Now that Austin Barnes and Chris Taylor are gone, Max Muncy has become many Dodger Fans’ Favorite Whipping Boy. He’s not hitting (well, not LHP anyway), and he has eight errors (count ’em… 8). A lynch mob is forming and they are intent on lynching Max Muncy.
There’s nothing wrong with Max that two or three big flies won’t cure. He is 6th on the team in OPS (qualified Players) at .653, and his OB% is .330. Since April 26th, Muncy has an .403 OBP, .492 SLG, .895 OPS, 152 wRC+, 18.2 BB%, and 16.9 K%. Max is not going away anytime soon… nor should he. There is a long runway for Max, but he should not start against LHP. Look at his splits:
Against RHP:
.248 BA; .373 OB%, .770 OPS
Against LHP:
.075 BA; .191 OB%; .291 OPS
Even Ray Charles can see that he should never bat against a LHP. He has evolved into Joc Pederson. Max is strictly a platoon player at this stage of his career. I know many fans hate platoons… they want to see the same starting lineup every night. That ship has sailed… actually, that ship sank. Max will be back… Kike should platoon at 3B with Max… Kike starts agianst LHP. Ideally, I’d like to see Will Smith take a few reps at third base, but I doubt that will happen this year.
Last night, my wife and I went to see Mission: Impossible- Final Reckoning… all two hours and forty-five minutes. It was fun. Our 17-year-old granddaughter works at AMC and gave us free tickets… all the better.
Discussion (20)
Disagree, not disagreeable
can’t root for the tigers. maybe if hinch wasn’t there! …. Casparius is quickly becoming a stud! The only question is what to do with him! Starter. closer. long relief. the guy is filthy ! And there’s Dryer! the left side stud! 2 rookies leading the bullpen effort! When the other guys start getting healthy, there will be some major decisions to be made! Banda? Even Vesia could be a little nervous. …. Sure looks like Dustin is getting close to being 100 %! 9 k’s , but only 5 innings. just a little more efficient and he’s back! …. Clayton may be bitten by the weather again today. …. i think it’s time to leave Max alone! i’m just as guilty as anyone. He’s never going to hit .270-280. he’s never gonna win a gold glove. But he’s a dodger and that’s all that matters right now. That bomb last night was a “shut up “ shot from Max! message received! .. Conforto? Could he be close? wouldn’t that be great? Time will tell. But time is ticking! … finish the sweep today! The hated yankees are coming! They are hot and ready!
Mookie Betts current NL Defensive SS rankings
4 defensive runs saved (2nd)
4 saved runs above average (T-2nd)
3 outs above average (T-3rd)
3 Fielding Run Value (T-3rd)
max? Conforto? same game?? yes!!!!
Conforto singles to left. HMMM maybe this is something positive
I believe our best long term solution has Will Smith at third against left handers and Max against right handers. I think that is what Mark was suggesting also. Saves Will from late season deterioration. Rushing catches against left handers and plays in the outfield against against right handers. I will notify AF of this brilliant solution.
I’ve come to the conclusion that a quality start can only occur if you are a quality pitcher. 6 innings or more with 3 earned runs or less. That’s a damn fine pitching line! If you can string a bunch of those together, you are elite. The complete game shutout or no hitter is just about extinct. What do starters strive for then? The quality start. We have 2 in a row and Dustin, Clayton and Tony are easily capable if they are on. Come on Dustin. 6 innings, 2 runs is not too much to ask. The bullpen would be much obliged.
Max is not going anywhere. But next year….hmm. Andrew would love to get that
kid 3rd baseman from Japan.
Book em
Our bench used to be all RH… It no longer is.
I really dont understand why Kim is on the roster.
Id rather see him play every day in OKC and come back up later in the year.
I’d like to see this lineup against LHP:
1. Ohtani DH
2. Betts SS
3. Freeman 1B
4. Hernandez RF
5. Smith C
6. Pages LF
7. Edman CF
8. Hernandez 3B
9. Rojas 2B
MAY DAY!
… and yet… the Dodgers are #2 in all of baseball in runs scored.
All teams have these issues.
You will never find perfection.
As much as anything, we need Mookie to hit!
6:10 PM ET
Dodgers (33-21)
Guardians (29-24)
SP Dustin May R
2-4 4.09 ERA
SP Tanner Bibee R
4-4 3.57 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
RF T. Hernandez R
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
C D. Rushing L
2B Tommy Edman S
69° Wind 11 mph R-L
I am not as concerned about Max’ offense, which is improving, as I am with his defense, which is not. I posted this from The Athletic yesterday:
“The 34-year-old’s been worth minus-4 Outs Above Average this season, according to Statcast. Only the Mets’ Mark Vientos has been worse. Muncy ranks in the second percentile in range, according to the site. Muncy’s throwing has been responsible for all but one of his errors, creating a variety of things for the Dodgers to address defensively.”
The eyeball test and the numbers are the same in this case. Max plays a bad 3B right now. I am fine with platooning him with Kike at 3B given his platoon splits the last 3 years. But that doesn’t fix his defense.
Conforto has an OPS+ of 63 and has collected -.8bWAR. He has -.5 defensive WAR and -.4 offensive WAR according to BaseballReference.com. So he can’t hit or field.
The Dodgers are operating without an entire offense or defense. Teo muffed 2 or 3 more plays in RF yesterday. He is better in LF and Pages is better in RF. Pages has 1.0 defensive WAR but a majority of that is from when he played RF and Teo was out.
Because we are so deep in hitting, team had been patient with guys hoping they will turn it around. We stuck with Bellinger when for 2 years he was pretty much the worst hitter in baseball. Barnes and Taylor–their time was up. My guess is Max will stay till end of year, Conforto probably not.
And yes, before anyone else posts it.–I DON’T know more than AF
Reinforcements on their way around the All Star Break:
SP Emmet Sheehan’s ptching line for the ACL Dodgers last night:
2IP 0H 0R 0BB 5K 29ptches 20 strikes
DODGER MINOR LEAGUE STANDINGS 5/27/25
Oklahoma City AAA 30-21 2nd place .5 games behind
Tulsa AA 19-26 5th place( last place) 5 games behind
Great Lakes A+ 23-22 4th place 7 games behind
Rancho Cucamongo A 30-15 1st place 9 games ahead
ACL Dodgers Rookie 10-7 3rd place 2.5 game behind
For more detailed recaps,stats,schedules, standings and box scores for Dodger minor league teams go to the top of this page and cIick on MINOR LEAGUE AFFLIATES.
The times they are a-changin’.
The hand writing on the wall is that Max Muncy’s time with the Dodgers grow shorter. I THINK he will survive the season but things can change depending who may become available via trade….and we know AF/BG are working the phones to see what can be had. Max knows that only too well. He’s seen Bellinger, Seager, Barnes and Taylor all leave. All stalwarts of the team that was.
Kinda makes me sad but it is the game. I will root hard for Max every at bat, every defensive play. The frustrating thing is there ARE times when he makes some very difficult plays and other times that should be much easier (to us, the know-nothing fans) that eat him up. He recovers and he rushes the throw only to have it be wild.
i guess i’m guilty of wanting max to get less run at 3rd base. It’s easy for us fans to to criticize him for his lack of defense. of course we want and need him to play better. i cringe every time he makes the throw to first base! i fret every time he comes to bat with runners in scoring position! BUT, i really want him to succeed, i really do! we all know he is putting extreme pressure on himself. But at the end of the day, he has to produce. Maybe if Conforto continues to struggle, he gets replaced. Then drop Max down to the 8 hole where he has far less pressure. Just not the 9 spot in front of ohtani. … Speaking of replacing conforto, i saw somewhere someone suggested the dodgers might have interest in cedric mullens of the Orioles. That’s something to think about. Good outfielder with good wheels. … nice win last night! Vesia is not fooling any right handed hitters at this time. Very concerning. Garcia? whew! he’s hanging in there, but for how long? ..i believe Scott will be fine. But reinforcements can’t get here soon enough! …. Dustin May time today! hope he is on his game. .. What plans do they have for chris statton? Start or relieve? . maybe a few bullets left in the chamber? …. Excited for Clayton tomorrow!! i’m expecting him to pitch well! …. Still a little concerned over Gonsolin. …. Emmit coming to a ballpark soon! They need him!
Max sitting against lefties is a good place to start. Depending on the score some consideration should also be given to replacing him defensively late in the game.
Since the Dodgers opening 8 game win streak they are ranked 15th in win percentage. Saying they are still in first place doesn’t tell the whole story.
Max is who he is. And his track record says he will OPS over .800 with slug. I think the lack of slug is frustrating him as much as his defense. Conforto on the other hand, has hit in a lot of bad luck. He has scorched some balls right at someone. Freeman did that in the 9th inning last night. Schneemann was lucky it did not take his head off. But Conforto’s runway is getting short. It is almost June. By the 15th, they will need to figure something out. His defense is not great enough to carry a bat hitting under the Mendoza line.