Twenty Things I (Think I) Know
The Dodgers can score six runs in 2/3 of an inning off of a pitcher who has a 6.49 ERA and is a total mess but can only score one run off of average to below-average pitchers in 7-1/3 innings. When the best part of Max Muncy’s game is his defense (and it is actually pretty…
- The Dodgers can score six runs in 2/3 of an inning off of a pitcher who has a 6.49 ERA and is a total mess but can only score one run off of average to below-average pitchers in 7-1/3 innings.
- When the best part of Max Muncy’s game is his defense (and it is actually pretty good), the time has come to do something with Max Muncy. Maybe Andrew has to tell him that if he is injured and goes on the IL, they will pick up his option next year… or maybe they just release him, but either way, he has to go away. It’s way past time. When CT3 is activated, Max is gone, but the team should call up Vargas now. This is really hard because Max is loved up and down the clubhouse… but it is a business.
- Cody Bellinger is still an asset for obvious reasons… maybe he will become a bigger asset, but with Max gone, the Dodgers can handle Cody.
- Now we wait… and see how Heaney’s shoulder feels today and what it looks like by his next start. He looks rusty… but good. The question is: Can he stay healthy the rest of the way? The Dodgers were successful in strengthening Gonsolin’s shoulder… in the offseason.
- Now it’s on to the Killing Fields at Coors! Anderson, Urias, Kershaw, and Gonsolin are all set to have their ERAs elevated a mile high!
- The Dodgers are not serious about Soto. Of course, they are talking to the Nats, but they are just driving the price up. Who saw the Turner and Scherzer Trade coming last year? No One! Andrew Friedman will just pull a rabbit out of his hat when you least expect it. He might be in on Castillo, but it won’t be for who you think… except Mike Busch (maybe) and Hunter Feduccia.
- What is the Real Story on Treinen, Kahnle, Gonzalez, Rios, May, Graterol, Buehler, and Duffy? We know that the Dodgers ain’t sayin’ or telling us the truth. I am not saying it is better or worse than what we think we know. I am just saying it is different. The truth is not readily available.
- I do believe we will see CT3 next week.
- We have seen the last of Garrett Cleavinger (at least this year… probably forever).
- I can see Cleavinger, Bruihl, Grove, Feduccia, McKinstry, Moronta, Price, Reed, Alvarez, Outman, Pillar, and Vivas being moved in the right deal (not all of them). That’s 12-player movement possibilities on the 40-man roster. There are a lot of possibilities.
- Could Joc Pederson be a Dodger again THIS SEASON? Could Hunter Feduccia, Justin Bruihl, and James Outman get that done? Asking for a friend!
- Who would make more sense at DH – Garrett Cooper, Josh Bell, or JD Martinez? Who would cost the least?
- I think I am going to rank Gavin Stone higher than Ryan Pepiot. He is that good! This year at AA, Gavin Stone has pitched 59 Innings, allowing 45 Hits with 0 HR and 84 Strikeouts. His ERA is 1.53, and his WHIP is 1.14. Contrast that with Ryan Pepiot in AA last year: 59 Innings, 30 Hits with 7 HR, and 81 Strikeouts. His ERA was 2.87, and his WHIP was 0.94. Gavin Stone may actually pass Bobby Miller in my rankings. Pepiot got pounded pretty good in AAA in 41 innings last season. I’d like to see Gavin Stone moved there soon. I think he will do a lot better than Pepiot did. BTW, Stone is just a couple of MPH off Bobby Miller!
- Do you still want Soto? The LA Times speculates what it would take: “For the Dodgers, the list could include six of these seven players: catcher Diego Cartaya, right-hander Bobby Miller, infielder Miguel Vargas, second baseman Michael Busch, right-hander Ryan Pepiot, outfielder Andy Pages, and right-hander Gavin Stone.” No, thank you!
- Are Bednar or Barlow possibilities in the bullpen?
- No single stat reveals more about the offensive capability of a player than OPS. Will Mookie Betts ever be the Superstar the Dodgers thought they were getting? It’s not likely. Don’t get me wrong… Mookie is a star, a very good player. He is just not the Superstar the Dodgers paid for. His career OPS is .889 – that’s very close to being a superstar, but there’s no cigar! In 2019, Mookie hit .346 with a .438 OB% and a 1.078 OPS. He slipped a little in 2019 as he hit .295 with a .915 OPS. Still, both years were “SUPERSTAR” stats. Remember, an OPS of .900 puts you in that stratosphere. There was talk all over about who was the best player in baseball. – Mike Trout or Mookie Betts. In 2020, Mookie OPS’ed .927 but has OPS’ed .854 and .878 in the past two years. Again, close, but no cigar! Mookie is a very good player, but Freddie Freeman is OPS’ing .936 – he is a “Superstar.” Trea Turner OPS’ed .950 in 2021 but is at .851 this year – Still a star, just not a Superstar. Believe it or not, Cody Bellinger has a career OPS of .829. Of course, it’s.645 this year. In case you are wondering, Justin Turner has OPS’ed .864 as a Dodger. This year he has gotten his OPS up to .738, and .800 is not out of the question, but it’s a longshot.
- I think Mookie, Justin, Will, Trea, and Freddie will all carry this team, but with Max out of the picture, they need another bat or two. Joc Pederson and Miguel Vargas may be just what the Doctor ordered.
- Hanser Alberto means a lot more than what the stats show. However, he also needs to step up… and he has started to already. The same with Jake Lamb, and he needs to swing the bat more. He looks at too many pitches.
- Danny Duffy, Victor Gonzalez, The Bazooka, Walker Buhler, Blake Treinen, Tommy Kahnle, Dustin May, and Jimmy Nelson. That’s EIGHT potentially good-to-great arms for the playoffs. They all will not make it back, but if just four or five do, the Dodgers’ Pitching Staff will be extra-extra-ordinary. Right now, it’s just extraordinary! One has to ask,” Do the Dodgers really need to trade for more pitching?” I think not.
- Trayce Thompson has shown me that in baseball… I just never know. So I just shut up and enjoy the games.
Future Dodgers Down on the Farm
- OKC won 6-3
- Miguel Vargas hit his 14th HR
- Mike Busch was 2-4
- James Outman was 2-3 with a BB and his 5th HR
- Andre Jackson had (by far) his best outing of the year as he went 5 innings, allowed 1 Run and 1 Hit, while walking 3 and striking out 6.
- Pedro Baez had his first AAA appearance after pitching 5.1 innings in AZ. He promptly gave up 3 Hits and 2 ER in .2 IP. He walked a batter and was charged with a blown save. His AAA ERA is 27.00.
- Tulsa lost 6-2
- John Rooney pitched 7.1 innings, allowing 2 hits and 1 ER. He walked 1 and struck out 6. It was his best performance, but the bullpen blew it.
- Let’s never mention this game again.
- Great Lakes won 8-6.
- Eddys Leonard hit his 9th HR.
- Diego Cartaya was 1-3 with 2 Runs Scored and a walk. They are not giving him much to hit, and he is not challenged at Great Lakes. He needs to move to Tulsa.
- Rancho Cucamonga was shutout 6-0
- Maddux Bruns went 2 innings, allowing NO hits and No Runs. He walked 2 and struck out 2.
- The rest of the team forgot their bats.
Baseball News
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,…
By Mark Timmons · July 17, 202673
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…
By Jeff Dominique · July 16, 202674
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…
By Mark Timmons · July 15, 202652
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…
By Michael "Bear" Norris · July 14, 202676
Discussion (101)
Disagree, not disagreeable
I think Joc is mostly a sentimental notion. But Farhan may want to flip him.
Yanks did well to get Benintendi, and now they are reportedly in on Castillo or Montas. Both could be had in packages. Can’t recall the name, but Oakland could offer a good reliever plus Pinder with Montas. But Castillo plus Drury would be better.
I’ve always like Josh Bell. He could DH while Max and JT share 3B. I think a couple of mid-level prospects might be enough, say Outman plus Rooney? And we could sacrifice Lamb.
See what I did there?
Are we actually quoting tweets from guys named Ben Dover now?
What, Hugh G Rection or IP Freely weren’t available??
Mark said this:
“Danny Duffy, Victor Gonzalez, The Bazooka, Walker Buhler, Blake Treinen, Tommy Kahnle, Dustin May, and Jimmy Nelson. That’s EIGHT potentially good-to-great arms for the playoffs. They all will not make it back, but if just four or five do, the Dodgers’ Pitching Staff will be extra-extra-ordinary. Right now, it’s just extraordinary! One has to ask,” Do the Dodgers really need to trade for more pitching?” I think not.”
First thing, Nelson is done for the year including the playoffs unless I missed something. Secondly Duffy is nothing to get excited about.
For the playoffs:
Of those 6 remaining, there are 2 that would be big upgrades if they are themselves/fully healthy when they return, Treinen and Buehler.
Of the other 4:
Gonzalez has very little experience/innings in his career, I wouldn’t trust him in the playoffs, but during the regular season he would be an upgrade over certain other guys we have.
Graterol’s career stats against LHB is terrible, but this year is average against LHB, he’s an upgrade over certain guys we already have for the regular season, but I wouldn’t trust him in the playoffs.
Kahnle is an above average reliever and against both sides of the plate, nothing special, but he would be an upgrade during the regular season over certain guys we already have in the bullpen and I would consider him for the playoffs if there is room, but I wouldn’t use him in high leverage situations in the playoffs.
May has better career stats against LHB than Graterol, I’ll take May any day over Graterol. But I still wouldn’t want May as a reliever in the playoffs. He doesn’t have much experience/innings too. If there is room for May as a 4th starter in the playoffs I’d go for that, but I doubt there is room. It wouldn’t hurt to see what he can do as a reliever during the regular season because he would be an upgrade over certain guys we already have in the bullpen and our lead over the Padres is big.
As I’ve said before, Betts is a very good player, but I consider Freeman and T Turner as more valuable than Betts, and I want Friedman to try to sign T Turner.
Also as I’ve said before, all Vargas has to do is hit better than Muncy, and that is not a lot to ask for, and I think that is all we need for an upgrade on offense.
I don’t want Soto for the price in prospects nor do I want him for the dollars 2 years from now. It’s not good to pay what he will get in 1 player, you’re better off paying for 2 stars than 1 superstar.
I know I’m going to rub people wrong when I say I don’t want to pay the price in prospects for Castillo because I don’t think he’s much of an upgrade over the starters we already have and the cost for him can go to upgrading our bullpen that is ranked number 6, while our starting pitching is ranked number 1 and our offense is ranked number 1 or 2. And why throw in Drury with a career slash line of .252/.302/.431/.733? Yes I know he is having a good year with an above .800 OPS, but he’s never had an .800+ OPS year in his career until SO FAR this year.
Just my opinion and my 2 cents for the day.
MLBTR still has “Treinen Won’t Face Hitters For Weeks” in the most current post for the Dodgers. Roberts just said in the pre-game that Treinen will face hitters in LA this weekend.
Brusdar is also in LA this weekend and will throw a pen.
May is on the hill tonight in OKC. Edwin Rios is in the lineup batting second and playing 3B.
Damn! It took me long enough time finding a decent stream. I guess Mad Titan is the ticket. Well see for how long.
Jessica Mendoza on Conner Joe hitting Belli in the back on a throw to second. “It’s almost like he didn’t see him”. Really? You’re standing next to him holding him on to begin the play and you’re throwing to second trying to get him out, but you don’t see him?
I see Rios is making a comeback in AAA ball and that is an upgrade for the offense whether it’s DH or the bench.
Dustin May today: 3ip, 2hits, 6k. I’d love to know how hard he was throwing!
Yankees got better today.
I might have to reconsider how I feel about the games at Coors!
Tyler Anderson = Why do the Dodgers need another starter? Why?
Hey AF, resign Trea. Forget Soto and Otani. Get bullpen help.
While OPS is a better measure of a hitters value, I still like to monitor batting average for historical comparisons.
After tonight’s game, the Dodgers have 3 of the top 4 hitters in NL by batting average.
Goldschmidt leads the league at .335 followed by Freeman-323, Trea Turner- 312, and Lux-307.
While OPS is a better measure of a hitters value, I still like to monitor batting average for historical comparisons.
After tonight’s game, the Dodgers have 3 of the top 4 hitters in NL by batting average.
Goldschmidt leads the league at .335 followed by Freeman-323, Trea Turner- 312, and Lux-307.
Yard barker is reporting that the Angels are open to listening to trade offers for Ohtani.
No idea what “yard barker” is, but the Angels definitely should be listening to offers for Ohtani.
I recently saw a old video that reported that Ohtani’s first choice would have been the Dodgers, but without the DH the Dodgers only saw him as an SP. and not also aNa parttime outfielder, like he was in Japan. So the DH rule led him to the Angels. It has also been reported that Angels GM Billy Eppler had courted Ohtani for years and that helped–which is why the Mets could angle for him. But maybe Ohtani simply prefers SoCal.
Anyway, it’s hard to imagine the Angels becoming a contender next season, so the best way to maximize his value is to move him now when the buyer could have him for two pennant runs. The Angels have a weak farm system and need A LOT of help. The Dodgers have a deep system and could put together a big package for a guy who is both an ace-quality starter and top-tier DH with power and speed.
To replace the DH: Start with Max (a good bounce-back candidate) or Rios and add Busch. or Vargas . For good measure toss in Amaya or Leonard because the Angels need a SS).
To replace the ace SP: Start with Gonsolin (peak value) and add Miller, or maybe two pitchers like Grove and Nastrini. Toss in a catcher like Feduccia because the Angels will need a backup to Stassi.
Anyway, given the Angels many needs, the Dodgers could offer a few ML-ready players and young prospects that would quickly improve their standing. If an 8-for-1 deal seems outlandish, remember that the Dodgers traded five prospects or Machado–and he doesn’t pitch.
To simplify this, just think of Ohtani as roughly equivalent to Scherzer + Trea. The Dodgers got that pair for their top two prospects and two lottery-pick types. Could Cartaya + Miller plus two lower level types net Ohtani? No, because Ohtani is younger and of course has a marketing cachet that plays outside the lines. Ohtani will likely be the game’s first $50 million per season player. Perhaps $60 million.
With Ohtani in blue, the Dodgers would likely employ a six-man rotation, which might be a good thing..
Just imagine slotting Ohtani into the top of the lineup with Mookie, Trea and Freddie….
Some of our minor leaguers had great games yesterday.
Cartaya two more bombs . Miller 6 innings , giving up 2 runs on a HR but 11 Ks and no BBs. Busch 3 more hits.
Then you got the return of May throwing gas with silly movement.
Treinen obviously getting close as is The Bazooka. Rios starting at 3b for OKC.
Reinforcements are close.
The more I think about it the more I like the idea of going after Ohtani. You get 2 players in 1. An ace starter and a monster DH.
But I am still reluctant to give up Miller and Cartaya. I think both could be all stars in the future.
If there is any way to get Ohtani for a package not including those two I probably go for it.
Pepiot, Stone, Page, Vargas, Busch,Grove ?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!