Robert Van Scoyoc is now in his eighth season as the Dodgers’ hitting coach.

Think about that for a minute.

He was hired in November 2018 for the 2019 season, after previously working as a Dodgers hitting consultant and spending 2018 as Arizona’s hitting strategist. Aaron Bates has shared the hitting-coach title with him since 2023.

Eight years is a long time in baseball. A very long time...

And there is no question that Van Scoyoc has been very successful.

He was also one of the architects of what became baseball’s launch-angle revolution. When the Dodgers hired him, MLB specifically noted that the approach used by Van Scoyoc and Craig Wallenbrock had helped remake Chris Taylor and had previously helped turn J.D. Martinez into one of baseball’s most dangerous hitters.

The philosophy was simple enough:

Get the ball in the air. Hit it hard. Do damage.

For a long time, it worked spectacularly.

But baseball is a game of adjustments.

You adjust.

The other side adjusts to your adjustment.

Then you have to adjust again.

And that brings me to the question:

Has the Dodgers’ offensive philosophy finally run its course?

I am not saying launch angle itself has failed.

Van Scoyoc has pointed out that launch angle is really a measurement, not necessarily a hitting philosophy. His stated goal is to develop an adjustable swing capable of matching different pitch planes, rather than teaching hitters to simply swing upward at everything.

That makes sense.

But I wonder whether the Dodgers have become too committed to the philosophy surrounding it:

Wait for your pitch. Take your A-swing. Do damage.

That philosophy was revolutionary ten years ago.

It isn't revolutionary anymore.

Everybody knows about it.

More importantly, pitchers have spent the last decade learning how to defeat it.

Pitching staffs are now loaded with 97-100 MPH fastballs at the top of the strike zone, wipeout sliders, sweepers that disappear off the plate, splitters diving beneath barrels and changeups designed specifically to destroy hitters looking to lift the baseball.

Pitchers know where hitters want the ball.

So they don't throw it there.

And sometimes an offense committed to waiting for the perfect pitch to destroy ends up doing something very strange:

It becomes passive.

Chase Rate Isn't Really the Problem

Here is where this gets interesting.

The Dodgers actually have excellent plate discipline in 2026.

Their strikeout rate is approximately 20.6%, compared with about 22.1% throughout MLB.

So the answer isn't simply:

STOP CHASING!

They already chase substantially less than the average team.

Which leads me to what I think might be the next evolution of the Dodgers' offense.

Stop Waiting for the Perfect Pitch. Start Winning the At-Bat.

Mookie Betts might be the perfect example.

Mookie's chase rate is an incredible 19.4%.

His whiff rate is just 12.6%.

Those are elite bat-control numbers.

And yet he's hitting only:

.236/.292/.409

Here's another fascinating number.

Mookie swings at only 62.4% of pitches inside the strike zone.

The MLB average is 66.7%.

Think about that.

Maybe Mookie's problem isn't that he needs to swing less.

Maybe he needs to swing more.

At strikes.

Good strikes.

Pitches he can handle.

That is a very different conversation from simply telling hitters to improve their plate discipline.

Sometimes patience stops being patience.

Sometimes patience becomes passivity.

Controlled Aggression

If I were looking for the next evolution of the Dodgers' offensive philosophy, I wouldn't throw analytics out the window.

Far from it.

I'd use analytics differently.

Instead of constantly emphasizing:

Get the ball in the air. Do damage.

I'd emphasize:

Recognize the pitch.

Attack strikes you can handle.

Spoil pitchers' pitches.

Adjust with two strikes.

Use the entire field.

Change your approach depending upon the situation.

And here's another one:

Quit Taking Strike One Just Because It Isn't the Pitch You Were Hunting.

Watch enough Dodger baseball and you know exactly what I'm talking about.

A pitcher throws a very hittable first-pitch strike.

The hitter watches it.

Why?

Maybe he was sitting on the slider.

Maybe he wanted something in another location.

Maybe it wasn't his "A pitch."

Fine.

But now the count is 0-1.

Suddenly the pitcher owns the chessboard.

He can elevate the fastball.

He can bury the breaking ball.

He can expand the zone.

He can throw the splitter beneath your knees.

Instead of the hitter controlling the at-bat, the pitcher does.

There is a price for constantly waiting for perfection.

Sometimes a Ground Ball Is Beautiful

This is where situational hitting enters the equation.

Runner on third.

One out.

A 110 MPH home run scores one run.

So does a 78 MPH ground ball through a drawn-in infield.

They don't put artistic merit on the scoreboard.

Runner on second, nobody out?

Sometimes shooting a ball into right-center is more valuable than trying to yank a breaking ball 430 feet.

Two strikes?

Maybe the swing doesn't need to be 100%.

Maybe it becomes 90%.

Maybe you shorten up.

Maybe you protect.

Maybe you fight off the nasty slider and make the pitcher throw another pitch.

Maybe you don't try to win every at-bat with one swing.

That isn't abandoning analytics.

Actually, I would argue it's the next generation of analytics.

Instead of optimizing every swing for maximum damage, optimize the at-bat for the situation.

There's a difference.

Eight Years Is a Long Time

None of this is intended to erase what Robert Van Scoyoc has accomplished.

It would be ridiculous to pretend he hasn't been successful.

The Dodgers have had some tremendous offenses during his tenure, won championships and consistently ranked among baseball's best offensive clubs.

But again:

Eight years.

When Van Scoyoc was hired, MLB noted that no Dodgers hitting coach during the previous 20 years had lasted more than three seasons.

Sometimes a coach doesn't have to become a bad coach for an organization to need a different voice.

Sometimes a philosophy doesn't have to become wrong.

It simply becomes familiar.

And eventually the opposition learns how to attack it.

That is how baseball works.

Maybe Baseball Has Caught Up

So I wouldn't fire Robert Van Scoyoc because:

"Launch angle doesn't work anymore."

That's too simplistic.

I would ask a much more interesting question:

Has the rest of baseball caught up to what the Dodgers pioneered while the Dodgers haven't evolved far enough beyond it?

Because if that is happening, the answer isn't returning to 1982 baseball.

I don't want sacrifice bunts every other inning.

I'm not advocating Willie Keeler and "hit 'em where they ain't."

I'm certainly not suggesting the Dodgers stop hitting home runs.

Power wins baseball games.

But power doesn't have to be the answer to every single question.

The next Dodgers hitting philosophy shouldn't be small ball.

It should be:

SMART BALL

Pitch Recognition.

Zone Aggression.

Adjustability.

Two-Strike Hitting.

Situational Awareness.

Using the Entire Field.

And Power.

Keep the slugging.

Keep the analytics.

Keep hitting baseballs into the pavilion.

But maybe it's time to stop treating every plate appearance as an opportunity to create the perfect launch angle.

Sometimes the best swing isn't the biggest swing.

Sometimes the best pitch to hit isn't the one you were looking for.

And sometimes the objective shouldn't be to win the Statcast leaderboard.

It should simply be to...

WIN THE DAMN AT-BAT!

OKC Comets 5 – Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 0 

In a continuation of his up and down year, LHSP Jackson Ferris was up in this one.  He threw 5.0 scoreless innings.  He allowed 4 singles, walked 1, and struck out 9.  He probably has 5 more starts for 2026, so hopefully he can build on this. 

OKC scored in the 3rd when RF Zach Ehrhard walked and 1B Ryan Ward slugged his 17th HR for a 2-0 lead.  

OKC added a run in the 6th.  SS Hyeseong Kim singled and stole 2nd.  DH Ryan Fitzgerald singled to drive Kim home. 

In the 7th, Ward led off with a BB and moved to 2nd on a single from LF James Tibbs III.  Later Fitzgerald would hit a 2-out single to score Ward. 

Keeping the picket fence intact, OKC scored another in the 8th.  C Chadwick Tromp walked, followed by a single from 2B Alex Freeland and a bases loading BB to Ehrhard.  Tromp scored on a GIDP. 

Meanwhile on the pitching side, RHRP Bobby Miller followed Ferris and pitched 3.0 scoreless innings.  He allowed 2 hits, 1 BB, and struck out 3. 

RHRP Ben Casparius pitched a scoreless 9th, issuing 1 BB and striking out 1.  He preserved the Comets’ 2nd consecutive shutout…in the PCL. 

·      Alex Freeland – 2-5

·      Zach Ehrhard – 0-1, 4 BB, 1 run

·      Ryan Fitzgerald – 2-4, 2 RBI

·      Noah Miller – 2-4

·      Ryan Ward – 1-3, 2 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR (17) 

Box Score 

Tulsa Drillers 6 – Arkansas Travelers (Seattle) 1 

RHSP Patrick Copen is now pitching the way he started the year, winning Texas League Pitcher of the Year for April.  He has now had 5 solid consecutive starts.  In his 3 August starts, Copen has pitched 15.1 innings, with a 0.59 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and .154 batting average against.  He could get as many as 4 more starts before the playoffs. 

For this game, Copen pitched 6.2 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits, 1 BB, and 10 K.  The run he allowed was after a double and RBI single in the Arkansas 4th inning. 

Tulsa had a pair of 2-run HR over the 2nd and 3rd innings.  In the 2nd inning, C Frank Rodriguez singled, and scored ahead of 1B Joe Vetrano’s 9th HR. 

In the 3rd, DH Griffin Lockwood-Powell doubled (11) and scored when 3B Jake Gelof slugged a 2-run HR (25). 

LF Josue De Paula hit a solo HR (22) in the 5th.  

Tulsa scored an unearned run in the 7th. 

·      Taylor Young – 2-5

·      Joe Vetrano – 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (9)

·      Jake Gelof – 1-1, 2 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (25)

·      Josue De Paula – 1-4, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (22)

·      Griffin Lockwood-Powell – 1-3, 1 BB, 1 run, double (11) 

Box Score 

South Bend Cubs 7 – Great Lakes Loons 4 

Great Lakes scored the initial run of the game in the 3rd.  C Victor Rodrigues doubled (10) and came around to score on RF Jaron Elkins’ RBI single.  

The Loons tacked on 3 in the 6th. With one out, 2B Nico Perez and 1B Eduardo Guerrero drew walks.  Both runners moved up on a groundout.  DJ Jose Meza singled home both runners.  LF Samuel Munoz doubled (9) home Meza. 

On the pitching side, RHSP Tyler Gough had just completed 6.0 scoreless innings allowing just 1 hit, issuing 2 BB, and striking out 6.  He went back out in the 7th and gave up a double and BB before giving way to the bullpen. It did not go well. 

RHRP Nicolas Cruz gave up a 3-run HR to the first batter he faced, and one out later, he gave up a solo HR and just like that the 4-0 lead was gone. 

Now tied, LHRP Matt Lanzendorfer came in relief in the 8th.  He faced 4 batters, he allowed 3 singles with 1 K.  One run in.  RHRP Dilan Figueredo relieved Lanzendorfer and got the final two outs. 

RHRP Robby Porco entered in the 9th.  Two singles and 2 throwing errors later, 2 more runs scored.  

GL is 1.0 game back in the 2nd half, with 20 games to go. 

Jose Meza was the only Loons batter with 2 hits.  Doubles were hit by Meza (11), Emil Morales (15), Victor Rodrigues (10), and Samuel Munoz (9). 

Box Score  

Ontario Tower Buzzers 10 – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (LAA) 5 

Ontario pulled off a remarkable comeback with 9 runs in the 9th inning, changing a 5-1 deficit to a 10-5 victory. 

RHSP Cam Leiter pitched 2.0 scoreless innings before running into trouble in the 3rd.  In the 3rd, he allowed a single, stolen base, RBI single, with that runner scoring on a throwing error. He allowed 2 runs (1 earned), 2 hits, 1 BB, and 5 K. 

RHRP Devin Bell gave up a solo HR in his 1.0 IP. 

RHRP Jose Vazquez and LHRP Ian May both pitched a scoreless inning with May striking out 3. 

C Connor O’Neal hit a solo HR in the 7th to get Ontario on the board.  

With RHRP Jholbran Herder on the mound in the 7th, he issued a walk and then dished up a 2-run HR. 

In the 9th, RF Javier Herrera led off with a single.  With 1 out, O’Neal walked, and CF Abel Lorenzo singled to score Herrera.  With 2 outs, SS Joendry Vargas doubled (31) to score O’Neal with Lorenzo to 3rd.  1B Easton Shelton walked to load the bases.  LF Ching-Hsien Ko hit a 2-run single.  3B Oswaldo Osorio walked to re-load the bases.  Herrera drew a run scoring BB to give Ontario the lead.  DH Caleb Johnson hit his 1st professional HR; a grand slam, and a 10-5 lead. 

RHRP Jecsua Liborius pitched the final 2.0 scoreless innings, striking out 4 for the win. 

·      Joendry Vargas – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, 2 doubles (31)

·      Ching-Hsien Ko – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI

·      Connor O’Neal – 2-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (11) HR (8)

·      Caleb Johnson – 1-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 4 RBI, HR (1) 

Box Score