Dodgers 22-13 on Cinco de Mayo???

Where or where would the Dodgers be without Cody Bellinger? The last time the Dodgers were north of .500 after April was 2017 and was LARGELY due to Justin Turner and his .404/.465/.562/1.026 April metrics. Although, JT only had 1 April HR, he hit 20 from May on, so there is hope for JT’s power to resume when the weather warms up.

Those of us who believe that the Dodgers are a good, but maybe not WS championship team, wonder where the Dodgers would be without Belly and his unworldly slash line of .415/.489/.847/1.337? However, even with Cody, many of us see problems that might have been solved in the off-season and will be more difficult at the trade deadline. Too LH dominant, and no real bullpen improvement.

As an aside, I cannot speak for others, but I do not blame Doc for any game loss or losing streak or anything of that kind. Does he make mistakes? YES!! I am not huge fan of Roberts’ in game decision making, but I acknowledge that he is exactly what the FO wanted when he was hired. He is a tremendous communicator (except when it comes to Dick Mountain in WS games) and believes in analytics. And I also concede that I would not be a better in-game decision maker than Doc. He is not my favorite, but he is better than Dave Martinez.

I was busy with celebrating my Grandson’s 1st Holy Communion Saturday evening. So some of the stats may not be current including Saturday’s game, but I think my point will come across. Before Saturday’s game, there are currently 90 pitchers who qualify for ERA league leadership (1.0 IP per team game). The Dodgers have two; Ryu and Chicken Strip, both tied for 65th with 35.1 IP; exactly .1 over the qualifying point. Without a starting staff that can go deep into a game, the team better have a lock-down bullpen, but the Dodgers do not. They were 12th in MLB in relief innings pitched and have 21st best ERA of 4.54. 12 relievers – 68 runs in 120 IP (I do not count Russell Martin as a reliever). That is 8th most in all of MLB. They have an 10-7 record with 12 saves and 6 blown saves. They got both last night. For relievers, stranding inherited runners is critical for a healthy bullpen. For the Dodger relievers:

Floro (12 IR – 4 scored) (8/1 before last Monday’s game)
Jansen (6/4)
Kelly (5/3)
Baez (11/3)
Alexander (7/3)
Ferguson (3/2)
Garcia (5/2)
Santana (2/0)
Stewart (1/0)
Chargois (0/0)
Stripling (0/0)
Schultz (0/0)
Urias (0/0)

More than 40% of inherited runners scored (52/21). That is not a lockdown bullpen, especially when your closer and supposed bridge to that closer have inherited 11 runners and 7 of them have scored.

Offensively, with all the different lineups (no, not a complaint), the Dodgers only have 7 players who qualify for league leadership in BA, OBP, SLG, and OPS. Cody is the only regular player with a BA north of .287 (JT). Cody leads MLB in all four slash lines of BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, plus hits, runs, RBIs, and is tied for the MLB lead in HRs. He also has 5 SB. In 85 PA, semi regular Alex Verdugo is batting .346, but Dodger batters need 109 PA to qualify. There are currently two Dodger regulars with an OPS of .946 or better, with Joc being the second. As inconceivable of a start as Cody has had, Joc has also been extremely instrumental in the Dodgers start. His HRs have been timely and fairly consistent. Joc is currently tied for7th in MLB HRs with 10 (4th in NL). The Dodgers have two others with an OPS greater than .800; Max at .805 and Kike’ at .825. Although, Alex has a tremendous OPS of .981 which should get him full time in the lineup. After Max and Kike’ the OPS falls off, with the two RH batters counted on, JT and AJ, at .735 & .617 respectively.

Even with these concerns (at least for me), the Dodgers have the best record in the NL and 3rd best in all of MLB; slightly behind the Rays and Twins. They are 9 games over .500 with a 22-13 record. I mentioned it about a week ago that this team is beginning to remind me of the 2017 team. The last two come from behind wins were very reminiscent of 2017. There is much to be excited about.

So could the Dodgers be better? Yes. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Does any help have to cripple the minor league system? No. Who can be the game changer and where will that person come from? We have 2.5 months before that will become apparent. But for right now this team is coming together even with the apparent concerns (at least for me). The Dodgers will need to contend with what they have, and that should be no problem, as it should be enough to get them to the trade deadline at or very near 1st place in the NL West.

Baseball America just determined their May prospect rankings to see who the fast risers and notable fallers are:

Risers:

Nico Hoerner – Cubs – SS – Currently AA – Up 30
Nate Lowe – Tampa Bay – 1B – Currently AAA – Up 23
Chris Paddack – San Diego – RHP – Currently Padres 25 Man Roster – Up 22
Griffin Canning – LAA – RHP – Currently Angels 25 Man Roster – Up 20
Dustin May – Dodgers – RHP – Currently AA – Up 20
Jordan Groshans – Toronto – SS/3B – Currently A (Midwest League) – Up 18
Carter Kieboom – Nats – SS – Currently Nats 25 Man Roster – Up 17
Luis Robert – White Sox – OF – Currently A+ (Carolina League) – Up 16
Nate Pearson – Toronto – RHP – Currently AA – Up 15
Pete Alonso – NYM – 1B – Currently Mets 25 Man Roster – Up 10
MacKenzie Gore – San Diego – LHP – Currently A+ (California League) – Up 9

Fallers:

Yusniel Diaz – Orioles – OF – Currently AA – Down 30
Josh James – Houston – RHP – Currently Astros 25 Man Roster – Down 19
Justus Sheffield – Seattle – RHP – Currently AAA – Down 18
Eric Pardinho – Toronto – RHP – Currently Rookie League – Down 18
Garrett Hampson – Colorado – 2B – Currently Rockies 25 Man Roster – Down 17
Tony Santillan – Reds – RHP – Currently AA – Down 13
Alec Bohm – Phillies – 1B/3B – Currently A (South Atlantic League) – Down 9
Francisco Mejia – San Diego – C – Currently Padres 25 Man Roster – Down 8
Triston McKenzie – Cleveland – RHP – Currently AA – Down 8
Brent Honeywell – Tampa Bay – RHP – Currently IL – TJ Surgery – Down 7
Ian Anderson – Braves – RHP – Currently AA – Down

I am not sure what that says about Yusniel Diaz, but he is much too young to be taking such a big tumble without merit.

Minor League Report by AC

OKC Dodgers 8 – New Orleans Baby Cakes 7 (Marlins)

It took extra innings, but the Dodgers finally got back into the win column. In the top of the 10th, Shane Peterson started at 2B. Edwin Rios was HBP and with a WP, the Dodgers had runners on 2nd and 3rd. Peterson scored on a ground ball out and the Dodgers were in front. The game ended strangely with one of the Baby Cakes runners out due to being hit by a batted ball. It may not have been pretty, but the Dodgers won.
Peterson, Rios, and Angelo Mora each had 2 hits. Both of Peterson’s hits were doubles, and Blake Gailen hit his 1st HR of 2019. Mora also had a double. Rios and Gailen each had 3 RBIs on the night.
Rob Zastryzny started and went 5.1 innings. Justin De Fratus and JT Chargois finished up.

Tulsa Drillers 7 – Corpus Christi Hooks 9 (Astros)

You knew it was bound to happen. Dustin May got lit up last night, surrendering 8 runs (6 earned) on 5 hits and 2 walks in 3.2 IP. He did get 6 outs. Adam McCreery and Andre Scrubb both continued to pitch well in relief. The Drillers had 8 hits to support their 7 runs. DJ Peters had 2, including his 4th HR, and Cristian Santana also had 2. Gavin Lux (4) and Chris Parmalee (3) each had a HR with Parmalee’s being a 3-run shot.

RC Quakes 7 – San Jose Giants 3

Thanks to 3 home runs, two by Jeter Downs (his 4th) and one by Starling Heredia (3) the Quakes won their 5th game of their last 6, maintaining their 3.0 game lead over the Lancaster JetHawks. Heredia, Downs, and Marcus Chiu each had 2 hits. Steve Berman got his 1st double. Brayan Morales got his league leading 19th stolen base.
Wills Montgomery continued to pitch well going 4.2 innings with no hits allowed but 5 walks and 1 run. But the story line for LAD fans was that Tony Cingrani pitched an inning in relief. He faced 4 batters with one batter reaching 1st due to an error. He had 3 ground balls and 1 K. A good first outing for the lefty.

Great Lakes Loons 5 – Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 1 (Brewers)

The Loons scored 5 runs in the 7th to win for their 8th consecutive game. They remain .5 games behind the Bowling Green Hot Rods (TB). The Loons were only able to scratch out 6 singles with Niko Hulsizer and James Outman getting 2 each. The pitching was fantastic with Andre Jackson starting and going 5.0 and Jose Martinez finishing up the final 4.0. Combined, they allowed 3 hits, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts, with Martinez getting his first win.