Getting Ready to Rubble
Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on March 26 is approaching sooner than later. Except for 2B, which ultimately seems to belong to Tommy Edman, who will start the season on the IL, all the positions are set… barring injury… and there will be…
Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium on March 26 is approaching sooner than later. Except for 2B, which ultimately seems to belong to Tommy Edman, who will start the season on the IL, all the positions are set… barring injury… and there will be injuries. Won’t there?
Breakout candidate: Christian Zazueta is a RHP who is 6′ 3″ and very skinny. He came to the Dodgers in the Caleb Ferguson deal with the Yankees. He has recently added 17 pounds but needs about 30 more. His fastball tops out at 98 MPH and has a killer changeup. He is working on a sweeper/curve, but he is a strike thrower. Last season, between Great Lakes and Rancho Cucamonga, he was 7-2 with a 2.41 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. In 67 IP, he struck out 81 and walked just 16, so he has incredible control for someone so young. He will start at Great Lakes, but he could move rapidly and could possibly see the show by fall. Watch this kid:
Players most likely to be traded: I am going to preface this by saying, “If he has a good spring.” The player is Hyeseong Kim. He is essentially Alex Freeland with less power and not able to hit from both sides of the plate. I can see him being traded if he has a hot spring. Oh, and if Freeland has a good Spring. Kim really isn’t the type of player the Dodgers seek. I prefer Freeland, and Kim has some real value to certain teams.
Some fans will say Miller or Knack, but that would involve selling low. We know that Graterol and maybe Snell will be late to the dance, along with Edman and Kike, so some pitchers will get an opportunity early. I think that after the World Series of 2025 and the long season, the Dodgers will slow-play a lot of the staff. Look for Wrobleski, Casparius, Stone, Sheehan, and Ryan, along with Knack, to get opportunities.
The Lineup:
Right about now, it looks like this:
- Ohtani DF
- Tucker RF
- Betts SS
- Freeman 1B
- Smith C
- Muncie 3B
- Teoscar LF
- Pages RF
- Kim/Rojas 2B
Bench: Rushing, Call, Freeland
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (110)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Judging by that, Freeman should hit 3rd. He and Smith had the highest BA on the team.
Any word on Hurt. He was nasty when healthy. Should be ready and a real relief option.
As per Plunkett: Teams are much more focused on getting their most productive hitter the most ABs. Not the old construction of: 1-Speed guy 2-Hit and run guy 3-High BA guy 4-Power guy
East Central Indiana. I only know Bloomington.
True, I just don’t see him in a spot that is usually reserved for RBI guys, and Tucker has much better numbers in the 3-hole
… but he has never batted AFTER Tucker and BEFORE Freddie!
I consider Kim a longshot to be traded. Have to keep that Korean pipeline flowing.
It’s easy to confuse our Max Muncy for the other Max Muncy…. but Muncie? I’m optimistic bout Kim. He had a solid rookie season that showed one significant problem in his jump from KBO to MLB–the strikeouts which led to a sub-par OBP. He’s been working through the winter on adjusting to higher velocity. This season, there will be less culture shock in every way. Why trade Kim if he has a hot spring? I don’t see the logic. Freeland’s debut in ’25 mostly showed that he’s not quite ready. The Dodgers are now so loaded that it’s tough to come up with plausible trade targets that would be an upgrade.
I don’t think Betts is a 3-hole hitter. He does his best work in the leadoff spot. But as long as Ohtani is here, he won’t do that anymore. He is ok in the 2-hole, .278/41/261 but he has only had 247 at bats as a #3 hitter. Freeman will hit well wherever he is. I have no book on Tucker but flipping him and Mookie makes sense to me. Tucker’s career numbers in the 3-hole better than at #2. He has hit .282 in the 3-spot compared to .268 as a #2, He has hit .304 batting sixth.