Is Caleb Ferguson on the Playoff Bubble?

Caleb Ferguson has a history of being left off the Dodgers Playoff Roster, and he was not happy about it. Also, if you remember, he was not happy about how the Dodgers left him on the IL when Ferguson returned earlier in 2022 after missing the 2021 season when he had Tommy John surgery. Ferguson’s last pitching appearance was on June 14, as the Dodgers shut him down and placed him on the IL with forearm tendinitis.

Ferguson thought he could pitch through the soreness, though, and after a long road back to the big leagues, the southpaw reliever expressed frustration with the decision to put him on the IL. Ferguson said this:

“There’s just been a lot of miscommunication over the last two and a half months. Yeah, I’m just kind of tired of the miscommunication of it. […] There was a lot of things in rehab that kind of got changed around and jerked around. I don’t know. There’s a lot of people involved in it. Everybody has their own voice to speak on it. I don’t know. It’s kind of a hard question without trying to be [a jerk] and call a bunch of people out.”

— Jack Harris, The LA Times

It turns out Fergie was left off the playoff roster, even though he had a 1.82 ERA in 37 appearances. History may again repeat itself as Caleb Ferguson served as the opener in the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader and promptly gave up three hits and three runs while only getting two outs. Ryan Pepiot came in and promptly picked Nate Jones off 1B to end the inning.

Caleb Ferguson is frequently very good. However, on various occasions, he is inclined to “meltdown.” His ERA is a respectable 2.90, but his WHIP is 1.39, and the league hits .256 against him. He has given up 59 Hits in 59 IP and has walked an additional 24 batters. Alex Vesia also has a high Whip and higher ERA, but there is an explanation for that: Vesia pitched very poorly in the first half of the season. Since the All-Star Break, his ERA is 2.63, and his WHIP is 0.77. Before the All-Star Break, his ERA was 6.75, and his WHIP was 2.20.

Ferguson has given up 31 hits in 28 IPs since the Break and has walked 12 while the league is hitting almost .300 against him. Caleb, If I am making the decision, you are not on the playoff roster! Yes, that will piss him off, and he will likely be traded in the offseason. I liked Caleb, but his performance is found to be lacking. Bye, Bye!

There is a chance Kyle Hurt could make the playoff roster, but I would not do that. It’s just too risky to put a kid in a position like that when he has only pitched in one game. Of course, it could work – he has filthy stuff and is destined to be a “multi-inning reliever,” but this would not be a “Freidmanesque move,” in my opinion.

Dodger News & Notes

• From Bear: OKC beat Round Rock 8-3. Hurt started and went four innings, giving up one run and striking out 8. He also walked 3. OKC jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but by the 6th, it was 4-3. Round Rock scored two runs, one earned off of Tyson Miller, who ended up getting the win. Feduccia’s homer in the bottom of the 6th made it 5-3; then the Dodgers scored 3 in the bottom of the 7th to end the scoring. Hudson, Vanasco, and Suero each finished up with a scoreless inning. Avans was the offensive star, going 4-4 with three driven in. Yonny Hernandez was the only other player with more than one hit. Vargas did not play, and Busch was 1-5. Game two is tomorrow night.
• From Michael: “Does anybody out actually think Minnesota, Arizona, Miami, Chicago gonna crapshoot their way to a WS ring? If so, I got a hundred dollars to your one they don’t.” I’ll take that bet. a $100 vs. $1 – how could I go wrong?” Who thought Philly would do what they did last year?
• Ryan Pepiot is evolving into a big-time pitcher right before our eyes – his nine Ks yesterday (in Coors, no less) were impressive.
• Could this be the playoff rotation:

Game 1 – Bobby Miller

Game 2 – Clayton Kershaw/Emmet Sheehan

Game 3 – Ryan Pepiot/Ryan Yarbrough

Game 4 – Lance Lynn/and the pen