Depth Being Tested
It seems like every season lately the media talks about the depth of the Dodger organization. It also seems like every season that depth is tested. The beginning of this season seems to be no exception. The depth of the starting rotation is already under scrutiny because of the…
It seems like every season lately the media talks about the depth of the Dodger organization. It also seems like every season that depth is tested. The beginning of this season seems to be no exception. The depth of the starting rotation is already under scrutiny because of the performance of Sasaki and Sheehan,
To his credit, Sheehan has looked better his last couple of starts. His ERA after 4 starts sits at 5.85. He gave up just 2 earned runs in Colorado and the team got its first loss in one of his starts. He is 2-0. The team is 3-1 in his starts. He allowed 3 earned runs in his prior start against the Rangers in a win for the team.
Sasaki has also made 4 starts. The Dodgers are 1-3 in his starts. He is 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA. They both have given up 4 homers. Sasaki’s best outing was actually his first. He gave up just 1 run in a 4-2 loss to the Guardians. In his 2nd outing, he put the Dodgers in a hole by giving up 6 runs in 5 innings. They wound up winning 8-6.
They have better depth it would seem in position players. Betts, Edman and Kike will be back at some point in time, and the offense will be that much better. The defense right now is pretty solid, and it will only get better.
Catcher is a strong spot on the team. Smith and Rushing make a fine duo. It is surprising that Rushing has more homers than Ohtani. Muncy and Rushing together have more homers than the Giants as a team. Much like last season, there seem to be games that the offense takes the night off.
The bullpen is challenged now due to Diaz having to have surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow. Luckily, Tanner Scott has been more like the 24 version than last year’s model. Vesia, Treinen, Dreyer, have been effective. Klein had one bad game. Henriquez is awesome one night and looks awful the next. Kyle Hurt, who replaced Casparius, has pitched in just two games so far.
With Snell on the IL, Justin Wrobleski has done an excellent job as his replacement. Wrobo is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA. Glasnow, Shohei and Yoshi, have all been as advertised. LA is built for the long run, and we all know they are going to rest players when they feel there is a need. For this team to dominate, Sheehan and Sasaki are going to have to up their game because right now, there is no one at AAA who looks to be of much help.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORT
OKC Comets 9 – Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle) 7
OKC scored 9 runs on 6 hits, 8 BB, and 1 HBP.
Tacoma drew 1st blood 3rd off RHSP Christian Romero. A walk and 2 singles scored one run in the 3rd.
OKC got 4 in the bottom of the 3rd. LF Mike Siani led off with a double (3). With one out, 3B Ryan Fitzgerald hit a run scoring double (6). CF Zach Ehrhard drew a BB, and 1B James Tibbs III hit his 10th HR of the year.
Romero gave up a solo HR in the 4th.
In the bottom of the 5th, the Comets drew back to back to back BB to start the inning. DH Ryan Ward hit a 2 run single. OKC got their 3rd run of the inning on a double steal by Ward and RF Jack Suwinski.
In the 6th, SS Noah Miller led off with a double (4). After catcher Seby Zavala was HBP, Fitzgerald singled to score Miller. A passed ball moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd, and Zavala scored on a Ehrhard SF.
With 2 outs in the 7th, LHRP Antoine Kelly walked three and run scored on a fielders choice. With RHRP Griff McGarry pitching in the 8th, he walked three and gave up a grand slam HR.
RHRP Carlos Duran pitched a scoreless 9th for the save.
Fitzgerald was the only OKC batter with 2 hits.
Tulsa Drillers 5 – Frisco RoughRiders (Texas) 0 – Game 1, 7 innings
After three horrific starts to open the season, LHSP Adam Serwinowski pitched his best game as a LAD prospect. In his first three starts, Adam pitched 8.0 innings, allowed 15 hits, 11 BB, 8K, and an ERA of 18.00. In Wednesday’s game, Adam completed 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing 2 hits and registering 8 K. RHRP Kelvin Ramirez pitched the final inning, retiring the side in order to preserve the shutout.
The offense was provided by RF Josue De Paula and LF Zyhir Hope. De Paula was 3-4 with a run and RBI. Hope was 2-4 with 2 RBIs.
CF Kendall George was 1-3 with a BB, keeping his average north of .400. He scored a run and drove one in. He also stole his 12th base.
SS Sean McLain hit his first triple.
Tulsa Drillers 12 – Frisco RoughRiders (Texas) 6 – Game 2, 8 innings
Tulsa scored an unearned run in the 1st, and then Frisco scored 6 unanswered runs against starter RHSP Roque Gutierrez in 2+ innings. RHRP Cam Day, LHRP Evan Shaw, and RHRP Nick Robertson kept Frisco scoreless through 7.
Down 6-1, Tulsa started their comeback in the 4th. Catcher Nelson Quiroz led off with a double (2) and moved to 3rd on a SS Sean McLain single. Quiroz scored on a pitcher’s errant pickoff throw, and McLain eventually came around to score on a ground out.
Down 6-3 in the 6th, Quiroz led off with a single and moved to 3rd on a McLain double (2). Both runners scored on a CF Kendall George single. George moved to 2nd on a ground out and scored on 3B Kyle Nevin’s double (3) to tie the score. On to extra innings.
Tulsa broke it open in the 8th. They scored 6 on placed runner at 2nd, 2 singles, 3 BB, and a bases clearing 1B Joe Vetrano double (1). RHRP Carson Hobbs pitched a scoreless 8th to get the win.
- Nelson Quiroz – 4-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (2)
- Kyle Nevin – 3-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (3)
- Kendall George – 2-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI
- Zyhir Hope – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run
- Sean McLain – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, double (2)
Great Lakes Loons 9 – Beloit Sky Carp (Miami) 5
A day after CF Charles Davalan led off the game with a HR, DH Mike Sirota did the same on Wednesday. This was Sirota’s first HR of the season.
The lead did not last long as LHSP Jakob Wright continued to have control concerns. This is becoming a common theme for LAD prospect pitchers. In 3.1 IP, he allowed just 1 single, but also 7 BB and 1 HBP, and that accounted for 3 runs (2 earned).
Great Lakes tied it up in the 4th. 3B Logan Wagner singled and moved to 2nd on a WP. Wagner scored on a 2B Nico Perez single. Perez stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a F8, and scored the tying run on a ground ball out.
The Loons took the lead for good in the 5th. SS Eduardo Guerrero singled and scored on a Sirota double (6). RF Eduardo Quintero’s single plated Sirota. Wagner was HBP, Perez drew a BB, and 1B Jose Meza hit a SF to give Great Lakes a 6-3 lead.
With RHRP Alex Makarewich now pitching for GL, he proceeded to walk the first three batters in the fifth before LHRP Myles Caba relieved him. He allowed a SF, but got out of the inning without any further damage. Makarewich threw 32 pitches, 11 for strikes.
Caba would retire all 9 batters he faced in his 3.0 IP, with 2 K.
GL got two more in the 8th after Guerrero drew a BB, stole 2nd and scored on Sirota’s 2nd double (7) of the game. Sirota went to 3rd on a F8 and scored on a WP.
GL scored their final run in the 9th on Perez’s 2nd single, stole 2B, and eventually came around to score on Guerrero’s 3rd single.
The on again off again fireballer RHRP Reynaldo Yean entered in the 8th. He did give up a HR, but struck out 5 without allowing a BB in his 2 innings.
- Mike Sirota – 3-4, 3 runs, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 doubles (7), HR (1)
- Eduardo Guerrero – 3-4, 2 runs, 1 BB
- Nico Perez – 2-3, 2 runs, 2 BB, stole 4 bases (now has 10)
San Jose Giants 4 – Ontario Tower Buzzers 2
LHSP Blake Snell made a rehab start for his first innings pitched in 2026. It was a struggle, but he got out of the 1st inning without a run. A single, BB, double play, and pop out and the inning was over. But in the 2nd. A fielding error, double, and single scored two runs. After a 2nd error, Snell was removed for RHRP Accimias Morales who got out of the inning without any further damage.
RHP Hyun-Seok Jang was the bulk pitcher for this game, and completed 4.0 innings, allowing 1 unearned run.
RHRP Seamus Barrett allowed the final run. In the 7th, giving the Giants a 4-0 lead.
Ontario scored a pair of runs in the 8th on a SF and fielder’s choice.
Ontario had 4 hits. Ching-Hsien Ko had 2 hits including a double (2) for the only multi-hit game and only XBH.
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Discussion (67)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Wrong, 240 million. 60 mil a year. So far, he has barely earned cab fare.
Hitting 4th is a billion dollar hitter
,233 hitter batting 4th. .360 hitter batting 6th. 8 & 9 hitters scare no one.
And they are getting Cole back soon.
Homers and OPS maybe, but in other area’s he does not come close to being the best hitter. So far in his 2 years and 22 games, he is averaging .293/.390/.624. His slug and OPS are certainly the best, but he still strikes out too much chasing pitches he could not hit with a 10-foot pole. Freeman .309/.391/.516. OPS .906. I value his consistency and ability to hit to all fields for power and extra bases more than I do a guy who basically just slugs his way to high numbers. I would much rather have Freeman up in a clutch situation where they needed an RBI than Ohtani and his high K rate. Just my opinion. I value BA a lot, many do not. Freeman has more clutch post-season moments than Ohtani, including some against LA. Answering your question Ted, the only one I can think of is Philadelphia with Schwarber. And he hit more than Ohtani did last year and drove in more runs. Ohtani had 102, Schwarber 132 to lead the league. Schwarber has 8 homers to Ohtani’s 5 and has driven in 15 runs. Ohtani has 11. The difference is Schwarber will never hit for a high average.
Why not? Salary is based on the numbers. Ohtani is not a very good hitter when he is pitching, the numbers bear that out. Let him do his thing on the mound and let someone else hit.
1:45 here. Rockies-Padres begins earlier at 12:10 your time.
Just noticed Justin Turner playing in Mexico… Guy loves ball…. WIN TODAY!!!
Hey Phil. I agree that the HPU calls have improved this year. They appear to have a tighter strike zone. Many of the challenges are very close with not many pitches more than a ball out of the zone. The challenge system has added an interesting aspect to the game.
No need to be sorry for a reasonable opinion. If he has been their best hitter with averaging 50+ HRs a season with the team shouldn’t he be in a position to drive in more runs? MT wrote above by dropping down in the lineup he would have approximately 20 less ABs over a season. With five ABs a game that’s not playing four games. With a productive bottom of the order and Betts and Freeman hitting one and two it would give Ohtani many more opportunities to drive in more runs. Which is important because the team that scores the most runs wins (sarcasm)! I know it’s old fashioned thinking. But, how many teams have their leading HR hitter in the leadoff position? I’m too lazy to get that stat. Bear???? Ohtani is a unicorn. There is no obvious answer where Ohtani should hit. What a nice problem to have.
Tibbs already 1-1 with a walk, bringng his AVG up to .301. Campos struggled a bit in relief. giving up 2 R in .2 IP, ringing his ERA to 9.53.
I agree with your assessment of the improvement in HPU. I see some of those challenges and they are not egregious, and the “error” factor was miniecule. I think it was one of the Giants announcers, Krukow or Kuiper, that said that you couldn’t slide a shaved off guitar pick between the ball and box, That is not a miss IMO. Now is it the ABS system that gas the umpires improving, or has it always been closer than we thought. We will never know the impetus for the improvement, but it is welcomed.
Thursday’s Dodger Affiliate Schedule 9:05 a.m. PT: Oklahoma City (Logan Allen) vs. Tacoma (Randy Dobnak) 4:05 p.m. PT: Great Lakes (Sean Patick) at Beloit (TBD) 4:35 p.m. PT: Tulsa (Patrick Copen) at Frisco (Winston Santos) 6:00 p.m. PT: Ontario (TBD) at San Jose (TBD)
3:45 PM ET Dodgers (16-8) Giants (11-13) SP Tyler Glasnow R 2-0 3.24 ERA SP Logan Webb R 2-2 5.10 ERA Confirmed Lineup DH S. Ohtani L 1B F. Freeman L LF T. Hernandez R RF Kyle Tucker L 3B Max Muncy L CF Andy Pages R C D. Rushing L SS Hyeseong Kim L 2B A. Freeland Sl 60° Wind 3 mph Out
Thank you.
Whole we’re on the subject of talent I think the Yankes may match us on paper. I’ve always condsidered their rotation to be high-upside scary but their offense is #1 in AL.
Former Major League Baseball All-Star Yasiel Puig will play in Toronto this season, but it won’t be for the Blue Jays. The 35-year-old outfielder signed a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the independent Canadian Baseball League, formerly known as the Intercounty Baseball League.
Except in October! Sorry to disagree but Ohtani is the best Dodger hitter since he’s been here.
If I was a betting man, when they announce the pitching matchups like last night Tyler Mahle vs Ohtani, I know we’re screwed and I’m taking the underdog. We made Mahle look like Cy Young. Yamamoto should win over Landon Roupp, the night before, although Roupp is pretty good. Take Joe Shitz over Cy. When you score 1 run in 2 games, you don’t win many. How does this offense score 1 run in 2 games? Ohtani himself is exhibit A of the approach problem we are seeing right now. As Tedraymond stated above “The constant taking of center cut strikes by the Dodger hitters was alarming. I can understand wanting to work the count, but Mahle was pounding the plate all night. I believe one Dodger hitter took three hittable pitches for strikes and walked back to the dugout without ever swinging at a pitch” Amazing Ohtani is taking very hittable pitches early in the count and swing at the rosin bag behind in the count for outs. So when your bats are this sleepy for this many innings, I have to take a long look at the team’s approach? My educated and elaborate advice is swing the friggin bat early and often. I’m in on exploring Ohtani not DH’ing on pitching days. He was awesome last night on the hill. No offense to Dreyer but the Giants had to be running to the bat rack when Ohtani didn’t come out for the 7th. Watching the strategies by teams using challenges is interesting. Will Smith declined to challenge a couple of Ohtani strike in the 5th. It was like Will was refraining because he knew one pitch missed wasn’t worth the risk as Ohtani would get the hitter out anyway. Save the challenges for a relief pitcher later. But finally on the third misses call to the same batter, Will challenged and won. I’m actually warming up to the Challenge System. It’s better than nothing. And I have resigned myself to the idea the challenges were intended for more entertainment value for the fans than to actually get every pitch called correctly. And I think generally, the Umpiring has improved. There have been 1082 total ABS challenges with a 54% success rate. Batters at 47% and fielders at 60%. Catchers are the most successful. What the challenges have shown me is just how good most HPU’s are. 2 inches is a big miss. Most are fractions either in or out of the strike zone, which are too close for the human eye to see. Aside from the usual cast of suspects, I think the pitch calls have improve greatly and the egregious misses remedied. I guess post-game evaluations weren’t enough. The embarrassment factor had to be added for the HPU’s to get better..
Joe Davis and Hershiser both said on last night’s broadcast that pitching is Ohtani’s first love. Okay, on nights he is the pitcher, he should not hit. It has been shown that he hits below .200 when he is on the mound. In the playoffs maybe when something is on the line, he should hit. But 10K 3 homer performances are not going to be the norm.
Tatis has a ton of talent and a 10-cent head.
Sox DFAd Lucas Sims. 31-year-old reliever. Taijuan Walker released by the Phillies. Buehler got lit up by the Rockies last night in their loss to the Rockies.
I disagree that Shohei is their best hitter. The best hitter statistically on this team is Freeman. Shohei has more power thus a higher OPS. But Freeman is a better hitter. His career stats prove that. Even Betts has better career numbers than Ohtani. Ohtani is a one-of-a-kind player, but he certainly is not the best hitter. Arron Judge has a higher career OPS and BA.
Both Rojas and Kike will be on the team. The three players on the bubble and most likely to be sent down or cut loose when Edman, Kike and Betts return: Kim, Espinal and Freeland.
Small sample size. If Kim played everyday I really believe he would be a .230 -.250 hitter. Little too much swing and miss. I like him a lot, but, unless he’s in the 9 hole, (in front of Ohtani) he’s a liability at the plate. Defensively? Very good. But he ain’t taking Edman’s spot IF Tommy is healthy. Kike seems to be the only thing keeping Kim from being on this team throughout the season. We know kike ain’t going nowhere! I would rather have Rojas than Kike. Just my opinion. That’s why I’m sitting in my kitchen ! Nobody will give me a big league job. Hell, can’t even get a little league job!!!!