Luke Raley – Poster Child of the Dodgers' Farm System
Many fans are talking about 28-year-old (soon to be 29) Luke Raley and how well he is doing with the Rays. Yes, Luke is doing very well this year, OPS’ing .9047and playing LF, RF, and 1B. He played three years in college and six years in the Dodgers Farm System. Of course, you…
Many fans are talking about 28-year-old (soon to be 29) Luke Raley and how well he is doing with the Rays. Yes, Luke is doing very well this year, OPS’ing .9047and playing LF, RF, and 1B. He played three years in college and six years in the Dodgers Farm System. Of course, you cannot keep all of the players due to Rule 5, so in an effort to at least get something in return for him, the Dodgers traded him to the Rays for Tanner Dodson, the 100 MPH flamethrower outfielder converted pitcher. Dodson is a “project” – already 26 years old, he is likely a year or two away from the bigs (if he can ever control his throws). He is 4-4 this season with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP, as he has pitched 24 innings, allowing 20 hits, 19 strikeouts, and 14 walks.
Tanner Dodson was the best they could get for Luke Raley. There are likely a lot of Luke Raley’s in the Dodgers’ Farm System. These are guys who do not get it immediately, and finally… after several years and maybe multiple teams, they put it all together. I am happy for Luke Raley, but he was just another LH bat, and they had to trade him or likely lose him. Tanner Dodson may also be of that same ilk, and he may become a high-leverage reliever at 28 or 29.
NOTES: Julio Urias and Daniel Hudson are both set to be activated at the end of June or the first couple of days of July. That should help the pitching staff immensely.
Down on the Farm
OKLAHOMA CITY
- Landon Knack did not fare well in his first AAA start – Let’s just say that his 10.13 ERA sums it all up.
- OTOH, Gus Varland, whom the Brewers sent back to LA under Rule 5, is flourishing in the bullpen with a 2.84 ERA. He’s not a high-leverage option but could be a multi-inning guy.
TULSA
- Diego Cartaya continues to struggle – he is still hitting .210. Puzzling – Is this the real Diego or just a blip?
- Jose Ramos hit his 13th HR and has 42 RBI with a .278 BA and .857 OPS. He is mostly playing CF.
Trainwreck
Right about now, that is what the Dodgers are. This story will unfold in time. This is a playoff team, no matter how you want to mock me. This, too… shall pass! Remember, a month ago, most of you wanted David Peralta gone. Not that he is the greatest player ever, but he is hitting .276 on the season and, in the last 15 games, is at .435. So make fun of me all you want. I will come back with a vengeance! It would be nice if Vargas starts hitting, and I believe he will. There is a lot of baseball to be played! Why am I so confident in Vargas? Dino Ebel sums it up, “Miguel Vargas is the hardest-working player on the team.” James Outman is also adjusting by cutting down on his swing and trading power for more hits. The power will come back… give it time. Vargas needs to sit a couple of games to clear his head. The good news is that his defense is very good.
“The roster is not very good!” “This is not a playoff team.” Yada, Yada, Yada! Every year I hear the S.O.S. about how the Dodgers won’t win (and when I say win, I mean to make the playoffs). Once you get there, it’s a crapshoot anyway. This team will make the playoffs, and I will rub your snotty little noses in it. 😉 Watch and learn. Nine years running, I have been right. This will make 10.
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Discussion (203)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Considering just making the playoffs a successful season and then calling them a crapshoot is a losing mentality from the start
You are right, another is Ryan Noda. He is with the A’s now, but he spent 2 years, 21-22 with the Dodgers. He was the player they got from the Jays when they traded Ross Stripling. His first year, he hit .250 with 29 bombs at Tulsa, then in 22 he was with OKC and hit .259 with 25 long balls. The A’s grabbed him when the Dodgers placed him on waivers in December. He is hitting .245 with 7 homers. His OPS is .818. He has a .397 OBP. Not bad. You take OKC’s present roster, and there are a few names there who have little chance of playing in LA. Right now, they have 6 outfielders on the roster, 2 of them, Dugger and Pages, are on the 7-day IL. One, Sam McWilliams, is on the restricted list. The other three are Ryan Ward, Bruce Avans and Kole Calhoun. Neither Ward nor Avans have much of a chance of being called up. Both are hitting in the .230’s. Calhoun meanwhile is trying to make it back to the majors. He has not hit all that well in the few games he has played.
Of the infielders, Brigman is doing quite well at AAA, hitting .368, but he is 28 and is not on the 40 man roster. Jones has been very hot of late and has raised his average to .313 with 9 homers. Hernandez is with the Dodgers right now in case Taylor has to be placed on the IL. Jones is 25, Mann is 26. Yurchak is 26 and has zero chance of being called up. Freeman is in his way. Neither catcher, Feduccia or Mazeika are hitting all that well. Feduccia is 26 Mazeika is 29. They also have Frietas who has been playing some first and DHing. He is 34.
Pitching is where the Dodgers have the most players who could be called up to help.
We all know about Stone, but he has been getting rocked since he was demoted. He needs to re-find his juju. Hudson is up and pitched in the 15-0 blowout. Andriese, although he has 217 games experience in the bigs has little chance of being called up. He is starting now. Erlin has 117 big league games under his belt, no shot at coming up. Mark mentioned Varland, and he is a possibility. I have seen Washington pitch a couple of times. I think he gets a look see next spring. Also intriguing is Burdi, who has yet to be scored on in 4 games. Interesting read in Yardbarker. They ranked the starting lineups of all 30 teams. The Rays were number one. And believe it or not, The Dodgers were number two.
Pretty low class what the Braves did to Charlie Culberson yesterday.
I would not be surprised if Gonsolin is the next pitcher to go to IL.
The drop in velo is staggering. Often a precursor to a major physical problem.
And Yes, this roster is not championship caliber. Was´n at the start of the season and even less after the injuries.
Stick a fork in them Bum´s and wait til next year.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mookie Betts is allegedly going to compete in the All-Star HR Derby!
Tony Gonsolin…….Crash…..Burn…..Thud!!!
RIP, Tony….you were great one time…..now is not that time….wait for my favorite line…”maybe next year”
Anyone think Kershaw and Miller (let’s see if he rebounds from this first beating he just took) can carry us to the Dance? Even Urias returning is no given….he has been iffy all season….I see no reason to think all of a sudden he will become beasty again….unless of course, he does. (I hope.)
I am not saying that Gonsolin is not injured, but he touched 93 MPH twice in his last inning. His fastball was mostly 90-92 MPH.
I think he has made a conscious decision to drop his velo from 94-95 to 92-93. I am more concerned about his stamina. I actually think he is better when he does not throw so hard.
I will have to see couple more starts…
* Some of the folks posting on this site remind me of a few parents I encountered as a high school coach. We didn’t have many but when we were having a tough season and out of the championship hunt, some parents just wanted to quit. They saw no value in continuing to play.
* College baseball has never been better. The portal and NIL have kept players in college that previously would have signed. In the past guys who threw 90 were seldom in college. Now the game is loaded with high velocity pitchers. Brand name college programs draw big crowds and have great facilities and coaching. It’s a big time environment and nothing like playing in front of 500 people in Poe Dunk USA. Many programs have high tech hitting and pitching labs labs that are far better than anything in MiLB. Top player now spend less time before making the show.
* The College WS has been great. I did see the best college pitcher I’ve maybe ever see. LSU’s Paul Skenes, 6’6”, 235 is MLB ready right now. 4 pitch guy. 100 mph all day, snappy slider at 88, great change at 90 with fade.
Before the game, Kris Peterson, who I respect, said he “could start tomorrow the Yankees – Boston game”. I thought, yeah, right. That is pure bull. Then I watched the kid go out and just dominate a very good Tennessee team. It was like the 13 year old, 6’ little league pitcher blow away the little kids.
* Before you mistrust me, watch the kid pitch.
* For all the Dodger fans incredulous over how poor our record is, remember what we are attempting to do in this transitional season especially given the injuries we’ve incurred. It is easy to run off the ship like rats, it’s important understand what’s happening in a rebuilding situation. We will have a much better picture at season’s end what we have and what we need. We can assesss the future for each player as we plan for future success.
For 2024, I drool over a starting rotation with Buehler, May, Miller, Pepiot and Sheehan. I don’t see us breaking the bank for Boras’ Urias and I hope CK returns. We him and need a LHSP. Everybody else can audtiion for the bullpen. I think Gonsulin would be better as a reliever. He’s a 5 inning guy but his splitter might be lethal one time through the order.
* Here’s my “flyer of the week” suggestion – use the money it would take to sigh Ohtani and use part of it to acquire the Skenes kid who will be a high draft pick, maybe the #1 pick by the Pirates. Probably in the 9 million range. While it’s illegal to pay cash, it is legal, once the kid is signed, to offer players/prosects in a trade for him. The rules are complicated but I think AF could put together an attractive package. Adding this kid to the 2024 staff I mentioned, looks like a starting staff that could be young and formidable for years. (without speculating injuries)
AF can then work on signing a roster to fill the needs that aren’t covered by our veterans and rookies from this season. That is our future, not trade deadline rentals or temporary band aids for overpriced quick fixes.
* It’s no fun being shitty but let AF and the staff play this thing play out.
I’m not calling in the dogs and pissing on the campfire with this team just yet. Getting some guys back from injuries and progress by the rookies is certainly possible. But any run we make to a wildcard spot would have to be done by our current roster and not trade deadline acquisitions.
Lots of here and there commenting/coverage of umpiring on this blog.
This is a great and informative look at how the NBA handled poor officiating, and had been institutionalized in that league:
Open on open.substack.comhttps://open.substack.com/pub/matthewyglesias/p/how-nba-twitter-fixed-basketballs-065?r=bg1q&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=emailPerhaps the Dodgers brass just never saw the true upside of Luke Raley. If they had, they would have put him on the 40-man roster. Oh well. It’s true that the Dodgers were at risk of losing him in the Rule 5 draft, so a trade was in order.
On the other hand, AF & Associates had decided that Eddys Leonard and Jorbit Vivas should be on the 40-man roster ahead of Raley. I wonder what the internal discussion was like. Why Leonard and not Raley? It was surprising to me when those two per put on the 40-man, but we assume that AF knows what he is doing.
But was that the right call? These guys are young, unproven and unlikely to reach the majors until 2024, if then. The Dodgers have been thin at SS, but Leonard’s name rarely comes up. More of a UT option. I’m not sure a Billy Beane (or whomever) would have chosen them over a more proven player like Noda.
OF course it’s easy to criticize in hindsight, and I didn’t question the Raley-Dodson trade at the time. The Dodgers have had success on pitching talent, after all. (Beatty for River Ryan comes to mind–but we now know that Raley is much better than Beatty.) But in an alternative universe, Raley is on the Dodgers roster instead of Peralta. Credit to the Rays for making the smart move that has helped them become the winningest team in MLB. (Maybe they’ll reach 111 wins!)
Final note: About a month ago I noticed a common theme in discussions on LADT. Some of us would criticize decisions by AF or Roberts–I often criticized the OF surplus– and others would say, in effect, “Hey whiners, the Dodgers are in first place! Hey, we’ve got the best record in the league!”
That was then. Now our lads have fallen into 3rd place, behind the D’backs and Giants. The potent, underachieving Padres lurk below.
Injuries have taken a toll on the Dodgers, but injuries really don’t explain why the bullpen is in tatters. And it’s not clear if the cavalry is coming. Max and Urias should return, but how good will they be? The Dodgers can tap more unproven talent in the minors–or AF can make some bold moves in the trade market, which is something he avoided last season (losing out to the Pads on Drury and Hader, for example) and during the winter break.
It’s less than half a year with Raley. Let’s at least wait until the end of the year before we declare him a big fish that got away
I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that Julio Urias and Daniel Hudson will “help the pitching staff immensely” upon their return. They won’t help “immensely” unless Urias pitches like last year (instead of like he’s done so far this year), ..and unless Hudson actually returns to previous form after not pitching for an entire calendar year. And these best-case-scenario’s are far from sure bets.
David Freese. HUH?
I think they should have declined his decline and voted him in anyway. It has nothing to do with what he thinks.
Got some nosebleed seats for Tuesday’s Dodgers-Angels game in Anaheim.
Rooting for the Dodgers, but also hoping Ohtani launches another HR or two.
How good is Ohtani?
Most of us may know that, at this moment, he is leading the majors in HRs at 24 and OPS at 1.016.
He is also leading all pitchers in batting average against, at .178, and 4th in Ks with 105 in 82 innings.
The Dodgers continue to assert that Ginsolin is not hurt:
Open on www.yardbarker.comhttps://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/tony_gonsolin_trying_to_be_too_fine_led_to_poor_execution_against_giants/s1_17075_38933122Good for Luke Raley.
The Dodgers believe the answers to the starting rotation are in the system.
But it’s up to the bullpen to become more forcused and pitch better. Yes, Daniel Hudson should help, but it looks like that will be the focus of Andrew Friedman at the deadline. That could change if the relievers turn it around. But that’s a big IF.
Hopefully, James Outman continues to improve his swing. Not so sure about Vargas. Eventually I think he’ll be good, but honestly I thought he’d be better. But even Mike Trout had a tough first season.
I would have to agree with those saying giving a big contract to Julio Urias might be a mistake. I’d probably move on. Just hasn’t pitched all that well lately.
Maybe the Dodgers need to take a page out of the Atlanta Braves playbook and sign some of their young players to extended contracts. Will Smith would be a case in point. Why wait?
Too early to judge Diego Cartaya.
No question, the LSU pitcher has great stuff.
I really like Ohtani, but will the Dodgers be willing to go in big? They basically didn’t do that with Bryce Harper then turned around and went all in on Mookie Betts. So who knows? But if this season turns out bad, look for a big signing. They will need to create a diversion and a big signing or trade will do that. Just a thought.
Okay, I’m not ready to toss Tony Gonsolin over the rail. He has pretty good stuff and I believe he can adjust. Pitchers can go up, then down and back up during a season.
It’s still June. If it stays like this through July, and the Dodgers are 10 or 12 games back, then you can panic.
All is well until it isn’t.
NOhtani
A LOT more on Raley, the subsequent changes he has made and the opportunity he was provided:
Open on blogs.fangraphs.comhttps://blogs.fangraphs.com/fueled-by-adjustments-and-opportunity-luke-raley-is-raking-with-the-rays/Culberson was DFA’D because Murphy might need to go on the IL. He has a hammy issue. Chomp is going to be d’Arnaud’s backup while Murphy is down. Culberson had not played since the 18th of May.
If anyone wants to watch a highlight, check out the one of Elly de la Cruz beating out a ground ball to 1b.
The ground ball was like 100mph off the bat, the 1b dove, stopped it, and ran to 1b….. and de la Cruz beat it. INSANE!!
I say watch the Orioles play. They make the game fun to watch and never out of a game. And hey they have a good lineup and a bullpen and in the ninth they have a closer that comes in and closes the game. And they built there team my bringing up guys threw there minor leagues and getting high draft picks to. That’s what turns a team around drafting right player. How the dodgers don’t have a stud shortstop in the minor leagues is embarrassing when they lost seager that next year they should have drafted the shortstop of the future. He would have been here now but they didn’t. Do that. And we get what we get bad baseball playing. We look like a fourth place team now.
Ohtani currently leads the Angels in
Batting Average (.300)
Home Runs (24)
RBI (58)
Stolen Bases (10)
Runs (49)
OBP (.384)
SLG (.632)
Hits (83)
Innings Pitched (82)
ERA (3.29)
Wins (6)
SO (105)
WHIP (1.05)
Opponents Batting Average (.178)
AF has said that the Dodgers will most likely be targeting pitching at the deadline.
I may get stoned for saying this but does anybody think our minor league talent might be overrated a bit? Maybe we think and want these guys to be better than they are or will become.
It seems like daily here guys are talking about this and that player in the minors, and as far as I can see, Outman had one good month and has dropped considerably….Vargas had one good month and has dropped considerably…..Miller is the only pitcher who has succeeded but let’s wait a bit to see if the league gets data on him to expose his weaknesses and tendencies. He got bombed his last outing and I’m curious to see if he can rebound. Grove and Stone look less than mediocre and no one has risen to take over in the bullpen. Of course we brought up May and Gonsolin, but those guys are always injured, so I can’t feel good about that.
And is Outman the only OF we’ve had brought in the past 5 years? How could we not have a bevy of those guys? It seems every year we have to fill our OF with 30+ guys from other teams. Lastly, it seems we have 3 guys who will be sure a thing playing catcher…Cartaya was the big name last year, but he’s dropped off the face of the planet too. Anybody ever a sure thing down there?
Okay, let me have it.
Having 12 teams now doesn’t make it a crapshoot it just makes it tougher and takes more talent along with other championship intangibles. To call it luck like a roulette wheel in Vegas takes all the purpose out of it. To pretend it’s a crapshoot is a excuse for losing and that’s delusional