Reno Aces (Arizona) 3 vs OKC Dodgers 2
On the Mound
Mike Wright Jr. started and was burned for an unearned run in the 1st on a passed ball and throwing error. He made one mistake, and that was a 2-out 2-run HR (by Stone Garrett). That gave the Aces a 3-0 lead. But the Aces were only able to get 2 more base runners for the remainder of the game. Wright threw 6.0 innings. Three relievers shut down Reno. The star of the trio was LHRP Caleb Ferguson who threw an immaculate inning. Methinks he is getting his command back.
Daniel Zamora and Marshall Kasowski finished off the final two innings.
At the Plate
The Dodgers pushed one across in the home half of the 3rd inning. Jason Martin had a leadoff double. Drew Avans walked, and Zach McKinstry singled to load the bases. After the second out, Jake Lamb walked to force in a run. The score stayed 3-1 until one out in the 9th when Jason Martin slugged his 6th HR of the season. But that was as close as they would get.
Player of the Game
With a double, HR, and both runs scored, Jason Martin is the Player of the Game.
Down to 1!
Jason Martin smokes his 6th homer of the year to cut the deficit to 3-2 in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/yaVAhMPy9s
— Oklahoma City Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) May 28, 2022
Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis) 3 vs Tulsa Drillers 2 – Game 1
On the Mound
Landon Knack allowed only 2 baserunners in his 6.0 IP. Unfortunately one of those was a Nick Dunn HR (2). Guillermo Zuniga relieved Knack and gave up a 2 run jack of his own to make it a 3-0 lead. After tonight’s game, Knack now has a 2.81 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in his 16.0 AA IP.
At the Plate
The Drillers were shut out for 6. In the 7th, Andy Pages and Devin Mann singled. With 2 outs, the runners moved up on a WP. Both runners scored on a Kody Hoese single getting the Drillers within one. Jeren Kendall pinch ran for Hoese, and immediately stole 2nd. With a RISP and 2 outs, Justin Yurchak popped up to end the threat and game.
Pages and Mann had 2 hits apiece for Tulsa.
Player of the Game
Landon Knack was superb for 6.0 innings.
Landon Knack had another fantastic outing, and he really looked locked in, picking up whiffs with all five of his pitches. All of his Ks came on secondaries (CB/CB/SL/CT), FB was 96-97, last heater of the day was 96 as well ⛽️
The line:
6.0 IP
2 hits
1 run (earned)
0 BBs
4 Ks⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Rp6yl7rS5V— Josh Thomas (@jokeylocomotive) May 27, 2022
Box Score
Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis) 0 vs Tulsa Drillers 2 – Game 2
On the Mound
Jose Martinez started and grinded through 5.1 scoreless IP. He allowed 3 hits but issued 4 walks. Austin Drury struggled a bit of his own with 2 BBs in 0.2 innings of work., but eventually got through the 6th unscathed. Nick Robertson retired the side in order in the 7th for his 2nd save. That is Nick’s 3rd consecutive outstanding effort after a rough start to the season.
At the Plate
Jacob Amaya singled to open the home half of the 1st. Amaya moved to 2nd on a WP, moved to 3rd on a fly ball out by Andy Pages, and scored on a Kody Hoese ground out.
In the 2nd, Devin Mann hit his 5th HR of the season. And that was it for the Drillers offense.
Player of the Game
I could go with Jose Martinez, but instead I am going to go with Devin Mann and his HR.
Landon Knack had another fantastic outing, and he really looked locked in, picking up whiffs with all five of his pitches. All of his Ks came on secondaries (CB/CB/SL/CT), FB was 96-97, last heater of the day was 96 as well ⛽️
The line:
6.0 IP
2 hits
1 run (earned)
0 BBs
4 Ks⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Rp6yl7rS5V— Josh Thomas (@jokeylocomotive) May 27, 2022
Great Lakes Loons 4 vs South Bend Cubs 11 –
On the Mound
Nick Nastrini had another off game, allowing 5 runs on 3 hits and 4 BBs in 3.0 IP. Adam Scoggins allowed an unearned run in his 1.0 IP. Then the roof caved in. With Carlos Alejo on the hill, he walked 4 batters with one scoring and leaving the bases loaded for Julian Smith who followed Alejo. Smith got a ground out, but not a DP and a run scored.
In his next inning, Smith allowed a pair of singles, a WP, and a ground out to score 1. On his 2nd WP, the second run scored. A walk and double scores a third run, and an 11-4 score that held up.
Jacob Cantleberry pitched the final 2.0 innings in scoreless fashion.
At the Plate
José Ramos hit his first Great Lakes HR in the second to put the Loons on the board. The Loons put up 3 unearned runs in the 6th but could not get any closer.
The Loons could only muster 4 hits in this one.
Player of the Game
With his 1st GL HR, José Ramos is selected.
Jose Ramos hit his first homer for Great Lakes, and though they don't show the flight of the ball, you can see a fan picking it up after it hits the team store, well beyond the left field fence pic.twitter.com/eONzcC2j0V
— Josh Thomas (@jokeylocomotive) May 28, 2022
Visalia Rawhide (Arizona) 13 vs Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 10
On the Mound
The Quakes were breezing – 5-0 and 6-1 before the Rawhide put up 11 in the 6th. Maddux Bruns started and pitched 1.2 innings, walking 4 and striking out 3. Adolfo Ramirez followed Bruns with 2.1 IP allowing an unearned run.
Roque Gutierrez pitched a scoreless 5th. Heading into the 6th with a 5-1 lead, Gutierrez allowed 2 hits but got 2 outs. Unfortunately he could not get the 3rd out, and with 2 more singles, the lead was down to 6-3. Horacio Andujar followed Gutierrez. He faced seven batters, and did not retire anyone. When Jhan Zambrano relieved Andujar, the Rawhide were up 9-6 but the bases were loaded. Zambrano gave up a bases clearing double and when the dust settled, the Rawhide put up 11 runs and took a 12-6 lead.
Visalia scored an unearned run off Zambrano in the 8th. Kenneth Betancourt came in to relieve for the second time this year and pitched a scoreless 9th.
At the Plate
The Quakes batters played a little long ball. They hit 3 solo HRs and one 2-run big fly.
Luis Rodriguez hit his 4th HR in the 2nd. In the third, Julio Carrion BB and Luis Yanel Diaz singled. With one out, Alex De Jesus walked to load the bases. A WP scored 1 run. Diego Cartaya drew a walk to reload the bases. A pair of singles by Damon Keith and Gaige Howard scored 2 more. A sac fly scored the 4th, and the Quakes had a 5-0 lead.
Up 5-1, Damon Keith hit his 5th HR for a 6-1 lead. Yeiner Fernandez hit his 2nd HR in the 8th and Julio Carrion hit a 2-run HR in the 9th to conclude the scoring.
Player of the Game
Damon Keith had two hits and 3 RBIs, but I am giving the nod to Luis Rodriguez with 3 hits.
Luis Rodriguez hits his fourth homer of the ‘22 season ❗️
The Quakes take the lead 1-0 In the second inning here at LoanMart Field. pic.twitter.com/tvr31HkmiP
— Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (@RCQuakes) May 28, 2022
The 2020 draft is starting to show extreme promise. Nothing at the 2016 level, but great to see.
as is, superficially, Luis Rodriguez. Not only with the bat, but I think he’s recently shown a nice arm. Was that always part of his profile?
Yes. Luis Rodriguez has always had a solid to plus arm. But his main calling card was his line drive gap top gap ability. He was considered a hit product over power. The concern was whether as he physically matured, would his quickness in the OF subside to the point where he needed to move from CF. His arm would fit in nicely in RF, but what about the power? He still has not developed that power, but he is still only 19, and IMHO he has found that hunger that was seemingly missing from last year.
With respect to the 2020 draft, all 6 players drafted are still listed in the LAD Top 30 prospects. I expect Jake Vogel to drop out at the mid-season rankings, but Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, and Gavin Stone should be top 15 prospects (Top 10???) with some helium. Clayton Beeter still has huge reliever risk, but has two 60 grade pitches that spells plus high leverage reliever. The hope is that his change continues to develop, and the vaunted LAD pitching MDs can stabilize his delivery concerns and harness that control that is missing. He should drop in the prospect list because of concerns about his continuation as a starter. Generally relievers are not listed as top prospects. But he has shown enough to continue development as a SP. I fully expect Gavin Stone and Clayton Beeter to swap rankings position in the mid-season update.
Carson Taylor continues to be productive at the AA level. His problem is that he is a hit first catcher. That does not necessarily play well for a backup catcher. He does not hit as well as Austin Barnes did in MiLB and is not nearly at the same level as Austin is behind the dish. But again, he just turns 23 next week and is producing at the AA level. He should get a chance, maybe not with LAD, but somewhere.
what do you hear about Dodgers player development? From what I read there’s nRy a non-believer. Obviously not 💯 in developing but that’s a silly bar to set
I am in the process of drafting a post on the development of the Dodger prospects. The journalistic and analyst consensus is that LAD development is at the top of the pyramid. But there are holes and maybe even some chasms. It is hoped that within a year or two, those chasms can be filled. The pitching seems closer to filling the gaps more so than do the position players. Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller, Landon Knack, Gavin Stone, and Michael Grove all show sufficient promise to be included in future projected rotations with Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin. Although it is a good bet that some of those prospects will end up in the bullpen. Whether Buehler or Urias are actually part of those long term plans remains to be seen.
Position players – Miguel Vargas is still hitting at the AAA level, but he still has not convinced scouts that he is a ML 3B. Michael Busch got off to a nice start at AAA, but is now hitting below Mendoza. Diego Cartaya is not dominating as some expected at low A. Andy Pages is inconsistent and struggles more than dominates at AA. There is a lot more of the season to better assess. Perhaps each of these players are working on something specific, and the numbers are not standing out. Succeeding at MLB level is extremely difficult, and not one of those prospects stands out at the top of their peer list, so their mountain is a little more of a climb than others.
I watch all of the players in game situations and in videos, and while with some knowledge, I am not a trained scout. I rely a lot on the four primary publications for expert scouting analysis: FanGraphs, Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball Prospectus.
The Dodgers may not possess the elite prospects that one accumulates when a team consistently picks in the top ten of the draft. But they do develop them to the point that they can be counted as solid role players (Edwin Rios) for depth or to be packaged in trades. They also have the ability to develop starters for a contending team (Will Smith and Gavin Lux), albeit they are not going to be on anyone’s MVP list.
Depth to be packaged in trades. That’s exactly what I was thinking when reading this post.
So…. who are the keepers?
Depends on who is being targeted.😎
As a guess, I will go with Pepiot, Miller, Vargas, and Cartaya. Next…Busch, Knack, and Stone. But Frankie Montas and Luis Castillo open the door.
Perhaps that’s the plan then? Develop pitching internally and then for position players a combination of internal and free agent?
05/28/22RHP Ben Casparius assigned to Great Lakes Loons from Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
05/28/22LHP Jose Hernandez assigned to Tulsa Drillers from Great Lakes Loons.
05/28/22RHP Mark Washington assigned to Oklahoma City Dodgers from Tulsa Drillers.
05/27/22IF River Ryan assigned to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes from ACL Dodgers.
05/27/22RHP Horacio Andujar assigned to Rancho Cucamonga Quakes from ACL Dodgers.