Legends of the Fall

I love the movie, Legends of the Fall and so with the kickoff of the Arizona Fall League, I always use this as an excuse to play this Ending Scene from the movie:

The Arizona Fall League begins play this year on September 18, and there are a plethora of Top Prospects invited to play. Here is the Dodger list so far (it could be added to) for the Glendale Desert Dogs:

• Mitchell White, RHP
• Omar Estevez, SS
• Devin Mann, 2B
• Gerardo Carrillo, RHP
• Marshall Kasowski, RHP
• Brett de Geus, RHP
• Jeren Kendall, OF

I have no inside information on this whatsoever, but it would appear to be that this could be an audition for the LA Dodgers 2020 Bullpen. Let’s look at the characters:

Gerardo Carrillo – He has been utilized as a starter has taken a step back this year. He has started 21 games and this year like last year, he loses velocity on his fastball as the year progresses. His fastball can hit 98 MPH but by the end of last season, he was down to the high 80’s on it. He has pitched just 82 innings this year, but he is in the same situation. I think he should be converted to a reliever where his 95+ MPH fastball which has “heavy sink” will play nicely. He used to have a “tumbling changeup” but that fizzles out as the season progresses. His curveball is well above average so between the change and the curve, has fastball should play up well. He has closer potential.

Mitchell White – He seems to have everything needed to be a successful starter. He is big and strong (6′ 4″ and 215+ lbs.), and has an upper 90’s fastball, a cutter, a great changeup, an awesome slider, and a hammer curveball, but he just does not pitch up to his stuff. Maybe he has too many pitches and would benefit from going to the pen where he only has to use two or three. He sure has the look of a closer to me.

Marshall Kasowski – He really has only one pitch: a blazing fastball that is straight over-the-top and (get this) rises. He needs another pitch and that’s probably why he is headed to the AFL. If he gets one, look out: He IS a closer! Well, that and a little better control…

Brett de Geus – I have only seen him once, but he allegedly has a 95+ MPH fastball that may get a liitle faster as he matures. He also has a slider and cutter that are not advanced, but that’s probably why he’s headed to the AFL. Over Low-A and High-A this season he has not started a game and is 6-2 with a 1.81 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He has struck out 67 in 59 IP and only walked 12. Most importantly, he has given up ZERO longballs!

It strikes me as odd that all are RH… and there are others that could also fall into this same category, namely Edwin Uceta, Dennis Santana (don’t give up on him), Mike Grove (I see him in the pen), and (gasp) Yadier Alvarez. The main lefty I see that could end up in the bullpen is Robinson Ortiz, who is a starter as a teenager, but has a 95+ MPH fastball. You never know.

Mann, Estevez, and Kendall are also there for a reason… especially Kendall who has gotten hot over the past week. For the most part, Jeren has been a huge flop, and he was a high-risk draft pick. However, with high risk comes high-reward! If he can just get the barrel on the bat, he would be a superstar, he has every other tool. I thought Lux was a wasted pick after his first season, and I was wrong. Hopefully, Kendall can do the same.

Back to Last Night’s Game

In a word: It sucked! OK, two words. Mamma said there would be days like this. I have a few take-aways:

• Hyun-jin Ryu needs about 10-12 days of R & R. Forget the Cy Young… we know what the end game is. He is mentally and physically fatigued and just needs to hit “refresh.”
• RedTurn2 is locked in… now make sure to keep him fresh.
• Hopefully, last night was just a bump in the road for Joe Kelly, not a regression. We shall see.
• Caleb Ferguson is still struggling with command.
• Joc looked good last night on both sides of the ball… even got a rare hit off a lefty by totally changing his approach.
• Hey Doc, want to get Cody Bellinger out of trying to hit HR? Move him to #2 or #3 and get him out of the #4 hole.

The Gavin Lux Nightly Report

It has been rumored that Gavin Lux may not be added to the 40-man roster; that he would just be an “apprentice” in the dugout. That could change now that it is not known how Max Muncy’s wrist will respond. Lux could be an insurance policy in case Muncy can’t play… and it could be a few days before that determination is made. AF: Call him up now!

The Dodgers would have to remove someone from the 40-man roster and maybe that is an issue because when Rich Hill is re-instated, someone will have to be released. To activate Lux they would have to designate Schultz, Alvarez, Chargois, Sborz or Tyler White. They could make do without White. Call Lux up already. I will say this: “Lux is better than Ruiz right about now.” There! Happy?

Lux went 0-3 and walked and scored twice last night. The 0-3 sent his BA back to .390. Send him back to Tulsa! BTW, Edwin Rios hit his 30th HR and DJ Peters was 3-3 with a BB. Dennis Santana closed out the game with 2 shutout innings (3 K’s).

Time for Tulsa

That was a young Eric Clapton… but back to the Tulsa Drillers. I have good news and bad news; They can’t pitch, but boy can they hit. They beat the Amarillo Sod Poodles 14-9, but who can’t beat a “Sod Poodle?” We won’t mention the pitcher’s names, like Cabrera, Allie, Spitzbarth, and Sallow in order to not embarrass them, but the hitters were led by:

• Cody Thomas – 3-5 with 2 HR (his 22nd and 23rd)
• Jeter Downs 2-5 with his 24th HR. He is not hitting .394 with a 1.319 OPS since being promoted from RC and playing SS.
• Chris Parmalee (age 31) was 2-5 with 6 RBI as he hit a Grand Slam in the top of the 9th.
• Donovan Casey was 2-4 and hit his 22nd HR.

Rancho Cucamonga Trip

Rancho clinched the second-half title last night 7-5 as Devin Mann and Dillon Paulson both went 2-4 and Jeren Kendall went 1-4 and drove in 2 runs. Deacon Liput was 1-2 with a BB and also drove in two runs. Julio Urias started and went 2 innings allowing 3 Runs. Dylan Floro pitched a scoreless inning and Gerardo Carrillo got the win by pitching 4 shutout innings with 6 K’s.

I will be in Rancho Cucamonga from Tuesday, September 3 until Saturday Morning, September 7. What a coincidence… the Dodgers are in town and maybe RC plays some of those days at home in the playoffs! I don’t have tickets to any games… yet, but will likely be at 2 or 3. I’ll let you know. I usually make 2 trips a year to LA to visit vendors (we have 6 in the area that are key to our business). However, this trip is different as we are choosing these dates because we have a large filtration order for the American Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal.

It was a rush order on a time limit, and we have to build 90 filtration systems and there simply was not enough time to ship them to Indiana and back to the Port in Washington State (the suppliers are all in LA), so we rented an Air B & B in Rancho with a garage and a U-haul truck and we will build them there and ship them from our supplier in Rancho. They are not big systems, but there are 90 plus about 2,000 replacement filters (like the system below with (3) 4.5″ x 20″ housings). They will fill a small sea container.

I’ll let you know my schedule if anyone wants to meet up at the Ravine. I think I can just take the train… I hear it’s supposed to be 100 plus next week. YIKES!