Rants & Raves
Congratulations to Venezuela for doing the unthinkable and winning the 2026 WBC. It’s an incredible feat. They were simply too legit to quit. Roki Sasaki did what I thought he would do: Pitch lights out for a while and then get lit up because of a lack of control and eroding…
- Congratulations to Venezuela for doing the unthinkable and winning the 2026 WBC. It’s an incredible feat. They were simply too legit to quit.
- Roki Sasaki did what I thought he would do: Pitch lights out for a while and then get lit up because of a lack of control and eroding confidence. He can pitch like a superstar for one or two innings and then lose it. They tried to get him back in sync with “shadow-throwing” in the dugout when Robertson was in, and then sent him back in to continue it. They need to convince him he can go to OKC, work on this, and come back in April. He is who I thought he was… but maybe he can change. If not, he is excellent in the bullpen.
- Santiago Espinal is not invincible as a roster lock. I look at OPS more than BA. There is still a way he does not make the team… especially if Nick Senzel heats up. Look at their OPS.
- Jack Suwinski is simply organizational depth.
- Alex Freeland should be looking for apartments in OKC.
- Hyeseong Kim can hit RHP… LHP? Not so much!
- The Dodgers are bringing Mike Sirota along slowly. His 2025 injury was a knee injury, and it wasn’t just a minor tweak—it effectively shut down his season. He injured his knee on a slide into second base during a game on July 5, 2025. Think of it as a full-speed sports car hitting a pothole mid-race—everything was humming (.333/.452/.616 slash, rising fast), then boom, momentum gone. They want to see him start at Tulsa and end up at OKC.
- Evan Phillips and Brock Stewart threw bullpens yesterday.
- Nice to see Nick Robertson back with the team after two years away. He throws 95-97 MPH and is organizational depth.
- Don’t sleep on Ryan Fitzgerald.
- I like Damon Keith, but he’s way down the outfield chain.
- Seby Zavala will be 33 this year, but is a “defense-first” catcher. He has a knack for hitting home runs… sort of. He hit his first 3 MLB Home Runs in one game in 2021. He has hit 12 since then, including a Grand Slam last night. He may go to OKC, or they could get an offer. He’s a better hitter than Ben Rortvedt. Maybe he’s his equal defensively.
- Cam Day could be a 2026 Breakout Candidate. He has some of the best stuff in the system, has a refuse-to-lose attitude, and is noted for being cool under pressure.
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Discussion (36)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Sometimes figures lie… especially if you just look at them on their face. He only had 21 AB’s – a very small sampling. In those 21 ABs, he struck out 8 times. That’s 38% of the time. Against RHP, his BABIP was .372 Against LHP, it was unsustainable and impossible. 583. Babe Ruths BABIP was .340. He had one year over .400 . Hyeseong Kim is not Babe Ruth, but a BABIP of .583 is impossible. TY Cobb had the highest Batting Average for balls in play with .383. It was just 21 ABs, so what can we conclude with his BABIP of .583? Pure Luck!
River is ready…
HS Kim hit lefties just fine in ’25, with .952 OPS. I hope he gets a Vargas-esque runway.
Jackson Ferris, Chris Campos, Cam Day, and others are getting there…
I am ready to run it back. Let’s keep the 15-20 arms we need in rotation and expect there will be another 5-10 after that who will play a role.
Squatting catching, hidden dragon
In theory, that is true, but you are only allowed two challenges, so I think it is still important. Maybe slightly less so…
Mark, Read an article about Smitty being a little light on framing (-.6 defensive). Mt question is “Does it really matter with ABS now in place. Framings only purpose is to fool the guy in Blue. Catchers job us to catch the ball, block the bad pitches and throw out runners, correct? Their should be less emphasis on framing as ABS head-taps become more refined and accurate. You might fool the upm but not the pitchers, catchers and batters. I think it is a very important training item for new catchers coming up. Any thoughts?
Evan Phillips, who will miss the first half of the season or so due to the surgery, participated in his first bullpen session with a squatting catcher of spring training on Tuesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Ohtani scheduled to pitch against the Giants today at 4PM ET.
I agree. I think Roki should work on command and his 3rd pitch at AAA. River Ryan should be on the opening day roster. If they have an innings limit it in mind. No sense wasting any at AAA when he’s the better pitcher.