Many Dodger fans have been agast that the Dodgers have not play Hyeseong Kim more and that Dalton Rushing as the backup catcher is not getting regular at-bats, which he could at OKC. Many fans are up in arms about this. I call BS! Hyeseong Kim has had some injury (which the Dodgers have been loath to share), and they feel he will experience his best results against RHP, so they often sit him against LHP. Is there anything complicated about that to understand? Many fans think he would do better if he played more. Could it be that he is playing well because he is used less? I don’t know… and neither do you, but it is possible.
Dalton Rushing has demonstrated that he can hit Minor League Pitching, but I will tell you that it is more important for Dalton to learn the Dodgers’ way of calling pitches. As we saw yesterday, Dalton is holding his own with the bat, and he will likely get more at-bats as Will Smith wears down in the second half of the season. Austin Barnes was hitting .214 when he was released. Yes, he was an elite game caller, but his bat was weak and his arm was weaker.
Dalton Rushing is a solid hitter (.244) who will get better and is learning to call a game the Dodger Way. Additionally, he has an arm pop rate that is as good as any catcher in MLB. If anyone has a logical reason he should not be with the Dodgers, please enlighten me. Otherwise, what’s the point? I, for one, think that the Dodgers have their fingers on the pulse of the team. But many fans believe that they know a lot better than Dave Roberts or Andrew Friedman, and I still believe that down deep, some fans think they are smarter, even though the facts say otherwise. Some fans are never satisfied… and I won’t even mention the calls to get rid of Max Muncy!
Dodger News
- Tyler Glasnow pitched two hitless, scoreless innings yesterday, and Nick Frasso followed it up with a scoreless inning.
- James Outman was 4-5 with his 16th HR.
- Nick Senzel is up to .227/.704 OPS after a very slow start.
- Maddux Bruns went three innings yesterday and gave up 2 Hits with 1 ER and 4 Ks.
- Josue DePaula hit his 10th HR. The Yordan Alvarez comparisons continue, but DePaula has greatly improved his footwork and speed.
Discussion (19)
Disagree, not disagreeable
8:40 PM ET
Dodgers (48-31)
Rockies (18-60)
SP German Marquez R
3-8 6.11 ERA
SP Jack Dreyer
2-2 3.18 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
RF T. Hernandez R
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
2B Tommy Edman S
40% Rain
74° Wind 8 mph R-L
Syndegaard signs minor league deal with White Sox. Why would he want them and why would they want him?
What if the lineup looked like this once or twice a week:
1B – Freeman
2B – Kim
SS – Betts
3B – Muncy
LF- Ohtani
CF-Pages
RF – Teoscar
C- Rushing
DH – Smith
I still don’t understand why some believe that Will Smith can just play 3B or 2B no problem. He last played 3B for 2 innings in 2021. He played 1 game in AAA in 2019. The last time he actually saw substantial innings there was in 2018. I remember toward the end of Johnny Bench’s career the Reds tried him at 3B. It was a dismal experiment.
Ohtani can also play LF on Occasion. Tell me he can’t.
It has five letters.
It rhymes with Grade
It starts with a Tee
I agree with RC that when Ohtani gets back to pitching 5+ innings, the team should have another DH from time to time.
Why not let Will Smith DH against lefties who have been successful in getting Ohtani out? Especially on days that Ohtani pitches.
I think some of you are talking out of some place other than your mouth. Let me remind you of a few things:
1. Will Smith is currently the best catcher in baseball.
2. The Dodgers have tried Rushing in LF and say that he will not play there anymore. I saw him play a few games there, and while he was not abysmal, he looked unnatural there.
3. Catching always seems to wear Will down. Why not give him more rest while keeping his bat in the lineup?
Dalton Rushing is also a very good catcher with a “pop rate” better than Smith. In the second half of the season, Smith could play another spot (2B or 3B) twice a week and catch four times a week, while Rushing catches three times a week. I have seen Smith at 3B, and I believe he could play there once or twice a week in a platoon with Max. He has a total of 60 games at 3B. Why not?
Did you see that poor little Asian girl crying her eyes out when dad dropped the Ohtani HR? Sad and funny at the same time.
Gavin Lux – .262
Brilliant Post!
Book em
The question with a Stowers or Duran is: do you think they have equal or more upside than the prospects the Dodgers currently have (Quintero, Hope, DePaula, Sirota) who would be included in a trade or blocked by a Stowers or Duran?
One thing to consider is that both of those guys are at the MLB level now (Duran might be off the table bc of the Devers trade). DePaula and Sirota are at least a couple of years away, assuming they aren’t busts like the vast majority of prospects (where are you now, Cartaya?)
Conforto stinks, but he stunk in the first half last year, and the Dodgers signed him bc of his second half performance. The Dodgers can afford to wait.
I don’t entirely get the Ward situation. I know his value as a prospect is diminished bc he’s older for a prospect and his defense isn’t good, but it’s hard to imagine why he has seemingly NO value. It’d be nice for him to see The Show, even for a proverbial cup of coffee.
My hunch is that if Conforto improves even a little during the 2nd half, he’ll be on the playoff roster. Ya know. Veterans.
If I’m the Dodgers, though, you’re gonna have to teach Rushing to play another position unless you want to trade him. His offensive ceiling is too high to be a backup catcher, and Smith is here for the next decade.
In the course of a long season, players go through slumps – even Ohtani. But Conforto hasn’t been good since 2020. It’s not a slump for him – it’s 79 games – just under a half season – but he was bad his last 2 years in SF and mediocre in 2021 with the Mets. I see no down side to playing Kim or Rushing or anyone else – heck, even Mark would be better.
Conforto has -1.1 bWAR. He’s 11th worst in baseball.
LF is supposed to be a position where you can hide a guy with a bad glove if he can hit. Why not try a guy who can actually hit there?
Kim needs to play more. Period! His “injury” I believe was from fouling a ball off his leg or foot. Conforto was a mediocre player at best. Every AB he takes from Kim is a travesty at this point.
Good to see Teo get some days off. He’s waving at every two strike slider off the plate.
Rushing needs to play enough to keep Smith fresh going into the playoffs. Barnes couldn’t hit or throw anymore.
I defer to the guys with way more experience and knowledge of what is happening behind the scenes. Kim has shown flashes with the bat, but he is no centerfielder in my opinion. Not yet anyway. His inexperience at the position showed yesterday. That they are in the position they are in, leading the west by 3.5 games, one game behind the Tigers for the best record in baseball, tells me that AF and his brain trust know what they are doing. They had good news on Sasaki yesterday as he is going to resume his throwing regimen. Glasnow is on rehab assignment. Snell is not far behind. Frasso has looked good his last couple of outings as a reliever, and Henriquez is about this far () from coming back to boost the pen. Guys like Trevino and Klein are not going to be around long. They won’t move Conforto before the All-Star break. But afterwards, who knows.
So Mark, one question. how much longer do the dodgers hang on to Conforto? i have been on record for saying he would eventually hit. Now i’m not sure he will ever hit as a dodger. as for Kim, i don’t think he should play every day. but, i don’t like Doc removing him every time a lefty comes in. no i don’t know more than the coaches, but it seems to me he’s earned a little more runway. .. Now to James Outman. i have always liked James. BUT, it’s time to let him go somewhere else and start over. James is a great guy and some potential. But his K rate in the big leagues is overwhelming. time to move on……… Dalton Rushing WILL be the next star on the dodgers! he will take over as the starter at catcher in about 2 years! Will Smith will probably be the 3rd or 1st baseman when Freddie is done. …. Last thing. mlb needs to address the position players pitching. I’m on board with them completely banning it. expand the roster by 2 in order to carry a couple more pitchers, and be done with it.
My man Maximus,never count him out.
Dalton should have started the season with the Big League Club and Barnes should have been released.
What’s up with Teo or was it just a day
off before a day off?