Duke (not Snider) broke today’s story last night. Darien Nunez is a 28-year-old, 6′ 2″ 205-pound left-handed reliever for the OKC Dodgers. He started the season with Tulsa, pitching one scoreless inning and then moving to OKC where he has compiled 8.1 scoreless innings and struck out 12 while allowing one hit! So who is this guy? He is not just another “flash in the pan”… let me assure you.
AA Debut – May 6, 2021
Darien fled Cuba in 2015 and spent three years traveling, making his way to the USA. The Dodgers signed him and finally, he made his debut in 2018 at the DSL, Ogden, Arizona, and ultimately, Great Lakes where he pitched 30 innings and struck out 46, with a 2.23 ERA. He went back to Ogden in early 2019 to work on some things and then finished the season at RC, where he pitched 25 innings, allowing 17 hits and striking out 43 with a 1.75 ERA.
In 2020, the world went COVID-19 and he fell off the radar. Then, 2021 happened and as I mentioned earlier, he is now in OKC. He has always been a reliever for the Dodgers and they are bringing him along slowly, but his stuff begs for major league hitters. His fastball is in the mid -90’s and he has a curve and a slider that are plus pitches, but it seems to me that his big pitch is his changeup, which looks just like his fastball. I have seen him twice and am “jaw-dropping” impressed!
He is learning English, but is still pretty sketchy. Over parts of three seasons he is 4-2 with 4 saves, a 1.96 ERA. He has pitched 78 innings and struck out 127, with 28 walks. Since he moved up to OKC, his has walked 2 in 8.1 IP and according to people close to the team, he is trusting his pitches and his control (which is not bad) is getting even better. Since he is not on the 40-man, he will not likely be brought up anytime soon, but if he keeps this up, the Dodgers will not be able to ignore him. You will notice that he has a clean, powerful, uncomplicated delivery, and pitches quickly…. and six years of control. I guarantee he is in Andrew Friedman’s Plan as a future closer!
From 2019
2018 Interview with Darien
Come on, Man!
Many of you are trying to give Andrew Friedman advice as to acquire bullpen help when you had no idea who Darien Nunez even was. You are playing checkers or maybe tidily-winks, while he is playing chess. Not all of his moves pan out, but haven’t you learned that he has a lot more information than you do? Maybe signing Albert Pujols will not work out, but so far it has. Albert got one of the two hits last night off MadBum *whom it is always a pleasure to beat) and drove in 1/3 of the Dodgers runs. And… why even question why he acquired Yoshi T (I can’t even spell Tsutsugo)? We have no clue. Max Muncy was ridiculed, so was Sheldon Noisy, as was Tyler White (well, that did not work out), but you sometimes have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince. Let it play out. Past performance is indicative of NOTHING!
Monday’s Games
- Rancho Cucamonga did not lose because they did not play.
- Great Lakes was idle.
- Tulsa did not play.
- OKC beat the Slime Cats 7-6, pulling their record to 3-8. Omar Estevez (playing CF), Zach Reks, and Andy Burns each had 3 hits. Asuaje and Burnes each had a double and FedEx hit his 1st HR. Austin Bibens-Dirkx started and was hit like Tommy Lasorda in Batting Practice. He gave up 5 runs in 4 IP. In what can be called “progress” Phil Bickford struck out the side in his 1 IP.n 32-year old Kevin Quackenbush got his 2nd save with a 1-2-3 9th inning. He has not been scored upon this year.
- The LA Dodgers beat the Arizona D-Bags 3-1. Striker (although he could have been called Walker last night) got the win and lowered his ERA to 2.98. He seems to be settling in as we reach the end of May. Kenley got his 8th save and lowered his ERA to a Kenley-esque 1.54. Gavin Lux and Will Smith both had 2 hits – Smith with a HR and a Double and Lux with a single and a double. Other than the run-scoring single by Pujols, that has all the hits, but it was enough to win the game.
What does Albert Pujols bring to the table? How about just poking the ball through the hole at SS to score Mookie from 3B. That play was better than a thousand words. When you have a chance to score the runner from 3B, you do it. Forget the long ball. Take notes, kids! This is what HOF’ers do!
Discussion (24)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Another good win and great to see Lux gaining confidence.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen any new player seem so happy to be in Dodger Blue as Albert, and his colleagues certainly seem to be enjoying his company.
Sterner test ahead at the weekend.
Still think we might see Joc and his .253 BA back before the season is out.
DODGERS RECALL ALEX VESIA
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers recalled left-handed pitcher Alex Vesia and placed left-hander pitcher Garrett Cleavinger on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, retroactive May 17.
Vesia, 25, returns after being optioned yesterday. He has appeared in three games for the Dodgers, allowing three runs on one hit in 4.0 innings this season. The Northern California native was acquired from the Marlins along with minor leaguer Kyle Hurt in exchange for Dylan Floro. The southpaw made five appearances for the Marlins in 2020, allowing nine runs in 4.1 innings with five strikeouts. In 52 career minor league games, he has posted a 1.62 ERA (18 ER/100.0IP) and 138 strikeouts.
Cleavinger, 27, has appeared in eight games for the Dodgers, allowing six runs (three earned) in 6.0 innings this season. The southpaw has nine strikeouts against four walks with a 1-3 record. He was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and Phillies on December 20, 2020. He was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft by the Phillies out of the University of Oregon.
Trout out for 6-8 weeks with a calf strain. Maybin to the Cubs for cash. Law DFA’d by the Twins. The amount of injuries this season is alarming. Pillar out after getting hit in the face and having numerous nasal fractures.
Tsutsugo is a flier. He either works out or he doesn’t. It’s a cheap experiment. The thing is that it’s an experiment that they don’t have to try if the myriad of AAA outfielders on the roster had anything going but it doesn’t appear that they do, except Beaty (at least right now). I think we have to give a pass to Rios as his injury is likely the cause of his poor performance this year.
The Dodgers haven’t developed too many OF lately. Joc came up in 2014 and Bellinger in 2017. They have been successful at developing starting pitchers (Buehler, May, Gonsolin, Urias) and relievers.
MLB.com ranked the Dodgers’ farm system 14th at the beginning of the 2021 season. Pages is the only OF in the Dodgers’ top 10. The rest of the top 10 contained 2 catchers, 4 INF and 3 pitchers. Only 4 OF in the top 30 (Rodriguez, Vogel and Peters). There isn’t much depth in the minors in the OF.
So – if your starting LF and CF get hurt, who you gonna call?
In all honesty, I’m excited to see TsuTsuGo’s debut with the team tonight.
Pujol’s debut was heartwarming with an RBI single against a lefty, something we’ve had trouble doing all season. And a couple of balls hit squarely for outs and the cherry on top was a nice pick at 1B. In addition, there were some good dugout moments. A little melancholy watching the shell of a former great.
I’m hoping Yoshi can provide at least a little more. Well, I’m really hoping for a Hideki Matsui type turnaround for Yoshi. I would be willing to settle for Isuro “Kamikaze” Tanaka.
Nobody is pulling Bear’s strings!
Tonight’s defense should be interesting to observe:
A DH in left field
A DH in right field
A DH at first base
A first baseman at second base
A second baseman/outfielder at third base
The usual right fielder in center field
The usual second baseman at shortstop
When you look at tonight’s lineup you see Seager, Belli, Turner and Pollock out. Those would be the four best players on more than a few mlb teams including Arizona tonight and the Marlins who just left. And we’re still 5 games over .500. We’ll be fine when our full lineup is back What fun would it have been if we won 120 games this year?
OK, Go Crazy, Folks – Go Crazy!
Tonights Lineup:
1. Betts CF
2. Muncy 2B
3. Taylor 3B
4. Smith C
5. Beaty RF
6. Pujols 1B
7. Tsutsugo LF
8. Lux SS
9. Urias P
As much as many have been losing their minds about the bullpen, the Dodgers moved into the TOP 10 in Bullpen ERA at #9!
Things change Patch: Here are the reasons AF was “reduced” to signing Pujols.
Injured Position players:
Bellinger
Seager
CT3
Pollock
Rios
McKinstry
Replacements::
Raley .171
Neuse .186
Ruiz .143
Peters .200
How about the pitching which is indirectly part of signing Pujols
Injured:
May
Gonsolin
Graterol
Knebel
Alexander
Replacements:
Uceta 2.45
Cleavenger 4.50
Vesia 6.75
White 1.17
Nelson 2.70
Santana 6.92
Fun game. last night and not just because we won, Albert added a dose of energy, it seemed to me. I was luke warm to his signing but he brings a bat, intangibles and was practically free. I don’t see this as desperation at all. I see it as AF trying to help a team struggling with injuries and replacements not getting it done. Who else could be brought up?
* I may like Muncy at 2nd more than I anticipated. I’ve never been impressed with him there but it wasn’t in the current circumstances. He’s certainly improved as a first baseman and may be fine at 2nd to allow Albert to play against some lefties. It’s not like we’re stealing PT from a hot prospect at 2nd.
* Great visit by Prior. Go to slider and back in sync. He may have also suggested that he slow down a notch or 2, The Curve was thrown like his hair’s on fire. Nothing really needs to go 100 mph before foot strike and he was rushing it like crazy, outrunning his arm. He completely turned it around and retired the last 11 when he stopped rushing. Nice adjusting on the fly.
* I too was pleased to see Doc decide to extend Striker for 7, even passing up a chance to pinch hit for him with runners on. I like the decision and would rather see him on the mound than any reliever. I understand it’s a long season and pitcher’s health is foremost. I also believe in building up are strength with increasing pitch counts as the season moves along. As I’ve said previously, I’m not convinced that 100 pitches is the magic number for every pitcher.
* Mad-Bum is such an ass hole
* DJ Peters is a mystery. If I was his hitting coach, I wouldn’t know what to tell him. I watched him frame by frame last night during his 2 swing strikeouts. His head isn’t great but he seems balanced and the swing looks good. He just misses the ball. I had kids do that and had parents get the kid’s eyes checked. I’m sure that’s been done. He has 8 K’s in 12 ABs. And it’s not like he’s missing pitches on the black. He swings right through center cut fastballs.
* So DJ must have been better someplace to make the show. I looked at his minor league stats and he really hasn’t hit well over A-ball. And he’s no stranger to whiffs. In 1723 minor league AB’s he has 565 K’s. Thats 33% strikeout rate. So, he’s Joey Gallo? Not really. He has 92 homers. 5% homer rate. I really am a fan of this kid and he’s only 25. It appears he’s just not ready and forced to try to learn to hit big league pitching, in the big leagues. But the swings and misses on center-cut fastballs makes me wonder.
* Orel, leaving no cerebral stone unturned, last night said that with the lights and shadows a hitter might see the catcher move in or out. And sometimes “hitters can hear the catcher move”. I never acquired the knack for hearing whether a catcher moved in or out. That’s some skill.
* Can Lux and Striker get those bun huggers just one size bigger?
Horrible record in one run games.
Horrible record in extras.
Big names and lengthy stays on the IL including 5/8 of the bullpen, 2/3 of the outfield, 2 key bench pieces, a star SS and an Ace in training.
#1 in the National League in run differential.
#1 in the National League in team pitching OPS.
#2 in the National League in team batting OPS.
Yet we are tied with the Cardinals for 3rd best record in the National League.
How do we NOT have the best record in the National League?
My opinion, which matters as much as a hill of beans is simply that Raley, Nuese, and Peters are not ready for prime time yet. Nuese has 2 dingers but not much else. Raley has not even had what I would call a quality at bat in weeks. Peters is just over matched, but he has good range in the outfield and is a much better defensive option than Raley. They miss McKinstry for sure. Ravelo?? Guy has not shown that much when he has had an opportunity in the big’s. Souza had some success, but has not been the same player for a few years now. AAA talent is thin to say the least. Maybe 1 or 2 guys who might have some upside. I think any help they might need will only be found by players coming back from the IL or a trade. Lets see what Mr. Tsutsugo might offer.
Walks by the pitching staff are a problem that seems to always be exacerbated by the shift. Bear mentioned the walk by Gonzo, but failed to mention that the shift allowed another runner in the same inning. I hardly ever recall watching a game and thinking to myself, wow the shift really saved them from big inning. But, it seems almost nightly that they give up a shift hit. It also seems that we stubbornly hit into the opposing shift quite often. It seems that other teams are adjusting to it, but we are not.
Where would we be without Bauer right now? So far he’s earned every penny of that 40 mil. We need Mookie to do the same right now!
Nice informative article! I admit, I also don’t recall hearing the name Darien Nunez before either.
Actually, past performance is pretty important. As Dodgerrick is fond of saying, “the best predictor of future performance is past performance,” or something along those lines. Although there are some obvious caveats to that, otherwise if I was the GM I’d sign Pete Rose because he’s a career .300 hitter.
Glad that Big Al got a hit of Mad Bum and drove in a run, but let’s not delude ourselves that this was anything but a desperation signing by AF. Pujols can’t leg out a ground rule double at this point. If his bat manages to make contact with a ball and a liner splits the gap and goes to the wall, he might still beat the throw at first, but it’ll be close. Pujols has not had a better than average offensive season since 2016 and his defense stinks.
Rios was supposed to be the guy to spell Muncy at 1rst. Rios had 60 plate appearances, hit a whopping .078, struck out 30% of the time and had a wRC+ of 17 (remember, 100 is league average). Now he’s out for the season.
Noisy and CT3 could’ve been guys to fill in at 2nd while Lux fills in at SS, but CT3 is injured and Noisy has hit .178, struck out 37% of the time and has a wRC+ of 46.
Muncy has always had pretty good splits against lefties, so he wasn’t in any dire need of being platooned, but he’s faltered a little this year against LHP, hitting just .205 with one HR. If the Dodgers are at full strength and have CT3, Bellinger and McKinstry back, I would prefer Bellinger spot Muncy at 1rst, but he has his own issues against LHP and I’m not all that confident that he can figure out his swing and get back to being the Bellinger of the first half of 2019.
So, there was a need to have a right hand power bat fill in for Muncy at 1rst, and Pujols makes sense from that perspective, but, even though it might be necessary, it’s still smacks of desperation. This is the first time ever in AF’s tenure as Dodger GM that, IMO, he has made a move out of desperation. I don’t even think making a trade for a guy makes sense either right now because the Dodger system is showing itself to be a little thin. I don’t think AF wants to empty the system any more.
AF had a presser and was asked at length about the Pujols signing. Normally, I like AF when he talks to the press. He’s usually pretty candid. This time he just sounded vague and dissembling, and was obviously uncomfortable stating the obvious – that the Dodgers are desperate right now because they’ve either had key players get injured or the bench players they hoped would perform flop terribly.
Yes, Andrew Friedman may be playing chess, but with broken pieces. Far too many pawns are swinging and missing.
I was wondering if some of these players might improve as they get older — maybe they will, but not today. No doubt the reasons for the additions. Plus Albert Pujols can still hit lefties.
Gavin Lux continues to look better at the plate. RBI single in the eighth a good sign, two hits in the game. Still believe there is a lot of talent in there trying to break out. Smith looks better with each game. They need his bat, his power.
Signing Albert Pujols will work out just fine. Not exactly like the team is bursting at the seams with role players stepping up, particularly right handed bats.
Another month or so maybe we can get a good assessment where the Dodgers are in the pipeline. Looks a little sketchy right now. Thanks for tracking it Mark.
Nice write up Mark. It’s nice to hear about future Dodgers that we were not aware of. Nunez looks like a keeper with great potential. You never have enough hard throwing lefties.
Great game last night. Sometimes I’m much more engaged in these low scoring pitcher’s duals that I am with games that feature a lot of scoring. Bueller was exceptional and the pen was a little shaky, but got the job done with a smooth Lux, Taylor, Muncy double play to end the game.
It was good to see immediate returns with an Albert Pujols RBI and Gavin Lux with a couple of hits (one off a lefty no less). I was not a fan of the Pujols signing and while his first game had some feel good moments, I remain sceptical. At the same time, I give AF credit for recognizing that the guys he had weren’t getting the job done and pulling the trigger on a couple of moves to try and help the team. It must have been a hard decision to jump on the Albert signing instead of just bringing up Revelo.
Don’t look now, but the Dodgers are 5 out of their last 6. I like that Doc is stretching out the starters, letting them pitch into the 7th inning. Urias, Kershaw and Bauer are scheduled to finish out the D-Bags series, so it looks like another bullpen game is coming just in time to open the Giants series in San Francisco. It sure would be nice to enter the series following a four game sweep. Should we dare to dream?
Never heard of the guy.
Hopefully some of The Machine’s teammates took note of the 2 out RBI single with a shortened swing to get the job done. Dodgers need a lot more of that, even from the veterans. I’m looking at you Redturn.