For the record, it was discussed yesterday whether Clayton Kershaw was a #1, #2, or #3. I think the answer is d. Neither – Clayton is a #2.5. There. That’s my final statement on it. How many aces have 33 starts anymore? Only 31 pitchers in MLB had more than 31 starts last season. So there is that! Of those 31 pitchers who had ERA’s below 3.00, there are only 12 who do and Clayton Kershaw is one of those 12 with the Ace-like Quality of having an ERA below 3.00. He was also one of three that had ERAs below 2.50. Of course, he also had the fewest innings (126), so that part in not “ace-like.” Still I am glad he is on our team and look forward to watching him… a year at a time!
Now… Back to SS
I realize there are good reasons not to make a wholesale change at SS, such as not being beholden to any other team who might be trying to fleece you, but I believe two things:
- Mookie Betts would prefer to play SS over any other position; and
- Mookie can play SS at a very high level.
Mookie has also gone on record as saying playing SS is easier on his back, hips, and legs and would likely extend his career. If the Dodgers move Mookie to SS, it means that they have the position stabilized for the next 5 to 7 years. However, it’s too early to make that move, because the Dodgers do not have the right “mix” in the outfield. It is possible that Jason Heyward could play against RH and LH Pitchers, but he only has 4 ABs against LHP this season and has struck out three times. Of course, Trayce Thompson does not fare better against LHP as he is only hitting .071 against them. Right about now, Trayce’s stats look pathetic but if you take away his three home runs on Opening Night, it is totally pathetic. Sorry, Trayce, but you just are not a baseball player!
Can the Dodgers find a RH hitter who can play RF for a couple hundred at bats against lefty pitchers? It needs to be someone who can platoon with Jason Heyward. There will be some available at the trade deadline, but you are not going to get much now… unless you overpay. So we wait. Hopefully, James Outman does not need a platoon partner in CF and Chris Taylor and David Peralta are starting to make noise like they can handle LF.
Rants & Raves
- We are watching the maturation of Dustin May.
- Dustin May – 2.68 ERA/Blake Snell – 4.89 ERA – Who would you rather have?
- I have came to the conclusion that Miguel Rojas is not very smart with that bonehead botched double play he made when the runner stopped running going to second base.
- Jimmy Nelson is allegedly shut down against and his MLB Career is greatly in doubt (whatever that means).
- Hunter Feduccia hit his 5th HR to drive in 2 of the 3 OKC Dodgers runs in a 3-2 win. He is still hitting .328 with a 1.114 OPS. When Will Smith was there, he hit .268 and then came to the Show. What does Hunter have to do?
- BTW, Jose Iglasias was the SS for the El Paso Chihuahuas last night!
- Andy Pages was 3-4 with his 3rd HR last night (.274/.922 OPS)
- Jonny DeLuca is hitting .296 with a 1.011 OPS
- Nick Frasso – 4.2 IP/3 H/0 R/0 BB/6 K – 1.01 ERA – It’s time for him to move up! Look at this: 26.2 IP/19 H/36 K, 5 BB/0.90 WHIP . Frasso just might pitch for the LA Dodgers THIS season!
- OK, Julio is out of his funk (actually, I think he ditched a new pitch) and ready to go.
LA TIMES, Mike Digovanna on Miguel Vargas transition to 2B:
“The hesitation in his response when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was recently asked to assess the overall defensive play of rookie second baseman Miguel Vargas spoke volumes.
“I think it’s been … OK,” Roberts said, pausing to find the right description. “Part of having him take on this position this year is we knew there would be some growing pains. But there’s also an expectation he will get better. There are some plays I think we’d like to have back, but the bet is on the person, the player and the athlete.”
Vargas, 23, made only 27 starts at second base in five minor league seasons and was not considered an elite defender at his primary position, third base. So it seemed risky for the Dodgers to entrust the spot to him, especially with a new ban on infield shifts requiring second basemen to cover far more ground than they had in the past decade.
At 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, Vargas is taller, with longer levers, than most big league second basemen, and some talent evaluators wondered whether he’d have the quickness, range and athleticism to handle the position. And though he worked out regularly at second base in the minors, Vargas had very little game experience there.
But one month into his first season at a new position, Vargas has been … well, OK. He is neither an early Gold Glove Award favorite nor a glaring defensive liability.
Vargas has committed only two errors entering Saturday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals, one on a bobbled grounder in the hole that led to an unearned run in a 3-2 loss to the Cubs on April 16, but he has looked good turning and starting double plays.
Advanced metrics are less kind to Vargas, who ranks 17th among 19 qualifying second basemen with minus-3 defensive runs saved in 25 games, according to Fangraphs, which appears to ding Vargas for his lack of range.
But the same site rates Vargas ninth with an overall defensive score of 0.5, which measures a player’s total defensive value relative to league average.
If Vargas can start driving the ball more consistently — he was considered the best pure hitter in the farm system, with a .313 average, .878 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 49 homers and 265 RBIs in 410 minor league games — he would likely offset any defensive shortcomings.
“Big kid like this who everybody thought would play third base, and now you get a guy who can hit the ball, drive the ball out of the park eventually, playing second? That’s good value for us and for him,” third base coach Dino Ebel said. “There are going to be mistakes [defensively], and he’s going to have to go through that process at this level.
“But he works hard. He’s mentally in tune. He slows the game down. He’s got a slow heartbeat, which I like. He doesn’t get excited in the moment. So I”m pleased with his performance so far. It’s only gonna get better.”
Vargas is progressing day-by-day, and with Mookie, Freddie, and JDM taking a huge role in his development, I think 2B was a great place to start. Now, move Mookie to SS and the Keystone Combination is covered for years.
Discussion (56)
Disagree, not disagreeable
It’s pretty obvious Michael bush needs to stay up! And very obvious trace Thompson needs to go down! Great win, but think we could still use a above average right handed hitter. Taylor seems to be getting better. I guess we can complain about Rojas now! Seems as if we complain enough about someone they start to pick it up some. All except trace. Any body else feel the assdres may be hesitant to give Soto a huge contact? I wouldn’t hand him a 10 year deal no way. Hear people say he’s a great hitter, haven’t seen it yet!
Karma is a B for classless SD….
Well Mark, you called it. Betts and Outman each owed Julio one. And they delivered to get Julio off the hook for a loss. He deserved the W in this one. Great job keeping us in the game. Care to call out anyone in the upcoming Brewer series? Perhaps someone with long flowing blond hair!
Great comeback win!
Nice win, now on to Beer Burg and lets win there.
The Dodgers really need to settle on one of the trio outfielders that only hit RHP and get someone to platoon with that guy.
Move Betts to SS.
Give Taylor the other outfield spot for now.
Have Busch as the number one guy to call up if anything goes wrong in the outfield or if Vargas can’t get going.
I know this sounds bad after a win but the outfield situation is pretty obvious and so is moving Betts to SS.
Big props to Urias today! He somehow kept the Pads to only 2 runs in the 1st, while having major command issues, then he dug deep and righted himself the rest of the way. That guy is tough all over with a champion’s heart! He WILLED the Dodgers to stay in that game. An impressive rock!
The Dodgers brass indeed has an OF problem on their hands. Trayce and Peralta look done, while Heyward isn’t going anywhere he doesn’t do much offensively anymore. When JDM is activated off the IL later this week (that’s what I’ve read on another blog) Busch needs to stay on the 26 man roster. Find a phantom injury to Peralta or Trayce, but lets roll with the kids (Vargas, Outman and Busch).
Big Dodger win and I’m happy for Mookie. The Padres have to be the most arrogant/cocky team in MLB. They haven’t accomplished anything but the way they act you would think they were World Champs, but to date they’re only World Chumps.
I knew half-way thru this game with the Dodgers struggling to string hits together, only some homers could save the day. Mookie’s uber-clutch dinger , and Outman’s door-closer did the trick. WOW! That was magical.
I would like to see Dodgers give some of Peralta’s AB versus RHP to Busch. Not saying they should DFA Peralta at all but they need to give Busch a legitimate chance to get some ABs. He does not seem to have much left to prove at AAA.
Nice win to take the series. Nice to be the hunter this year and not the hunted.
As I said…. it’s how you finish!
Ok, maybe that wasn’t me.
Pitching was awesome. Still believe those runs were unearned. And we got to their bullpen. Great win.
What a win!
The next time we play the Padres I want to see Busch in left rather than Peralta!
Unless AF and Doc are planning on using him as a trading asset, ..then who cares how it’s done, they NEED to find ANY way to get Busch more at-bats this season! And I mean regular at bats. Remember, Busch is presently the Dodgers 3rd-best prospect behind only Cartaya and Miller. I love how his swing keeps his bat so long in the strike zone!
The next time the Dodgers play the Padres, I would drill Tatis on the first pitch!
Too many inside pitches by the Padres tonight.
This has to be taken care of! That is how you do it!
Outman is redeemed too!
The Clowns are still the clowns!
KID POWER!!!!!!! Huge win!
Betts hands still quick enough to turn & knock an inside fast ball over the wall.
Mookie is re-deemed!
A bunt here and there in close games would not be a terrible idea, no?
1 for 9 WRISP. Busch, Outman, Vargas… good morning, good afternoon, good night. Learning experiences, but, dangit.
Vargas still looks out of phase at second to me. It’s a 45’ throw from where he was. Easy double play not made.
Tight game though. These teams are evenly matched.
Almonte an impressive off-speed for the strike-out!
Mookie is to the Dodgers as AD is to the Lakers. When they show up and produce like stars there is championship potential and when they don’t there isn’t. Julio hung in there when he didn’t get much help. Don’t know how Mookie’s misplay ruled a double.
Urías needs to start a diet!
Yes, Musgrave is Pads Ace, but nowhere near “ace” so far this year, and looked hit-able this game..
Which Yency Almonte will we see?
Peralta just a big disappointment!
Joe Musgrove is considered the Padres Ace. He’s pretty damn good!
It’s not how you start – It’s how you finish!
Dodgers crapping on themselves – awful defense. Bad-this-year Musgrove not really that impressive again, but Dodger bats making him look formidable. Has Tatis hit anything soft this series?
Muncy looks at 3 STRAIGHT curves for strikes. Why??
Vargas should have had that one too!
Musgrove is no hitting us thru four, our hitters need to step up.
Urias with another bad inning. Yeah, maybe Outman and Betts should make those plays, but the one Betts missed was crushed. Keep the other team off of the board, that is the object.
Mookie with a lead off K and what should have been an error on defense sets him up to be a hero tonight….time to start playing like a superstar since he’s being paid to be one.
Urias should demand a trade!
Our defense … leaves a lot to be desired.
Those 2 runs scored as earned. I’m not buying it.
I hope LA scores more than 2 runs tonight…..although if Urias pitches like he pitched his last game, maybe a 2-1 win works too.
Mark makes an excellent point about the dilemma at short and with the outfielders. I agree that Mookie needs to stay in right as long as there is “no right mix” in the outfield.
The club continues to platoon Heyward and Thompson and as Mark points out, Trayce hits .071 vs LHP. That isn’t going to work and Heyward out hits him vs RHP. So basically Thompson doesn’t have a role.
With Mookie in right and Outman in center, what do you do in left?
As I look at who can hit LHP, the answer is no one. Our candidates in left and right if Mookie moves to SS are not good. Based on batting averages – Thompson .238, Heyward .246, CT3 .205, Peralta .197
Put Mookie back in right and play Rojas at SS who’s hitting .178. Jacob Amaya could do that for the minimum.
So there must be somebody in AAA to promote as an outfielder? Drew Avians = .214, Steven Duggar = .238, Mike Reed = .190, Brad Zimmer .198 and Ben DeLuzio = .151.
It sort of looks like we have 2 outfields in the Show and AAA that can hit a lick; Mookie at .254 and Outman at .274.
Hunter Feduccia needs to be up to at least pinch hit and perhaps Luke Williams who’s hitting .366 at SS in AAA. He keeps Mookie in right.
Who goes eventually? Thompson and Peralta for my $.
It’s a big puzzle, exacerbated when your outfielders at the top 2 levels can’t hit.
Mookie Betts. We have only seen brief glimpses of his true ability the last 2 years. Playing SS may provide a spark mentally and apparently he thinks it will help physically. Seager and Turner seemed mediocre in the field. The bar is not set too high. Make the move.
Gavin Lux. I was looking forward to seeing him at SS. Would have saved a lot of money and instead of paying $30 million a year for another SS that money could have paid for an OF. I read that Lux has two different tears and he may not be mobile enough to play SS for some time if ever.
Trace Thompson. I don’t have enough energy to root for the entire team all the time. My 3 guys are Outman, Thompson then Heyward.
I looked forward to seeing if Thompson could repeat his performance from last year. Of course, last year was an outlier. With a roster including 3 left handed OFs, Thompson is being asked to do something he is not good at. Hitting lefties. He is being set up for failure. Each game he looks worse and worse. He will be the odd man out soon.
Miguel Vargas. Looks like the hitting will come around. Defensively he makes some mistakes but it looks like he has the chops to make it work.
Miguel Rojas. Don’t know what happened to his bat. Last year they brought in Hanser Alberto. He didn’t seem to fit the Dodgers style at the plate. He was a free swinger with no discipline. Rojas is very similar.
I agree, hunter should be up in the big show! Barnes is well thought of, but with hunter’s familiarity with some of the younger pitchers make the move. Barnes and Thompson are killing the lineup when they play. I know Barnes had a big hit the other night, but it really was an error by the 3rd baseman. Thompson is toast! Sorry trace but goodbye. Would still inquire about Kris Bryant, perfect fit especially if Mookie moves to short full time. Kershaw crying crocodile tears? Really winners of notta damn thing? When’s the last time Clayton was suspended 80 games? Classless bunch! Never an advocate of throwing at a hitter, but losing your grip on a 95 mile an hour fastball happens sometimes! Wouldn’t that be disgraceful? Nah
ESPN GAME
7:10 PM ET
Dodgers (20-14) 1st place
Padres (18-16) 2GB
SP Julio Urias L
4-3 3.86 ERA 39.2IP 45K
SP Joe Musgrove R
1-0 10.80 ERA 8.1IP 9K
Confirmed Lineup
RF Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
C Will Smith R
3B Max Muncy L
DH J. Heyward L
CF James Outman L
2B M. Vargas R
LF D. Peralta L
SS Chris Taylor R
Partly-cloudy-day
1% Precipitation
64° Wind 14 mph L-R
While Kershaw is no longer an ace by most definitions he has been the Dodgers best starter so far. I think that whatever they do with Betts they just need to do it. Play him at short and leave him there or leave him in right field. Just quit bouncing him back and forth.
Just a couple of names for right handed batters that are hitting well against lefties this year, Nick Senzel and Victor Robles. Not a lot of power but decent contact numbers. Can’t imagine either would cost much in prospect capital.
There’s filthy then this: HBP/K
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr8V_iggmTK/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
Vida was always fun to watch. His MVP year #’s are crazy: 24-8, 24 complete games, 8 shutouts, 300+ K’s, 1.82 era. That run the A’s had was pretty cool. They were the Kings back then. RIP.
https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/1655239678453506049?s=20
Not sure JDM is done with his back injury, not sure Mookie should be an everyday SS, not sure Rojas is an everyday SS, not sure CT3 can reduce his K’s, not sure Nelson is done with his attempt to get back to the big leagues but I AM SURE Trayce Thompson is a terrible MLB player right about now.
I know it has been said he covers a lot of outfield ground with his long strides. but he played the double by Sullivan horribly and looked like he “half-assed” his approach to the ball and his AB’s are terrible. Queue the eventual DFA is 3,2,1………………..
How about a spitball trade? Miller and Cartya for Jordan Walker… We need a quality outfielder and St. Louis needs pitching and catching. We are deep in catching and pitching. I look forward to your responses.
Mark, yesterday’s comments you made on Vargas’ quickness aren’t matching up with your Vargas Post today.
Does anyone else cringe when Graterol enters the game in a critical situation? How many leads/games does Brustar have to blow before we realize he’s not a high leverage guy?
Saturday scores
Oklahoma City 3, El Paso 2
Tulsa 9, San Antonio 2
Great Lakes 7, Quad Cities 6 (10 innings)
Rancho Cucamonga 10, Lake Elsinore 0 (Game 1)
Rancho Cucamonga 4, Lake Elsinore 3 (Game 2)
Sunday schedule
10:05 a.m. PT: Great Lakes (Ben Casparius) vs. Quad Cities (Tyson Guerrero)
11:05 a.m.: Oklahoma City (Robbie Erlin) at El Paso (Jay Groome)
11:05 a.m.: Tulsa (Kyle Hurt) vs. San Antonio (Jackson Wolf)
1:15 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Peter Heubeck) at Lake Elsinore (Austin Krob)
Big win by the Dodgers! They split the first two games despite getting only 4 runs, 7 hits and going 0-11 with RISP. Great outing by Dustin May and huge HR by Taylor! So much analysis of Kershaw who was the best pitcher in the NL in April. The bigger issue has been poor hitting against the Padres in the playoffs and so far this year. Hopefully, they break out with the bats today.
I understand the frustration with the lack of production at shortstop this year by Rojas and Taylor. I think Friedman was wise to trade for Rojas, but then extending him before the season for another year seemed unnecessary. AF must have a lot of confidence in Rojas as an MLB shortstop. I saw Rojas make two great diving plays on Friday and another great play against Trea Turner this week. I don’t think Mookie Betts makes those plays right now without more experience as a SS. Mookie has been very good at shortstop in 6 games with zero errors on 16 chances. Maybe he can quickly become a superior defender this year at SS, but I would not rate that as a high probability.
Many readers here disagree and feel that Mookie can step right in and be a gold glove SS. I hope they are correct, but different opinions make the site more interesting.
I am in complete agreement with Mark on these comments. My only hesitation in making Mookie Betts the full time shortstop would be whether he wants to make the move and if it is easier for him physically at short. If he prefers to play short and thinks it is physically easier then what are we waiting for? Miguel Rojas can go back to being the utility player they envisioned when they acquired him and Chris Taylor can go back to playing left field against lefties and occasionally center field or the infield when needed. Mookie’s production at short is more value than his production in right relative to that position in MLB.
Kershaw would not match up with another ace in the playoffs. Urias May Kershaw and Gonsolin are a solid top four in a playoff. Relievers usually cover more innings in the post season than they do in the regular season (proportionally) and the Dodgers seem to be able to piece together a really good and deep pen with some of their current relievers plus the four returning from various injuries ( Hudson, Feyereisen, Reyes, and Nelson) plus some power arms in the minors like Pepiot, Miller, Frasso, Knack, etc. There is a lot to choose from as the next few months progress.
Lastly, I agree that if Betts moves to short and Martinez can fill the DH spot (seems like he is due back shortly) then a right handed outfield bat would make the outfield more complete with Bets going to short. And now is not the time to trade for one. Who knows, maybe a guy like DeLuca is ready by August 1. More likely, we could acquire this near the trade deadline.
Damn it’s quiet here. 11 A.M. my time and only a few posts.
Why don’t the Dodgers bring up Jonny DeLuca for that RHB that hits (crushes more like) LHP.
2022 vs LHP .310/.391/.610/1.001
2023 vs LHP .471/.571/1.059/1.630
I realize it’s only 117 AB combined in 2 years at A+ and AA. But those are BIG numbers.
Not Good News!
Nick Frasso dominated another start for Double-A Tulsa, but also left with two outs in the fifth inning after a mound visit by trainer Jesse Guffey and manager Scott Hennessey. Frasso was only at 60 pitches and nobody was on base, after an error earlier in the frame was erased by a double play.
Frasso struck out six and allowed no runs in his start, and has allowed only three runs in his six starts, lowering his ERA to 1.01, fresh off winning Texas League pitcher of the month for April.
I think the difference in the evaluation of Kershaw is some of us are thinking in terms of play offs (me) and others the current situation. I don’t think we can be successful in the playoffs with Kersh higher than a 3. Love him in the regular season, but not matched-up with another team’s ace.
“Only 31 pitchers in MLB had more than 31 starts last season.“
And there are 30 teams in MLB. By most definitions, the ace is the best starter on each team. Aces. Everybody’s got one.
Mookie to short is an interesting idea. I wonder what he and Dodgers think about that? I don’t like moving players around the way the Dodgers do, but, they do it and it works. I’d rather he was in right and we get an All World shortstop, but, I realize you can’t have everything.
Agree about that Rojas play. Maybe the batter-runner was already at first. Looked to me like they were giving us two outs.
I also agree about May. I sure hope they aren’t overworking him.
Kershaw #2.5. Works for me. Closer to 3.0, but, why quibble?
Jose Iglesias a Chihuahua? What’s he doing there?
Julio. Hope you’re right
Minor Leaguers. Admittedly I have no idea anymore. Miller, Pages, Feduccia, Sheehan, Frasso. Hopefully they will, in one way or another, contribute to wins this season.