The Dodgers Big Hurt
A couple of days ago we profiled Dodger relief pitcher Alex Vesia who came over to the Dodgers in the Dylan Floro trade with the Miami Marlins.
Those were not the only two players involved in the trade. Right-hander Kyle Hurt also came the Dodgers way.
The 6’3”/215-lb. native of Rancho Santa Fe, California attended Torrey Pines High School in San Diego and was drafted out of high school in the 34th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He chose not to sign and spent the next three years with the University of Southern California Trojans. His 2020 season, which had started out very promising, was limited to four games due to Covid-19.
His time with the Trojans was not all he might have wanted it to be but he did start 30 games for USC and he had his moments. Along the way, he posted one of the most exciting performances on the mound in recent USC memory when he tossed 7.2 innings in a combined no-hitter against Utah in 2018. Hurt struck out seven batters in that game and earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week and Collegiate Baseball National Pitcher of the Week honors.
He threw a career-high 8.0 innings against Washington in 2019 and struck out a career-best 10 batters in that game as well.
The first part of his dream came true during the 2020 limited draft in which he was selected in the fifth round by the Marlins.
The following February he was traded to the Dodgers as a low-risk, perhaps eventual high reward player. When I say low risk I simply mean the Dodgers got him as a PTBNL when they already had Alex Vesia who was their target. His scouting reports highlight the risk part with the possible reward part disguised within the report.
Baseball America: “The gap between Hurt’s stuff and performance makes him one of the most divisive prospects in this year’s draft class…His fastball reaches 95-96 mph as a starter, his changeup is a consensus plus pitch he locates well and his curveball and slider each flash plus at their best. While he throws hard, Hurt’s fastball is too straight and plays down due to below-average command, often leaving him to rely on his secondaries. He struggles to put together more than a few good innings at a time and scouts have long-held concerns about his work ethic and makeup.”
MLB Pipeline: “The right-hander hasn’t always commanded his stuff well or maintained it deep into starts, with the sharpness of his stuff often varying from outing to outing. He entered the spring as one of the more enigmatic college pitching prospects in this class and there wasn’t really enough time for scouts’ questions to be completely answered this spring.”
“For three years, Kyle Hurt has been one of the most tantalizing prospects on the West Coast. Scouts have been enamored with his fastball that reaches into the mid-90s, a sharp-breaking slider and devastating pull-the-string changeup.” –Shotgun Spratling of D1Baseball.com.
Kyle Hurt’s journey continues with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Over 8.2 innings pitched he has struck out 16 but has also walked eight. It would seem that the 2022 season might be pivotal for the now 23-year-old right-hander.
Dodgers 2021 Draft Report
Five of the 2021 draft selections have not yet surfaced:
- RHP Peter Heubeck (3)
- RHP Ben Casparius (5)
- LHP Justin Wrokleski (11)
- RHP Madison Jeffrey (15)
- RHP Gabe Emmett (19)
Four others have made their professional debut during the past week:
- RHP Ryan Sublette (7) – ACL Dodgers
- LHP Ben Harris (8) – ACL Dodgers
- LHP Maddux Bruns (1) – ACL Dodgers
- RHP Emmet Sheehan (6) – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Undrafted free agent RHP Jonathan Edwards debuted with the ACL Dodgers.
All had a successful debut except 19-year-old Maddux Bruns who gave up three earned runs in a third of an inning.
Meanwhile over in Midland, left-hander Lael Lockhart (9th round) has made three appearances with the Loons and over five innings has allowed two hits, walked none, and struck out 10.
The home run title in the High-A Central League has boiled down to two players at this point. The first is league leader Andy Pages with 26 and the second is his Great Lakes Loon’s teammate, Ryan Ward, who has 24. Pages hit his 26th on Sunday in the Loons 10-2 win over the Lake County Captains. Ward currently leads the league with 78 runs batted in while Pages is third with 75.
Pages tied Kyle Russell’s 2009 record of 26 home runs in a single Loons season when he went deep in the eighth inning.
Leonard Hits Three
Twenty-year-old Eddys Leonard hit three home runs for the Loons on Sunday driving in four. The most encouraging sign is that the right-handed batter used the whole field hitting one to left field, one to center field, and one to right-center.
Leonard with his three home runs on Sunday joined Cody Thomas (2017) and Niko Hulsizer (2019) as the third Loons player since 2007 to hit three home runs in a game.
Finishing 4-for-5 with his three-round trippers and a single, Leonard set a new Loons individual game-high with 13 total bases against the Captains.
His scouting report when he signed seems to be spot on.
“Eddys Leonard has the ability to make consistent contact with gap to gap power. His above-average speed allows him to fully utilize his contact and power giving him the ability to extend singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Combining his speed with a high baseball IQ, at 16-years-old, and you get a player who will have the ability to steal bases at every level. His speed also gives him good range at short, while his arm strength and quick hands will allow him to be an above-average defender.”
Gamboa Gets Game Going
Alec Gamboa was selected by the Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Fresno City College.
His, like so many minor league players, is a story of perseverance. He pitched in two games with Fresno in 2017 and then had the now commonplace TJ surgery. He did not return to action until the 2019 season and it was quite a season.
Through 64 innings – nine as a starter – he gave up 46 hits, walked only 14, and struck out 95. His ERA was a nifty 1.94 along with a 0.94 WHIP.
The Dodgers eased him through his first professional season with the AZL Dodgers in 2019 using him both as a starter and reliever. In 25 innings he gave up 19 hits, walked only 2, and struck out 33 with a 2.88 ERA.
Of note, Gamboa was invited to the Dodgers Instructional League following the 2019 season with the AZL Dodgers.
Fun fact: While with the AZL Dodgers, Gamboa was given jersey No. 34, which was an honor for him.
“It was unbelievable to put on that jersey, especially with No. 34,” he said. “That’s Fernando Valenzuela. That’s why I wore 34 at Fresno City. I’m a diehard Dodgers fan. When I saw that in my locker, I thought somebody was playing a joke. You don’t get to pick your number. I saw a lot of high numbers in the locker room. I get 34 and I thought no way. It was a coincidence I got 34. Everybody in the locker room wondered what string I pulled to get that.”
The 6’1”/205-lb. left-hander’s year on and a year off continued in 2020 as the minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic.
During the current campaign with the High-A Great Lakes Loons, he had a slow start in May and June posting an ERA of around 5.00 over 33.2 innings. However, in mid-June things turned around as in three of his last four starts he pitched 12 innings and gave up only three earned runs while striking out 14 and walking three.
In July and August – also over 33.2 innings pitched – Gamboa has posted an ERA of 2.17 and a WHIP of 1.11 along with 31 strikeouts and 13 walks.
Gamboa has the pitch mix to be a starter with both a two and four-seam fastball, slider, and a change-up with his fastball topping out at 95 MPH.
Now 24, his next stop will be in Tulsa for the 2022 season.
MiLB Player of the Week (August 23-29) : RHP Edgardo Henriquez – ACL Dodgers
The Dodger’s only MiLB Player of the Week was Edgardo Henriquez who threw five innings of near-perfect ball last Thursday against the ACL D-Backs. His only blemish in the five innings was a walk. He struck out 10. On the season he has pitched 26 innings giving up only 16 hits while striking out 40. He has walked 16.
The 6’4”/200-lb. Henriquez, 19, was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent on September 25, 2018, out of Cumana, Venezuela.
Discussion (42)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Nice job by the pitchers. Buehler is great at getting out of jams. Treinen just filthy against their top hitters. Excellent job by Kenley. Kenley missed his spots a few times and was fortunate they swung and missed. It’s been a trade off for him. He’s worked hard a getting some velo back it’s cost him command but he’s making up for it by mixing up his pitches. The slider has become a real weapon.
Nice win. Jansen gets his 30th save and passes Fingers with # 342. Betts looks really good. After looking really bad a couple of at bats, Seager hits a gapper for the game winner. Giants have some pitching problems, but the Brewers have a solid staff. Yankees lost to the Angels again. There were no roster moves. Tulsa wins 15-2. Mike Busch goes 4-6 with 3 doubles and a homer and drives in 5. OKC loses as Pepiot goes 4.1 and gives up 4 runs. Gonzalez gave up one run in his inning on a homer. Lux goes 2-4 and is now hitting .300. Wonder who gets called up tomorrow.
If Giants cooperate again and lose tomorrow, it’s likely we’ll be at the top of division when we face San Francisco as Scherzer takes the mound in the finally with Braves.
Let’s gear up for that Fried curveball tomorrow!
Wow. You got to give Kenley credit, a lot of guys would’ve folded with all the controversy he’s been through in the last few years. He’s hung in there, with all the boos and the negative press congrats Kenley.
You can’t forget about the great game that Bueller pitched either, and the key hit by Seager. Plus M’ookie was awesome all around great team game.
Bam! Jansen looked pretty good out there, eh?
So who’s our closer now? Eric?
C’mon Kenley 3 outs to 1/2 back!
pay seager. who else you gonna give it to? buehler, sure. urias, maybe. pay the man.
Good news for us. Mookie trying to steal 2nd! Phil you’re happy! And flying to score on that double! One more for Kenley!
Read an on article on MILB about Bobby Miller. Video shows quite a little hitch/stutter in his delivery with no men on. Stuff is top shelf though.
Giants seams they are going into a slump…but it dose not look good for Dodgers this night
Joc – Nice hit, bad hairdo, old friend. I’d rather have him out there than McKinney.
Brewers are leading Giants 3-0.
Today’s keep beating the Braves and root for the Brewers lineup:
T Turner
Muncy
Betts
J Turner
Seager
Smith
Pollock
Bellinger
Buehler
Gracias DC, la pregunta es porque veo el enorme esfuerzo de la organización de los Dodgers al estar ” cultivando ” a tantos muchachos para que, como en este caso otra organización le saque provecho como ahora en el caso de Peters porque creo lo perdimos en waivers, es decir costo 0 para Texas, como sea entiendo el punto y te agradezco,
Cody is back to lineup
Maybe this is one of the new pitchers:
Brad Hand would look good in Dodger Blue but I guess someone else would claim him before we got a shot?
Not really sure how it all works tbh?
DODGERS CLAIM JAKE JEWELL AND RYAN MEISINGER
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers claimed right-handed pitchers Jake Jewell and Ryan Meisinger from Chicago.
Jewell, 28, has appeared in 10 games for the Cubs this season, posing an 0-2 record with a 9.90 ERA (11 ER/10.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts. The right-hander has spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with Los Angeles-AL (2018-2019) and Chicago (2021), going a combined 0-3 with a 7.75 ERA (33 ER/38.1 IP) and 34 strikeouts. In 23 games with Triple-A Iowa, he went 2-1 with four saves and 2.78 ERA with 35 strikeouts. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in the fifth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M.
Meisinger, 27, is 0-0 with a 12.27 ERA (10 ER/7.1 IP) and six strikeouts in seven games for the Cubs. The right-hander has made stops in Baltimore (2018), St. Louis (2019) and Chicago (2021) and is a combined 2-1 with a 7.26 ERA (25 ER/31.0 IP) and 30 strikeouts. In 171 minor league games, spanning six seasons, he is combined 14-13 with 23 saves in 24 chances and a 2.68 ERA (81 ER/ 272.0 IP). He was drafted by the Orioles in the 15th round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of Radford University
For those that stream games and are complaining about blackouts. Get a VPN…
https://nordvpn.com/country/usa/?vpn=brand&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpreJBhDvARIsAF1_BU0j0B-cDvtIKn8buq9vx3aBzEdpNfCJjI9N8p6i4Yeq2_-RznYZJYAaAqpqEALw_wcB
When you use a VPN, you connect to a server that is in a market that is close, but not blacked out. So, if you’re getting blacked out because the Braves are in your local area, you simply connect to a Florida server before launching the game with your subscription. MBL.com will see that you’re coming from Florida and won’t black out the game.
Brad Hand DFA.
Jeff Passan has a great write up about the Bauer mess on ESPN.com today. All of you should read it. Basically he says no way Bauer pitches again this season.
Dodgers claimed Jake Jewell and Ryan Meisinger off waivers from the Cubs. Details pending. Jewell was 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA in 10 games with the Cubs. Meisinger had no decisions in 7 games with Chicago and has a 12.27 ERA. No corresponding roster moves have been announced. Both pitchers are eligible to pitch in the post season for the Dodgers. My question is why? These two are a lot worse than anyone on the roster now.
José – Seguramente no lo sé, pero el béisbol es un juego muy difícil de jugar, especialmente golpear una pelota redonda pequeña con un bate redondo pequeño mientras la pelota viene de 60 pies, seis pulgadas a 90 mph o más y haciendo todo tipo de movimientos.
Aquellos que saben mucho más sobre el juego que nosotros, a menudo hablan de un techo para los jugadores. Es decir, qué tan alto pueden subir en la escalera desde los niveles inferiores hasta el nivel más alto de béisbol. Parece que muchos jugadores alcanzan su techo en el nivel AAA. Pueden tener éxito allí, pero simplemente no pueden golpear lo suficientemente bien a nivel de MLB. No sé si tiene que ver con la coordinación ojo-mano, la constitución del cuerpo, etc. Estoy seguro de que la confianza tiene algo que ver con eso, pero mira lo que sucede cuando los mejores jugadores de la MLB se hunden y no pueden ir a la playa. pelota por un tiempo.
Hola DC buenos días, como siempre excelente artículo sobre nuestro jugadores en desarrollo con reportes muy alentadores de parte de observadores externos respaldados con las métricas de su actuación individual, con eso no podemos más que estar optimistas para el futuro mediático de nuestro querido equipo.
DC una pregunta porqué cree usted que jugadores con enorme potencial como Cody Thomas y DJ Peters no terminan por consolidarse cuando se les da oportunidad en grandes ligas ? será presión ?, porque ahora mismo Peters está con 8 jonrones con Texas que ahora mismo maneja el Señor Woodrock (no se si está bien escrito), que obviamente lo conoce porque fue parte del cuerpo técnico de Doc. me queda claro que no es lo mismo LA Dodgers que Rangers Texas.
Question – I have MLB App for Dodgers only. I live in South Carolina about 4 hours from Atlanta. Why are the games with the Braves blacked out here when the games are in LA? Why would they even be blacked out if played in Atlanta? Four hours is a long drive for a game. I am paying to get Dodger games and don’t think I am getting what I paid for. With west coast games I am not getting to bed until the wee hours of the morning!
Winning is a byproduct of everybody doing their job from the players to the coaching staff. You can’t win em all but this group should win plenty with the talent we have, when we show up to play. We competed last night unlike Sunday. Better line up. Better execution and better result.
Nice report on the youngsters DC. Thanks
https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/minor-league-options
You’re welcome here’s a link that will explain more thoroughly
Players typically have three option years, but those who have accrued less than five full seasons (including both the Major and Minors) are eligible for a fourth if their three options have been exhausted already.
Question 2 . The answer is No. They are carried with the player when traded.
I have a couple questions that I am hoping someone can answer for me. This could be any player but let me use Mitch White as an example.
Q1. How many times can a team call up Mitch and send back down when he is no longer needed at the big league level? I know there are rules around this but I am not familiar with the details. I believe there is a limit before they have to release him or something else.
Question 2. If he is traded to another team do those rules or number of times he can be called up and sent back down reset?
Thanks in advance.
I must say, I got a big kick out of watching Mookie and his mom put on a show last night. What a great relationship they have. I especially like the story about Mookie not being able to play as a skinny little 5 year old, so his mom gathered up all the misfit toys from a bunch of kids that no one wanted and created a team for all of them to play on. What a great mom!
She was so animated when she threw out the first pitch. I imagined that’s how they interacted when she was a young mom and he was a little kid as she began teaching him the game.
She was later rewarded with the greatest gift of the day, but one of many in her lifetime. A homer on his bobblehead night complete with a kiss blown to her from her loving son right after he crosses home plate.
I just want to say Thank You and Congratulations to Diana for raising a very special son in Mookie. Perhaps my most admired moment of Mookie is when it was reported that he went to a local Pizza place after a World Series game in Boston against the Dodgers and bought a stack of pizzas to distribute them to the homeless in the middle of a cold damp October night in Boston.
Mookie is a class act and I’m so glad he’s a Dodger. Diana deserves so much credit for that.
Looks like we will miss Webb and Gausman in SF unless they shuffle the deck in the next couple of days….
Great article @TheAthletic ($$) by Rosenthal about the Giants success and how the team’s young coaches have contributed there to.
The Dodgers’ Von Scoyocs (hired while Farhan was here) is kinda positioned as the template. Young coaches, analytically inclined, without the traditional “played the game” background, at hitting, at bench coach and at catching instructor…
Good morning after a very good game. They flashed a lot of leather last night and hit some bombs. All of the scoring on both sides come from the long ball. Urias was masterful until he hit a wall in the 6th. Good enough.
The bullpen was excellent once again, except for one pitch from Bickford and it was a good pitch. Treinen did a tightrope act in the 9th, but proved way too dirty to let it slip away.
The Braves are a very good team, but they’re going to have a tough road ahead against Bueller and Scherzer. The Brewers are also very good, hopefully we can get some help with them against the Giants. This is going to be the most exciting week of the season and it began in the best possible way.
The Padres won last night gaining ground on the Reds in the process. They have two more games against the Diamond Backs and two against the Angels. The rest of their schedule is F’d! Astros, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, Braves the rest of the way.
The sprint to the end of the season has officially begun. Even Doc alluded to the fact when discussing Bellinger yesterday. The best guys have to play now. I sure hope those rest series like we just had are a thing of the past. It’s time for the best players to do the playing.
Nick Nastrini
Great win for our boys last night. I went to bed when we were up 5-0, so seeing 5-3 surprised me, and then I see the Braves had two men on in the 9th before the last guy flies to center. Phew!
I can’t believe Smyly didn’t throw 100% curve balls. Our boys did quite well when he threw the hard one.
Unlike our boys, i am surprised the Giants did not make a last inning comeback to win like they are prone to do. Glad they didn’t.
Having Mookie and Trea in the lineup sure makes us a bit better against LHP. I was surprised not to see Pujols, but glad to Marvelous Max not taken out. He hits lefties better than any other lefty on our team, so no need to worry about him.
And what a lineup with Wonderful William batting 8th? We had no What a pitching match up tonight….Morton v Buehler. I’m pumped…..as I know we all are. Plus, today is NFL cut day. I’m pumped for that too.
Great morning indeed….thank you, Lord for this!
TM
Great stuff. Most of these kids I have never heard of. Shows what I know.
I missed this yesterday:
Batman asked me a question. Here’s my answer:
I mistakenly referred to Ruiz as the pitcher. He is not.
My point is simply that you do not walk the bases full in the first inning… no matter what. That’s a move you save for later in the game when you might make the manager have to make a decision to pinch-hit for the pitcher.
CJ Cron was hot but he had a streak of 10 home games in Colorado which inflated his average. The fact is, he hits .235 away from Coors.
I do not believe many managers would walk a batter in that situation. It’s not smart at that point in the game.
The book on Cron is that he can hit fastballs and you get him out with breaking stuff. Mitch White threw a fastball right down Broadway. If White has thrown that same pitch to Ruiz, after walking Cron, it would have been a Grand Slam, and boy, would the Roberts Bashers have loved that!
The problem was not that Doc did not walk Cron, but rather the way White pitched to Cron. I put the blame on White and Barnes. We will never know what could have happened if they walked Cron, but that opens the possibility to a Grand Slam!
Thank you, DC,
You are hereby named the Honorary Grand Master of MiLB (HGM for short).
Great coverage. A few observations:
Kyle Hurt cold become a solid bullpen piece.
Pages and Ward have to show more bat-to-ball skills (I think) but if they can continue to evolve…
Eddys Leonard has “eye-popping” skills and speed. He almost looks too good to be true.
Gamboa is intriguing. He is certainly improving.