Landon May Have the Knack…

It’s only one game, two innings, six outs, four strikeouts, but Landon Knack was impressive. Do you remember The Knack?

Landon Knack has always had extreme potential. His only problem was that he had bad workout habits, bad nutrition habits and was intellectually lazy. Other than that… he was a great pitcher!

OK, before you get carried away, Landon Knack is most likely a “bottom-of-the-rotation starter.” Maybe a #3, at best, and that is a push. Still, he is a guy who we may want to have on the team. He has four pitches, he pitches quickly… without delay and with his newfound workout and nutrition regimen, he could be an innings-eating workhorse.

Yesterday, Landon Knack showed up, stepped up and shut up the Padres. It’s only one game, but he was the first Dodger pitcher to go two innings. This calls for our attention. Can he keep it up? We shall find out!

Who thinks Landon Knack = Ryan Pepiot?

Knack looks confident and focused. He gets the ball and just throws it. No messing around. He throws strikes and batter miss. It’s only one game, but he has a leg up on the #5 stop right about now. However, that doesnot mean I was not impresserd with Gavin Stone. Oh… then there is Emmet Sheehan. Wow!

But Wait… There’s More!

Two games in and we have seen some things, but this early, they really mean nothing… injstead, we have to see if a pattern develops:

• Gavin Lux has yet to play SS – what does that mean? Probably nothing, but I have heard that he has soreness. Just like progress is not linear, recovery and rehab are not linear. We shall see…
• Vargas is 2-3 – It’s a new year and he looks ready! I was more impressed with his fielding. He already looks at home in LF. If he can hit, he will see a lot of time there. His hits yesterday were mostly luck based upon his bat to ball skills. When you strike out, there’s no chance to do anything good. If you get the bat on the ball, sometimes good things happen… even if the hits are not “scalded dogs.” In his career, James Outman has a very good .340 BAbip against RHP and a amazing .390 BAbip against LHP. I’ll bet real money that the .390 BAbip will drop about 100 points this year. To put all of this into perspective, Miguel Vargas has a ,247 BAbip against RHP and a .171 BAbip against LHP. To put it bluntly, Vargas was very unlucky and Outman was very lucky. I know Vargas’ bat-to-ball skills far exceed Outman, which is why I see regression for Outman and progression for Vargas. However, those are my opinions, I hope I am wrong about Outman and I hope I am right about Vargas. This is why they play the game. Opinions are just that!
• Andy Pages is the Dodger Future RightFileder. – He lost weight after the 2022 season. He was too thick and on his way to becoming Daniel Vogelbach. He lost weight and has kept it off. He likely needs part of a season at AAA, but he is knocking on the door. He might be a factor THIS year.

• If Owings makes the roster, something really bad happened. Not that he’s not a useful player… but I am pretty confident he will opt out unless something bad happens.
• Watch Nabil Crismatt – He will get a shot this year… most likely.
• Alex Vesia could be a casuality. Actually I could see him as a trade candidate. LHP are in demand and he drives me crazy.
• Today we get a glimpse of Tyler Glasnow.
• There’s still a chance Kike comes back! – The Dodgers would love to have him. A lot depends upon Lux’s ability to play SS. If he can give 120 games then Rojas or Margot could be traded… or both!

Organizational Information

The Dodgers announced their Minor League coaching staffs for the 2024 season on Friday as follows:

• Travis Barbary (Oklahoma City)
• Scott Hennessey (Tulsa)
• Jair Fernandez (Great Lakes)
• John Shoemaker (Rancho Cucamonga)
• Juan Apodaca (Arizona Complex League Dodgers)
• Dunior Zerpa
• Leury Bonilla (Dominican Summer League Dodgers)

Last season, the Dodger minor league affiliates recorded a combined .582 winning percentage (414–297), posting the best minor league winning percentage in all of baseball. Oklahoma City, Great Lakes, Rancho Cucamonga, ACL Dodgers, DSL Dodgers Bautista and DSL Dodgers Mega all made the playoffs last season, with Oklahoma City winning the Pacific Coast League Championship and the DSL Dodgers Bautista winning the Dominican Summer League. It was the eighth straight season that the Dodger affiliates have posted a winning mark, and they are a combined 3,400–2,825 (.546) since their last losing season in 2013. The Dodgers were the only Major League organization to have a combined 400 wins and are one of three organizations with six teams with a winning percentage above .500 (Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners).

Full Minor League Coaching Staff

Oklahoma City Baseball Club (AAA)
Manager: Travis Barbary
Hitting Coach: Manny Burriss
Pitching Coach: Doug Mathis
Pitching Coach: Justin DeFratus
Bench Coach: Chris Gutierrez
Athletic Trainer: Chelsea Willette
Athletic Trainer: Griffin Boyte
Performance Coach: Paul Fournier
Performance Coach: Taylor Miller
Video Associate: JD Osborne

Tulsa Drillers (AA)
Manager: Scott Hennessey
Hitting Coach: Dylan Nasiatka
Pitching Coach: Ryan Dennick
Pitching Coach: Durin O’Linger
Bench Coach: Ronny Paulino
Athletic Trainer: Jesse Guffey
Performance Coach: Ethan Quarles
Video Associate: Tyler Hollow

Great Lakes Loons (A+)
Manager: Jair Fernandez
Hitting Coach: O’Koyea Dickson
Pitching Coach: David Anderson
Pitching Coach: Richard De Los Santos
Bench Coach: Elian Herrera
Athletic Trainer: Ikuo Kato
Performance Coach: Jake Taylor
Video Associate: Colby Wyatt

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (A)
Manager: John Shoemaker
Hitting Coach: Blake Gailen
Pitching Coach: Ramon Troncoso
Pitching Coach: Sean Coyne
Bench Coach: Cordell Hipolito
Athletic Trainer: Akinori Maeda
Performance Coach: Walter Lindo
Video Associate: Dallas Young

Arizona Complex League Dodgers (Rookie)
Manager: Juan Apodaca
Hitting Coach: Kevin LaChance
Hitting Coach: Johermyn Chavez
Hitting Coach: Danny Dorn
Pitching Coach: Andres Urbina
Pitching Coach: Luis Vasquez
Bench Coach: Johan Garcia
Coach/Complex Coordinator: Fumi Ishibashi
Baseball Technology Associate: Harrison Schnurbusch
Performance Coach: Jose Gutierrez
Performance Assosicate: Adam Shwery
Athletic Trainer: Alfredo Casillas
Athletic Trainer: Zoe Hicks
Assistant Athletic Trainer: Sienna Baldwin
Video Associate: Gabriela Vitale
Video Associate: Zach Rosenberg

Dominican Summer League Dodgers (Rookie)
Manager: Leury Bonilla
Manager: Dunior Zerpa
Hitting Coach: Sergio Mendez
Hitting Coach: Juan Diaz
Hitting Coach: Audy Ciriaco
Assistant Hitting Coach: Victor Sosa
Bench Coach: Jeremy Gaines
Latin America Defensive Coordinator: Pedro Mega
Sr. Advisor, Campo Las Palmas: Antonio Bautista
Pitching Coach: Raidel Chacon
Pitching Coach: Roberto Giron
Pitching Coach: Eduardo Dominguez
Pitching Coach: Hector Rodriguez
Assistant Pitching Coach: Jesus Canizales
Assistant Pitching Coach: Jose Rodulfo
Latin America Medical Coordinator: Jorge Gonzalez
Athletic Trainer: Jorge Rodriguez
Physiotherapist: Walter LaChapel
Performance Coach: Rafa Sepulveda
Performance Coach: Rafael Figuera
Performance Coach: George Drullard
Nutrition Coordinator: Julissa Gomez
Video Associate: Andres Acosta
Video Associate: Jackson Pass
CLP Education and Projects Assistant: Jayza Rosario