The Dodgers Near Future & Recent Past

I watched at least three near-future Dodgers last night and one recent past Dodger Hero. I watched the near-future Dodgers, Mike Busch, Jacob Amaya, and Bobby Miller with great elation. Let me tell you about that before I tell you about an old friend whom I felt a great sadness in watching.

The trio of Busch, Amaya, and Miller will likely move to Oklahoma City very soon, but I enjoyed last night’s Tulsa game immensely. I can see a scenario where all three of those players will be with the Dodgers in 2023. Bobby Miller started and went 5 innings, throwing 70 pitches, 47 for strikes. He allowed 3 hits and walked 1 while striking out 5. It was not his 100 MPH fastball that impressed me but rather his curve and changeup. He threw a lot more of the later than the former and looked masterful.

He could have pitched another inning, but the Dodgers are taking it a step at a time. Five innings is currently his longest outing after he went 4/2 innings in his last outing. He could still see The Show this season, although 2023 is more likely. However, it depends on how he masters this off-speed stuff. When he mixes it up like that he is simply unhittable. He struck out one batter on three straight 86-88 mph pitches. Watch this:

Well, this was fun! Bobby Miller threw 3 consecutive change-ups for a 3 pitch strikeout! Great outing so far! #dodgers #dodgersprospects #tulsadrillers #bobbymiller pic.twitter.com/g2dGulNYbc

— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) May 15, 2022

Miller faced off with Jack Leiter, who is the Rangers #1 prospect. The Drillers proceeded to do what they are supposed to do to pitchers- they drilled him!

I have always been impressed with Jacob Amaya on the defensive side of the ball. He has great range, a sticky glove, quick feet and hands, and a rocket arm. His bat was the question. I no longer question that! If the Dodgers do not retain Trea Turner, Jacob may very well be the Dodgers’ starting SS in 2023. Of course, that will depend upon how he does at the next level and we should find that out soon enough.

Mike Busch’s hit tool is MLB ready, but he too needs to prove it at the next level. He is improving as a 2B. I think he’s on level with Muncy (and Muncy is better than most of you think). He has quicker feet than I thought and while he could end up in LF or DH, I can see Mike as a 2B – a LH Jeff Kent! I don’t think Bobby Miller can be held back – he will be a starter in 2023 for the Dodgers, and depending upon a lot of circumstances, Amaya and Busch will also be there… maybe not as starters right away.

The Old Friend

It was bittersweet to watch Kenley Jansen come out of the Atlanta Braves bullpen and get a 1.2 inning win. No Hits, No Walks, 2 Strikeouts! he is 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA, and 8 saves in 8 save opportunities. He has pitched 13.2 innings and allowed 6 hits, and only 3 walks while striking out 19. His WHIP is 0.66 and the league is hitting .128 against him. He is hitting 96 MPH and looks as filthy as ever. Maybe filthier.

Andy McCullough of The Athletic wrote a great piece on Kenley Jansen on May 9th and I am going to share a lot of it. Yes, it is a paid sight, but content like this may make you want to subscribe to it as well (Molly Knight is gone). Kenley credits his great start with therapy:

Kenley Jansen began last Monday the way he tries to begin most mornings. Soon after he woke up, in a hotel room in New York, he meditated. He listened to music to enhance his focus. On the bus ride to Citi Field, seated beside his Atlanta Braves teammates, he did breathing exercises. Several hours later, he ended his night as he prefers, something few have ever done better: He closed out the ninth inning, collecting the 357th save of his career.

Jansen, who recorded save No. 358 on Saturday, turned 34 last September. In deference to his age, in recent years he has revamped his diet and his workouts to regain the velocity of his signature cut fastball. More importantly, Jansen believes, he has reconfigured his mind. Jansen credited an embrace of therapy and meditation as vital to his revival.

“I feel like I’m a better player than even the years when I was so terrific with the Dodgers,” Jansen said. “I feel like 2021 and 2022, I feel like a better version of myself from my younger days. Because I’m more equipped, I’m more mature now. I went through stuff. I faced adversity. And when you face adversity, you have to know how to deal with it. I dealt with it, and I overcame it.”

Jansen began therapy after the 2020 season. He had captured a title with the Dodgers that fall. It was an experience, he can admit now, that was “like sweet and sour.” He savored the championship. But he also found himself unmoored by how the World Series ended. Jansen had always envisioned himself collecting the final out when Los Angeles’ drought ended. Instead he watched from the bullpen as Julio Urías closed the show.

Jansen did not blame Urías. He did not blame Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. He did not, really, even blame himself. He had rebounded from his professional nadir in 2019, but he recognized he was not the best option in the highest leverage. The realization tormented him.

This is an outstanding article and I recommend that you read it in it’s entirity. Kenley still loves the Dodgers and says this:

“I want Kimbrel to be great,” Jansen said. “Now he’s starting his new journey with the Dodgers. I want him to be great over there. I want Chapman to bounce back from the adversity he has had with the Yankees and to be great. While I’m doing it, I’m looking at those guys. I’m pushing myself through those guys. I’m watching Hader right now, I’m pushing myself through him. When you see them do great, it makes you want to be even greater.”

Jansen believes his career could extend well beyond 2022. He smiled when asked about the Hall of Fame. He said he tries not to worry about it. He knows he has a chance. It will take several more seasons like 2021 to fortify his case — many years of breathing and meditating and talking through past trauma. On that front, the new horizons opened to him through therapy, Jansen is happy to chat.

“I’m not shy about that,” Jansen said. “I’m not feeling like I’m weak. I feel like I’m stronger.”

I miss Kenley Jansen and admire him greatly for what he has done and is doing. Getting help to fix problems is sometimes hard, but always rewarding. Maybe… just maybe… we have not seen the last of Kenley Jansen in LA. Maybe there is a reunion on the horizon! Stranger things have happened.

By the way, the World Champion Braves are 16-18 and have a negative run differential. They are not panicking, but most Dodger fans are losing their minds right about now as the Dodger sit atop their division with a 20-12 record and a 69 positive run differential. You are a bunch of nervous old ladies making up stuff at the beauty shop. Listen to the lyrics… you’ll get it!

Fact or Fiction?

FICTION: This is all on Dave Roberts. He pitched Buehler and Urias on Short Rest. That’s the ticket!

FACT: Buehler and Urias were both on regular 5 day rest! This is on them… not Doc

Fiction: The lack of offense is on Dave Roberts.

Fact: Even a moron knows Doc does not bat. This is on the players!

Using your rationale, Brian Snitker should be fired for going 16-18, but maybe some people go easier on old white guys. I sometimes wonder… No matter how you slice it, Dave Roberts has the best record and winning percentage of any manager in baseball today and of all managers in baseball history with over 900 games, Dave Roberts has the highest winning percentage of any manager – EVER!

I do not understand the compulsion to blame Doc for everything. No, he is not perfect, but the players have to execute and they haven’t been doing it. There is no reason to panic. Have you ever actually watched baseball? Look at the Braves last year. You know, the team that beat the Dodgers? It’s not where you are on May 15th. That doesn’t mean a damn thing! I do not get the blame game! It really makes me sick! In 1988, when the Dodgers won it all, the Mets owned them all year… until they didn’t! Yet, no one was calling for Tommy to be fired or blaming him. I think you need to look at yourselves as to why you feel the need to crucify Doc!

Dodger Minor League Highlights

• OKC DODGERS
  • OKC won 5-1 (22-13)
  • Miguel Vargas was again 2-4 and is now batting .311.
  • Kevin Pillar was 2-3 with a walk and is now hitting .321 with a 1.073 OPS.
  • Eddy Alvarez was 3-3 with 2 RBI and is hitting .290 with a .922 OPS.
  • Robbie Erlin, Jon Duplantier, Carlos Zamora, and Marshall Kasowski, combined to allow just 1 run.
  • Carson Fulmer got his 2nd save (1.80 ERA) in back-to-back games.
• TULSA DRILLERS
  • Tulsa won 11-1 (19-12)
  • Jacob Amaya was 3-5 with a triple (.337/1.190).
  • Kody Hoese had another hit. His bat is looking much quicker.
  • Bobby Miller was impressive as I mentioned above.
  • Andy Pages  was 2-3 with 2 doubles and 3 RBIs.
• GREAT LAKES LOONS
  • The Loons won 8-2 (18-14)
  • Jorbit Vivas was 2-5 (BA up to .209).
  • Eddys Leonard was 1-4 with a 3-run HR.
  • Leonel Valara was 3-4 (.241)
• RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES
  • The Quakes lost 6-4.
  • Damon Keith was 2-5 with 2 RBI (.351 BA/1.075 OPS)

Player to Watch

Tanner Dodson relieved Bobby Miller yesterday and pitched a perfect inning… striking out two. He has a 11.68 ERA and is a 25-year-old thin RHP. Why watch him? Well, the Dodgers traded Luke Raley for him, and up until now, he has been a two-way player. He is a switch-hitter with just 25 AB’s last year and a fastball that toughes 100 MPH. That’s why! I could write about him, or you could just watch and listen to The Dodger Poke Report: