Hit and Miss

Not much can be said about the Dodgers that has not already been said by someone on this blog. Much is informational, even more is well opinioned, and some is of a concern nature with the regular season not yet started.

It is also difficult to sneak something on this board that someone has not already posted. So, here are a few swings and hopefully not all misses.

Brandon Gomes: 

Mark posted the article yesterday announcing Gomes’ promotion to vice president of the Dodgers and assistant general manager continuing his rapid ascent up the front office ranks. He will answer to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who like Gomes, is a Tulane University graduate. Friedman was general manager in Tampa Bay for much of Gomes’ pitching career there. No surprise there is a connection between the two. 

For me that is a bit unexpected. I thought he would be named GM of the Dodgers. The other unexpected part happened back in September when Jeff Kingston was also named as vice president and assistant general manager of the Dodgers. Kingston came from the Mariners, for whom he had the same title reporting to general manager Jerry Dipoto. In addition to supporting Dipoto in player acquisition and contract negotiation, Kingston oversaw the player development and analytics departments.  

Do we have dueling assistant GM’s – Gomes 34 and Kingston 41? Are the usual duties of the assistant split between them in areas of expertise or the GM duties filtered down to them?  One gets the feeling until a GM is formally named that Andrew Friedman is the un-named GM. 

Brad Miller: 

The one many are talking about. He was signed by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Clemson University.

The left-handed hitting Miller is a versatile, utility type infielder who has 680 games of MLB experience with the Rays, Mariners and Brewers. His big year was 2016 in which he hit 30 home runs for the Tampa Bay Rays in a Max Muncy type of year. Miller, along with Muncy and Cody Bellinger, are the only three Dodgers in camp who have hit at least 30 home runs in a season at the MLB level.

Following that breakout season things did not go so well as Miller struggled with health issues. He played the entire 2017 season with adductors torn off the bone. Bilateral core surgery followed the season, but he was also playing with a torn labrum in his right hip. He underwent the same type of arthroscopic surgery on his hip that Corey Seager had about a week later last August with micro fracture added to address cartilage damage.

Now 29, Miller waited until the end of February for an invitation to spring training and knows it is a steep hill to climb to crack the Dodgers lineup.  

“Shoot, no doubt,” he said. “But they’re good – that’s what you want to be on. That’s why I came      here, honestly. I felt they reward performance. 

He was signed as a minor league free agent and can become one again but I am guessing he accepts an assignment to start the 2019 season in Oklahoma just as Muncy did in 2018. 

Loons 2019 Play-by-Play Announcers: 

Brad Tunney moves up to take the spot vacated by Chris Vosters who moved on in other career opportunities. Tunney and Vosters had packed a one-two punch with the Loons for four years. Blake Froling has been hired to move into Tunney’s former spot.      

“We are excited to have Brad as the new voice of Loons baseball and to add Blake to our team,” station General Manager Matt DeVries said. “In his time with us, Brad has exhibited exceptional work ethic and understanding of the impact we can make for sports fans in this area. We’re incredibly excited for him and know that he will continue to do a great job for us. 

Blake Froling wasn’t looking for a new job. However, the opportunity to join ESPN 100.9 in Midland, MI as a play-by-play broadcaster and content coordinator was too good to pass up.  He will be the No. 2 play-by-play voice for the Great Lakes Loons, broadcast high school sports, podcast, and create various digital content. During his time as a student at Michigan State University, the 23-year-old worked with the Spartan Sports Network and was the sports director for the student radio station      

“This job in Midland will allow me to do at least 70 home games as the No. 2 broadcaster with the Loons and fill a big hole in my resume. In addition to the play-by-play, my responsibilities will include some media relations in minor league baseball, which is another area in which I wanted experience but had no way of getting.”   

Marshall Kasowski: 

I expect all of us who follow minor league baseball have developed favorites. My list is quite long but a couple might top the list. Omar Estevez is one of mine and I think highly underrated.  Perhaps the one I will watch most closely in 2019 is Marshall Kasowski. It will be interesting to see if he can follow up his 2018 season in which he moved through three levels. During the 2018 season he posted a 2.09 ERA along with a 1.05 WHIP with 111 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. He walked 38. The only issue I can see is that he will have to keep his walks to a minimum and just trust his stuff.

Austin Drury: 

Drury is my pick to follow the path of Kasowski in 2019. He did work as a starter in his three years with North Florida but pitched strictly in relief during the 2018 season. He was selected by the Dodgers in the 34th round of last year’s draft and split his professional time between the Ogden Raptors and Great Lakes Loons. The 21-year-old left-hander posted a 1.21 ERA along with a 0.81 WHIP while striking out 28 in 29.2 innings and walking six. With the Loons in their play-off run he made 10 appearances with a minuscule ERA of 0.51 and a WHIP of 0.74. He struck out 18 and walked 5 in 17.2 innings. 

Jordan Procyshen: 

When I checked the Dodgers lineup yesterday and players eligible to play in the game I came across Jordan Procyshen. He must have been one of my misses as he was new to me. He is a 26-year-old catcher who was selected in the 14th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft by the Boston Red Sox out of Northern Kentucky University.  The native of Calgary, Alberta played five years in the Red Sox minor league system before being released last August.  Over those five seasons he posted a triple slash of .238/.316/.323. 

In 2015 Procyshen was named the best defensive catcher in Low-A by Baseball America, at that time recognized for his good footwork behind the plate and a strong arm to control the running game. Procyshen’s best tool is his ability behind the plate. He has a career fielding percentage of .984 and only 20 passed balls in the minors. Additionally, he has thrown out 35% of would be base stealers.    

“For me, it’s always been a big asset of mine — I love being a catcher,” Procyshen said. “It’s not an     easy position, but it keeps you in the game the entire time. 

Following his release by the Red Sox the alumnus of the Okotoks Dawgs of the Western Canada Major Baseball League, signed on as a coach with the summer collegiate team. He continued to train at the academy. His coaching career was short as he got a call from the Dodgers in mid-January. 

It would seem with the present situation with the Dodgers minor league catchers, he may well be assigned to the Great Lakes Loons to start his season although he has had some experience at the AA level. He may well be there to mentor the young catchers moving up from the Ogden Raptors and to open a door to a coaching career. 

Chris Parmalee: 

First baseman Chris Parmalee was signed by the Dodgers to  a minor league contract on March 16. He is a former first round selection by the  Minnesota Twins in the 2006 MLB June Amateur Draft from Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, CA. 

Now 31, Parmalee has played 311 games at the MLB level, mostly with the Twins, with 32 in Baltimore and six with the Yankees. He has posted a triple slash of .248/313/.405. 

During 12 minor league seasons his slash line over 974 games is .270/.316/.448 with 124 home runs. 

There are no stats provided for him for 2018 in MiLB, Baseball Reference or the Baseball Cube.