings on a Shane Peterson ground out and an Edwin Rios sacrifice fly.