What Does Gavin Lux Have to do to get a Callup Fly?

(Excuse my first-grade Photoshop skills). Lot’s of guys hit .300 in the Pacific Coast League. The combination of altitude, heat, thin air, juiced baseballs, and fairy dust make it a hitter’s league. Ty France, 3B of the Padres AAA affiliate is hitting .399 with 26 HR in just 276 AB’s. Shoot, AAAA player, Conner Joe is hitting .300. However, not many are hitting .456 while OPS’ing 1.381 in 131 AB’s and Gavin Lux has done just that since he was promoted from AA.

What more does he have to do? It’s pretty clear that he is a man among boys at OKC. I mean, even Will Smith was hitting about HALF of Lux’s .458 when he got the call and so far, he has played very well. Every month this year (EVERY FREAKING MONTH) he has a higher batting average than the month before, even as he moved from AA to AAA. He hits lefties and righties equally well and by the way, he is hitting .350 with 2 outs and RISP.

He has played very well at SS and 2B, leads off and smokes baseball. He is just so much better than his competition that he needs another challenge. There’s nothing more for him to do at OKC. What more does he have to do? Fly? Actually, I am not sure that he doesn’t fly, but it is time for him to ply his trade at 2b in LA.

Yeah, the depth chart for the Dodgers may show Max Muncy, Kike Hernandez, Chris Taylor, and Jedd Gyorko ahead of him, but not one of them can even get close to his numbers. When you are ready, you are ready… and Superman Lux is ready. He hits lefties and righties equally well and he would eliminate the need to platoon at 2B.

What is the holdup? Does he really have to fly? Get on with his MLB Career. The Dodgers are a better team with Muncy at 1B and Lux at 2B. Andrew Friedman just needs to make the move.

Playoff Pitching Staff

I may be more successful in picking the Winning Lottery Numbers than predicting what the pitching staff will look like come playoff time. Part of the problem is that injury might play a part. Will Rich Hill be healthy? How about Ross Stripling? Ryu is allegedly fine. Kershaw is dairy-free and has a healthy back, and Buehler should be fresh.

Kershaw, Ryu, and Buehler will be the Top Three Starters and the fourth is not really important. The 4th starter could be a bullpen game with May, Gonsolin, and Urias. So, we have identified six of the 12 or 13 pitchers rather easily. Add in Jansen, Baez, Maeda, and Kelly and you have 10. Who make the other 3 or 4 spots depends upon what they do the rest of the way.

Casey Sadler has done nothing to indicate he should not be in the mix, while Adam Kolarek has shown nothing that indicates he should be the situational lefty in the bullpen. Caleb Ferguson has a chance and Victor Gonzalez could get a look-see (in fact, I think he will). Scott Alexander is in the running as is Dylan Floro and Yimi Garcia.

Finally, Ross Stripling and Rich Hill’s rehabilitation will play a role. We are all watching to see what happens, however, I’ll say what I said early in the season when the bullpen was blowing games like gangbusters: “The bullpen we have today, won’t be the bullpen we end the season with.” Even the same pieces aren’t the same.

Rants & Raves

• I see that the Dodgers finally put Dennis Santana in the pen. He threw his first clean inning in a long time last night in his first inning of relief. He got the win as he gave up 0 hits, 1 K, and no BB. Now we are talking! What took them so long?
• Kyle Garlick got his 20th HR last night and is hitting .330. I would love to see him as our 4th or 5th OF’er, but it will likely happen somewhere else.
• If the Dodgers call up Lux, the only platoon I would go with is Pederson and Pollock in LF.
• Don’t look now, but Leo Crawford is quietly becoming a very good pitcher.
• Look for Parker Curry in a bullpen at a Ravine near you next year. I see him as a solid bullpen piece with his slider, changeup, and 94+ MPH fastball (I believe he will pick up velocity if he stays in the pen). He is a guy you can get to the 2nd or 3rd time through the order, but his late-moving fastball will play very well out of the pen.
• DJ Peters has cut his Strike Out % to 28% in AAA, down from 37% in AA. That’s encouraging.
• The Yankees average 5.99 Runs a game and have an ERA of 4.33. Houston scores 5.46 Runs a game while their ERA is 3,71. The Dodgers average 5.41 Runs a game with a 3.33 ERA. Pick your poison.

DC’s 10th Inning

Thursday’s  Scores:

DSL Dodgers Bautista 4 – Braves 7

DSL Dodgers Shoemaker 1 – DSL Pirates (1) 2

AZL Dodgers Mota 7 – AZL Indians/Reds 3

AZL Dodgers  Lasorda 2 – AZL White Sox 3

Ogden Raptors  – Postponed (double header today)

Great Lakes Loons 5 – Lake County Captains 4

Ranch Cucamonga Quakes 5 – Lancaster JetHawks 4

Tulsa Drillers – Northwest Arkansas Naturals (suspended after 4.5 innings)

OKC Dodgers 7 – Tacoma Rainiers 3

DSL League:

Lightening does strike twice in the same place. The DSL Dodgers Bautista lost for the second day in a row to the Braves by a 7-4 score. Shoemaker’s Dodgers lost for a second day to the Pirates by one run.

AZL League:

Japanese pitcher, Yugo Kitagata (Dodgers Lasorda), 25, pitched 2 scoreless innings and now has 4 consecutive good relief appearances after a very slow start. Right-hander Axel Acevedo (Mota) has given up one earned run in his last 26 innings.

Ogden Raptors:

The Raptors will play a doubleheader today after yesterday’s postponement. The roster will be bolstered by two additions from the AZL League. Both are from the Lasorda Dodgers.

Twenty-year-old left fielder Aldrich De Jongh was a 17th round selection by the Dodgers in the 2018 June Draft. He had a slash line of .305/.374/.453 in the AZL. Second baseman Jorbit Vivas  had a triple-slash in the AZL League of .357/.438/.513 with 13 walks and 15 strikeouts. The 18-year-old hails from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela.

Great Lakes Loons:

The Loons followed the parent Dodgers with a 5-4 walk-off win on a Luke Heyer double. Heyer also had a home run (14) and drove in 4 of the Loons 5 runs. Robinson Ortiz started and breezed through 4 innings but yet again ran into trouble in the 5th inning giving up 4 runs. Jasiel Alvino is proving to be a reliable reliever going two scoreless innings.

The Loons lead the league overall and are 38 -19 on the road. Loons manager John Shoemaker mentioned that just because his team had already clinched a first-half playoff spot didn’t mean they weren’t still competing to get wins each and every day.

Catcher Jair Camargo used the Hunter Feduccia style while catching Ortiz last night. With no none on he put one knee on the ground while receiving. With runners on, he used the conventional style crouch.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes:

Not to be outdone, the Quakes also pulled off a 5-4 walk-off win but not with a big blow. Two runs came in on a stolen base and a throwing error. Jacob Amaya went hitless in his Quakes debut. John Rooney had a 5.2 inning start with one earned run.

Tulsa Drillers:

The Drillers went into the bottom of the 5th inning up 3-0 on a superb outing by Parker Curry on 3 hits over 4 innings. Omar Estevez continued his hot hitting with his third consecutive multi-hit game.The game will continue today as part of a twin bill with the Naturals.

OKC Dodgers:

Dennis Santana pitched a clean inning in relief on 12 pitches. Kyle Garlick continued to be noticed with his 20th home run and 22nd double. Zach McKinstry and Gavin Lux both had two hits.