MiLB Odds Ends with Dodger Chatter
Play-Off Picture Although the minor league season has been extended to the third week in September the push for a very limited play-off spot will soon begin. Actually, the A and AA regular seasons end on September 19 with a five-game playoff between the two teams with the best winning percentage in the league regardless of their division. There are no playoffs at the AAA level but the regular schedule
Play-Off Picture
Although the minor league season has been extended to the third week in September the push for a very limited play-off spot will soon begin. Actually, the A and AA regular seasons end on September 19 with a five-game playoff between the two teams with the best winning percentage in the league regardless of their division.
There are no playoffs at the AAA level but the regular schedule has been extended until October 3. This extends the season by 10 games for every AAA team but there is no reward at the finish line in terms of a championship. There are no play-offs in the Florida and Arizona Complex Leagues.
As of today no Dodger affiliate at the A and AA levels would qualify as a playoff team. However, the Drillers have their fate in their own bats as they have six games remaining with Wichita and trail the Wind Surge by four games. The Loons are even in a better position at one game out of second place in the league.
The Quakes are well ahead in the Southern Division but trail San Jose in the Northern Division by 3.5 games. They have a six-game series with the Giants beginning on Wednesday.
Just Checking In – (Round selected in brackets)
The Dodgers had 19 selections in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft with three not signing a contract – SS Michael Sirota (16), LHP Adam Tulloch (17), and RHP Charlie Connolly (20).
Thus far six of the 2021 draftees are listed on the Arizona Complex Dodgers roster. Five are pitchers of whom three have thrown a scoreless inning – RHP Nick Nastrini (4), RHP Emmet Sheehan (5), and RHP Antonio Knowles (13). LHP Lael Lockhart (9) and RHP Michael Hobbs (10) are on the roster but have yet to make their debut. Outfielder Damon Keith has been the most active appearing in five games with three hits in 17 at-bats.
Undrafted Free Agent – shortstop Austin Gauthier – has appeared in six games with three hits in 13 at-bats.
As a sidebar, another Undrafted Free Agent – David Tiburcio who was signed by the Dodgers last September – has pitched 14 innings in the Dominican Summer League. He is a 19-year-old right-hander who has a 1.93 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP along with 14 strikeouts and six walks. He is listed at 6’2” /195-lb. The only information that I can find on him is that he is from New York.
Right-hander Marshall Kasowski had surfaced with the Dodgers in the Arizona Complex League. In 2.2 innings he has allowed one earned run while striking out six and walking one. Time is not on his side now so hopefully, he can get back to full-time service before the season ends. Kasowski picked up some time on Saturday, as Mark noted, with a scoreless inning with the OKC Dodgers in which he struck out the side. He threw 16 pitches, 12 of which were strikes. His K/BB ratio has been his hindrance in the past. Throw strikes Marshall.
The Dodgers have signed yet another UFO bringing their 2021 total to 11. Infielder Kyle Froemke was signed out of Oregon State. He played in 19 games in 2021. He hit .310 with two doubles, two home runs, and six RBI with seven walks and 11 strikeouts.
James Outman – Pipeline Team of the Week
Last week, outfielder James Outman of the Tulsa Drillers was named to the Pipeline Team of the Week. Now, No. 27 on the Dodgers Top 30 Prospects, Outman had a monster week with the following stat line .462/.533/.962, 6 G, 12-for-26, 3 HR, 4 2B, 4 RBI, 9 R, 4 BB, 4 K
A seventh-round pick in 2018, Outman was primarily known for his plus speed and solid defensive skills in the outfield, but he has shown enough offensive improvement in 2021 to become a viable bat as well. That was on full display last week during a run that included a two-homer game on Wednesday and two separate three-hit contests. The 24-year-old outfielder joined Double-A Tulsa on July 23 and has had no issue with the transition so far.
Loons Home Run Record
On August 11 Andy Pages delivered a record-setter for the Great Lakes Loons as he hit his 23rd home run of the season and the 128th overall for the team breaking an 11-year record for home runs in a single season.
Since then the Loons have hit 11 more home runs including three by outfielder Ryan Ward who now has 20 on the season ranking him third in the league behind the 23 of Griffin Conine (yes, that Conine) and teammate Andy Pages.
Miguel Vargas
You might have read this about Miguel.
Vargas’ season has been defined by a drastic uptick in his power numbers, and that strength was on display Saturday as the third baseman clubbed two home runs, his third career multi-homer game. With those two long balls, Vargas now has 19 home runs on the season with a .526 slugging percentage. In 2019, by comparison, Vargas had seven home runs in 124 games with a .440 slugging percentage. That power has especially been on display in what has been a scorching hot August; in 12 games this month, Vargas is slashing .391/.453/.717 seven extra-base hits (four homers).
On Sunday he continued to swing a hot stick with three hits and three runs ticking his batting average up to .308. Teammate Justin Yurchak had three more hits with two runs batted in pushing his average up to .431.
Justin Hagenman – “Silent Assassin”
Last week I zeroed in on Justin Yurchak and Justin Bruihl. I was remiss in not including Justin Hagenman.
There are some guys who just hang around unexpectedly. Justin Hagenman seems to be one of them. The 24-year-old right-hander was selected by the Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 2018 First-year Player Draft. He went unnoticed with the Loons in 2019 posting a 2.24 ERA over 76.1 innings pitched with a 1.07 WHIP while striking out 64 and walking 18.
During the current season with the Drillers, he has made 29 appearances. He had two early appearances in which he gave up seven earned runs over two innings pitched. In his 27 other outings, he has allowed only 10 earned runs over 46.2 innings pitched. On the season he has a 3.14 ERA along with a 1.09 WHIP. The big step forward for Hagenman has been his strikeout numbers. His 60 strikeouts top those of Nick Robertson, Aaron Ochenbein, and Mark Washington in comparable innings as does his WHIP. He has walked 15.
His Penn State head coach had this to say about Hagenman and it rings true. On the mound, it is impossible to tell by looking at him if things are going well, poorly, if the situation is high leverage or mop up.
“You never see him waver,” head coach Rob Cooper said. “Whether he’s given up a couple of runs, struggled, or done really well, he looks exactly the same. From a coaching standpoint it’s really nice, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get an ultra-competitive young man out there who’s super coachable and loves to have the ball.”
Tulsa Noodlers
From August 12th through the 15th, the Tulsa Drillers became the Tulsa Noodlers! Noodling is the sport of fishing for catfish using your bare hand and is hugely popular throughout the entire state of Oklahoma, which is dubbed the unofficial Noodling capital of the world.
The Noodlers donned a dark royal & lime green hat with a custom BiteBack Catfish logo, dark royal with lime green piping jerseys with a Noodlers script font, and lime green pants. The custom BiteBack Noodlers logo helps to represent the fun of noodling, while also showing the determination of Oklahomans to always be resilient.
The Noodlers went 3-1 against the Wichita Wind Surge which allowed them to gain two games on the division leaders.
MiLB Players of the Week (August 9-15)
Ryan Ward – Great Lakes Loons – High A Central
Outfielder Ward collected his second Player of the Week acknowledgment in the past three weeks. In the last seven days, he posted a .381/.458/1.000 triple slash and a 1.458 OPS. He had eight runs batted in and four home runs.
On the season his slash line now reads .284/.,356/.479 with a .853 OPS. Ward is now third in the league in runs batted in and slugging and fifth in OPS.
Gavin Stone – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – Low A West
Right-hander Stone has also captured his second Pitcher-of-the-Week acknowledgment in the past three weeks. Last Friday he tossed six shutout innings of four-hit ball against the Inland Empire 66ers. He struck out 12 and issued no free passes. He threw 73 pitches, 55 for strikes.
On the season he has now pitched 70 innings and his 101 strikeouts are fourth in the league. He has walked 20.
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (120)
Disagree, not disagreeable
As per Eric Stephen:
The Dodgers have already used (a franchise-record) 34 pitchers this season, but that’s hardly novel this season in MLB.
LA only ranks 8th in most-pitchers used, tied with the Rays. Mets have the most, with 39.
MLB teams *average* 30 pitchers this year
Welcome Shane Greene!
He’s given up 16 runs in 17 innings this year. Seems like the perfect signing.
I didn’t see the game or a sol mo replay of Bellinger’s throw to first, but in real time it looked like the runner was inside the line and could have been called out. The Dodgers complaint fell on deaf ears. Did any of you see a good replay, and was he inside the line? Guess this couldn’t have gone to replay??
For those who didn’t think all that highly of Max Muncy last winter and wanted the Dodgers to pursue various free agents, how do you like him now?
Andre Jackson was impressive, the change up really good. Needs, obviously, to reduce the walks, but overall a good performance.
Nice write-up, DC. Some talent and potential in the Dodger system.
I stand corredcted. Both RHP Michael Hobbs and LHP Lael Lockhart debuted with the ACL Dodgers yesterday. Both gave up an earned run in an inning pitched.
Kirsten Watson has added some volume and excitement to her dialogue. I have seen great improvement. She no longer annoys me, and I can hear her! I applaud her work to improve. Here’s an interview with Andre Jackson after the game (she asks the first question).
I love the minor league reports. The next wave of of guys are starting to look promising. Pages, Ward and Outman are all looking like useful pieces. Vargas’ bat has been solid for some time now, I’m glad he got his power stroke going. Yurchak is a big surprise, he’s a hitting machine! Did we run into someone very special here?
It was awfully nice of the Dodgers to fix Tsutsugo so he can showcase his stuff with the Pirates for the rest of the year.
Andre Jackson had a nice debut, but those walks won’t play at this level. He needs to figure out how to throw more strikes. His cambio is outstanding.
Is Vesia rapidly becoming everyone’s favorite lefty out of the pen? He has my attention every time he gets into a game. I like how animated he’s become on the mound. He’s looking very comfortable out there.
I hate the mid inning pitching change, especially following a strikeout. This time it worked out. I’m pretty comfortable going to Treinen in that situation because he’s probably our best reliever and Graterol had already thrown 20 pitches. If Graterol continued, he might not be available for tonight’s game.
I fell asleep right before Kenley came in for that last inning. I’ll probably watch it sometime this morning. All I have to say about Kenley is that I like that he’s mixing in his other pitches. This may be his rebirth, but I will never fully trust him again and think they should let him walk at the end of the year. I might throw him that qualifying offer to try to get that extra pick though. If he stays one more year, it wouldn’t be all that risky even if it might be a slight overpay.
Muncy is awesome coming up with that go ahead homer, but he really sucked at moving Turner along. Move him to the 4 spot if he can’t move that runner.
The bats need to get going tonight and Doc needs to let Price stretch it out a little to give the bullpen some rest. I’m really excited to see if Neftali can make a comeback. Those strikeout numbers in AAA are impressive. The homers and walks are not. Is he still throwing 100+?
San Diego is just 1.5 games up on the Reds for the second Wild Card spot. Go Reds! They’re now my second favorite team this year.
It really sucks watching Bryant save the Giants last night with two big flies. Ever since that 2016 season, he’s been one of my favorite non-Dodgers. Let’s go Mets! Get those next two games.
Really nice article, DC! When you take it together with Mark’s from yesterday, it makes you realize how many talented young players are in the minors, and how much hard work, perserverance, luck, and opportunity it takes to make it to the big show.
Andre Jackson was a pleasure to watch yesterday. I was impressed watching him during spring training, and was surprised to see then that he was only in AA. He seems to have some control issues, and I might have expected a tick or two higher on his fastball. However, he is a very cool under pressure and works quickly, and seems to have an excellent change up. It must have been a peak experience for him with his family there in attendance. We needed him to show up big and he did. I wonder if they’ll keep him around or send him back down right away. Anyone know?
Jackson had his moments but my gut tells me he’s not quite ready to face a good Major League lineup for 5 innings. Great change up, suspect command and a minor league fastball. With the news on Hamel we will continue to scramble for starting pitching through September.
McKinney found a nut. Yay!
Did anyone read the partial transcripts posted yesterday? $3.4 million hush money was mentioned. Don’t know if it’s true but sounds about right.
Mark- You seem very connected to the Dodger brass and I thought I might ask if you knew of any of the recent rumors that Orel Hershisher and Fernando Valenzuela were seen at CBR holding a showcase where AF was in attendance.
With the unfortunate health issue with Hamels, it’s been rumored Orel and Fernando are looking to get in on some of the action to see if AF will bite off on a one week $ 1 million contract for each. Just curious of you’ve heard anything?
DC–love your stuff. It stands up with anyone else’s content out there. Out top ten is solid but it’s our depth that stands out. Andre Jackson is a good example.
I hope we see some of these minors who are looking good up with the big boys….especially pitchers and outfielders.
As for last night….it went about as I suspected it would go:
1. McKinney a hero both in the field (arm) and his big bat
2. Arguably our best hitter, Marvelous Max, does it again. (I’m sure he should get paid more than any other positional player not named Mookie.)
3. Jackson pitched 4 shut out innings, although I was expecting 5.
4. Jansen closes another, although Mark’s man crush, TsuTsu made it interesting (nothing new for Jansen).
5. Giants beat the Mets
6. We only scored 2 runs on 5 hits. I expected this….guys were tired, and they usually don’t score many runs the game following 14 runs.
7. Trienen, who I think should be the closer, only needed one pitch.
I was very relieved to still be 4 games out….this bullpen game scared me. We survived. Great win, now rest up,zzzzzzzzzzza, see you Tuesday.
TM