OKC Comets 6 – Salt Lake City Bees (LAA) 3
Other than the 2 solo HRs Tony Gonsolin surrendered, he reached 5.0 innings and 79 pitches (51 strikes). Overall in his 5.0 IP, Gonsolin allowed 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 BB, and 3K.
OKC jumped out to a 6-0 lead. In the first inning, Alex Freeland hit a one out double, and scored on a 2-out Michael Chavis single.
In the 4th, Ryan Ward led off with a HR (3). James Outman followed with a double (6). A walk and catcher’s interference loaded the bases. Alex Freeland singled home a pair for a 4-0 lead.
In the 5th, Outman opened with a single and scored on Hunter Feduccia’s triple (1). Hunter scored on Esteury Ruiz’s single for the final two Comets’ runs.
With one out in the 5th, Gonsolin gave up the first of his 2 surrendered solo HRs. The second HR led off the 6th inning, and Gonsolin was removed for Logan Boyer. Matt Sauer finished the final 3.0 innings. A HBP and 2 singles gave the Bees run back in the 8th. Sauer did record his first save.
- Alex Freeland – 2-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (PCL leading #12)
- Michael Chavis – 3-5, 1 RBI
- Ryan Ward – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (3)
- James Outman – 2-5, 2 runs, double (6)
- Hunter Feduccia – 1-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 1 RBI, triple (1)
Box Score
Tulsa Drillers 7 – NW Arkansas (KC) 2
Drillers’ pitching was outstanding except for back to back HR’s leading off the 2nd. Chris Campos allowed the two HRs in his 5.2 IP. He surrendered 4 hits, 1 BB, to go with 7 K.
3 relievers combined to pitch 3.1 scoreless IP. Combined they allowed 3 hits, 2 BB, and 4 K.
The Drillers got a run back in the 3rd. Aaron Bracho doubled (2), and scored on Taylor Young’s single. The Drillers took the lead for good in the 4th. Damon Keith hit his 5th double and scored ahead of José Ramos’ 2-run HR (5).
In the 6th, a John Rhodes double (4) was followed by a BB and HBP. Bracho singled one run in. Bases still loaded, Young is HBP to score 1 and Sean McLain’s infield single scored another.
Aaron Bracho concluded the scoring with his 3rd HR.
- Aaron Bracho – 3-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI, double (2), HR (3)
- José Ramos – 1-2, 2 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR (5)
- Doubles – Damon Keith (5), John Rhodes (4), Chris Newell (3)
Box Score
Lake County Captains (Cleveland) 4 – Great Lakes Loons 0
The Great Lakes Loons offense was blanked for the first time this year ending a season-best four-game winning streak, in a 4-0 loss to the Lake County Captains.
Lake County scored three runs in the bottom of the first off Loons starter Eriq Swan. Jose Devers delivered a leadoff double followed by three hits with two outs. Alfonsin Rosario slugged a 2-run HR on a 2-2 pitch.
Esteban Gonzalez added an RBI single, driving in a runner placed in scoring position after an error for first inning’s 3rd run.
Jaison Chourio, Brewers Jackson Chourio’s brother, crushed his first High-A homer in the 3rd
From the second to the fifth, it was the lone blemish for RHP Eriq Swan. Swan struck out three.
Jordan Thompson had two of the Loons three hits, a double in the fourth, and a single in the ninth. He was left on second both times.
22-year-old RHP, Roque Gutierrez, worked four scoreless innings and punched out five Captains. Gutierrez pitched four scoreless in his Loons debut on April 10th. Last week he pitched in Double-A earning a win for the Tulsa Drillers and was transferred back to Great Lakes this week.
Kendall George walked twice, his third multi-walk game. The 20-year-old has walked 15 times in 16 games.
Box Score
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 12 – Inland Empire 66ers (LAA) 3
The Quakes scored 9 runs in the final two innings to break open a game they led 3-2 after 7 innings.
23 year old Aidan Foeller pitched a respectable 5.0 innings, allowing 2 runs, only 1 hit, but 4 BB and a HBP. He also registered a very respectable 12 strikeouts. His 1st inning was emblematic of his game. He walked the first three batters in the inning, and then hit the next batter for one run in, bases loaded, nobody out. No problem, he struck out the next three batters.
A walk led to his second run allowed in the 4th. A BB then a double (only hit allowed) gave Inland Empire another run.
RC tied the game the first time in the 2nd on three straight singles by Jaron Elkins, Jose Meza, and Eduardo Guerrero. Victor Rodriguez hit his 1st HR of the season in the 5th to tie the game again.
The Quakes took their 1st lead in the 7th when Eduardo Guerrero drew a BB and scored on Victor Rodriguez’s double (2).
The Quakes broke it open in the 8th. The first 6 batters reached 1st. Eduardo Quintero opened with a BB and went to 3rd on a Mike Sirota single. Samuel Munoz followed with a double to score Quintero. Sirota scored on a WP and Munoz moved up to third. Jaron Elkins drew a BB. Jose Meza singled to plate Munoz. Two ground outs drive Elkins home.
In the 9th, Kellon Lindsey opened the 9th with a single. Quintero reached on a HBP. Lindsey and Quintero pulled off a double steal. Sirota drew a BB to load the bases. Munoz and Elkins each drew a BB to score 2. Meza hit a SF to score 3rd of the inning. Guerrero singled to score Munoz, and with runners on 1st and 3rd, two more BB allow the 5th run of the inning to score.
- Jose Meza – 2-4, 2 RBI, SF
- Eduardo Guerrero – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI
- Victor Rodriguez – 2-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (2), HR (1)
- Jaron Elkins – 1-3, 2 BB, 3 runs, 1 RBI
- Kellon Lindsey – 1-4, 2 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Samuel Munoz – 1-4, 1 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, double (4)
Box Score
I have to apologize for just the MiLB Game Summaries. Bear has a couple of Remember (Former Player) posts, and I have not yet been able to complete a couple that I have been working on. Let’s just say that life gets in the way sometimes.
Nothing to apologize for. They are much appreciated when supplied.
Please don’t apologize to us. We should apologize to you for some of the nonsense we post.
Not flimsy nonsense but a web of sense!
haha
Not worried about Snell, at least not yet. I feel the Dodgers want to be ultra-cautious with his injury now. Muncy, however, is worrisome.
Much more worried about Snell than Muncy.
I’m the opposite FWIW.
medicine and medical science are awesome.
loss of skill not so much.
$182m > $12m
Both are sunk costs, no?
The pain of guaranteed contracts.
$12m is no pain at all.
The only thing about Snell is that what’s happening to him now in terms of an injury happens to him a lot. He spends a ton of time on the IL. The Dodgers knew this but signed him anyway.
Right. But as he ages, the chronic injuries could be more concerning.
In an alternative universe, Crochet is pitching for the Dodgers and Snell is with the Red Sox.
I have no clue as to the future of Dodger pitching with all the injury laden staff, both new and old. Yamamoto seems to be the only one of our starters that seems healthy enough to last a season and quite possibly be our Ace. Roki isn’t even a starter yet in my book. He is auditioning. None of our homegrown talent has exhibited any longevity and Snell and Glasnow have their own issues that hold them back. Is Shohei going to be our saviour on the mound this season? It would certainly be historic and very much needed with our depleted, de-gassed, group of wobbly pitchers.
Amongst this conservative group of posters, I keep hearing words like patience, and time limits to allow for a better assessment of players. My patience has been tested for the past 3 years and we won a WS in spite of wobbly pitchers and bottom of the order hitters who should be home in bed. The saviours were perennial sluggers, the same one we have on board now with the addition of Edman. The problem is we keep losing due to defense, poor pitching, and a lack of hitting from the same old suspects. For me, somebody has to replace Muncy and Pages. If we bring Freeland in to 3B and Kim to 2B, sending Edman to CF, Pages replaced with Ruiz in LF, we get faster, better defense, and we finally take a chance with our farm boys who are just waiting for an opportunity to show what they’ve got. We’ve seen what we’ve got with our bottom dwellers. The occasional HR is not that important. We need bat to ballers to keep this game flowing. Base stealers to bring excitement and instill fear in our opponents. We need to take chances, which this FO seems loathe to want to take. They’d rather take a chance on a vet or a rehabbing pitcher. This needs to change, my friends.
Certainly not critical of your premise, but if the Dodgers brought in Freeland to play 3B and Kim to 2B, thus sending Edman to CF, and you replace Pages with Ruiz in LF, that is 3 players being brought up. How do you pare the current 26 man to make those additions?
Again, while I may agree with the premise, I acknowledge that is not how this team has been built. This organization believes in the HR. Their two hitting coaches preach swing hard with high launch angle. LAD just got schooled by a team that can do both bat to ball and power.
But I also do not believe that the Dodgers agree with the conclusion. Since 2017, the Dodgers have been to the World Series 4 times out of 8 seasons. They won 2 and it should have been 3.
In the Guggenheim era the Dodgers have made the playoffs every year from 2013; 12 consecutive years. The only year that a Guggenheim owned LAD team did not make the playoffs was 2012, and they did not gain control of that team until May of that year. During the AF era (2015 to 2025), the Dodgers have reached the playoffs all 10 years. During that span, the two closest number of playoff appearances is Houston with 8 and Atlanta with 7. And while I agree with you on what style of baseball I prefer, the Dodgers apparently do not. IMO, they have earned the right to determine what needs fixing, and how to fix it.
That being said, I appreciate counter arguments. I appreciate questioning management, both on the field and in the front office. I do it myself all the time. In fact the post I am working on would tend to show that. However, it is hard to argue with the success the team has had since Guggenheim purchased the team, and since AF took the helm as President of Baseball Operations. If that makes me an apologist for this team…well, okay then.
But I also believe that the Dodgers screwed the pooch in 2019, 2022, and 2023, all years they might have reached WS. Hard years to ignore, but in the overall scheme, the Dodgers have been the best organization in the Guggenheim era. We are greedy and we want more.
Pages is coming aroung lately. There are other players who should be on the hot seat. Kike. Rojas. CT. Muncy (Barnes is safe because, well, he is Barnes).
If those named players do not show significant improvement the Dodgers IMHO will not win the West . You just can not overcome 5-6 weak bats in this diision.
And it is not that our pitching would be as good as adertised. Too many injiuries again. Plus couple of arms who one has to ask how they can be on the 26 men roster with all the perceiced depth.
BTW: Where is Honeywell ? I bet he would not be worse than Davis.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pages is coming around, think his runway is extending.
So, with barely a month into a season you’re ready to pull the plug on the whole thing and just throw in all the rookies just to see what happens?
So, in your opinion, drastic change needs to happen? What does that mean? AF is gone? This is the process he’s built over the past decade. So you undo all of that? …after a month?
Do you actually think through these things, or do you just like to throw plates of spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks?
Stop projecting. Did I say pull the plug? What is so drastic that I proposed? If it doesn’t work, you do something else.
These are not serious people, to paraphrase Logan Roy
You might be right Patch but you sound like all is fine and it isn’t.
Well, no, I don’t think the team is playing fantastic baseball right now, and I know, as fans, we tend to be bipolar when it comes to winning streaks and losing streaks, but it’s hardly cause to overreact.
Right on target
Not sure about anyone else but this season hasn’t really seemed to get going or perhaps flowing yet.
A trip to Japan and a 2 game start on everyone else has meant a number of days off early in the season (there’s another tonight) and it’s all felt a bit weird.
Key pieces, Mookie, Freddie, Shohei and Will have all missed time, and again it’s only my observation, but it feels like the Bullpen is already being asked to do a lot of work.
I think we will see an upturn in form once we settle down into the season proper, with more games and the opportunity to get some consistency.
Well, the Dodgers started strong…. and then things went a bit sideways.
Fully agree with your assessment.
Losing Snell, even temporarily, really sucks. Great to know that Gonsolin should be able to help soon.
I get the impression that Kershaw and Shohei could be available sooner, but the Dodgers brass is determined to slow-play them (especially Shohei) to be ready for the playoffs.
As a fan, I want to see The Full Shohei sooner rather than later–not that there’s a great reason to rush. But I do expect a close race in the division because of a couple of “bullpen games” because they wanted to give Shohei an extra month off the mound when he’s ready to pitch. We don’t know if Shohei can reclaim elite status as a pitcher–or how long it would take him to get there.
Kershaw can’t be activated until sometime in May. He’s on the 60 day IL
May 17. Probably another 3 rehab starts. That would make his last rehab start around May 12, and he could be ready for MLB a week later (May 19?). He still has to come through without incident for the next three rehab.
IMHO we need to take a wait and see attitude in terms of Kershaw moving the needle in the right direction. He’s as injury prone as the rest of the staff and last I read his fastball was topping out at 88 MPH in OKC. Not a Hersh hater but I think we need to be realistic about how much he’s got left in the tank.
Apparently there are still rumors of a Louis Robert trade. I hope that doesn’t happen. Many here have mentioned how easy it would be to just bring up Kim to play 2b and move Edman to cf. Signing Robert would.hinder that. While I think we have a great front office I also have to admit they keep blocking players.
Only Dodger fans can complain about blocking untested minor leaguers with too many really good veteran players. Results at OKC have very little bearing on what will happen at the major league level. I don’t see any stars at OKC
They have very little bearing because they haven’t gotten any chance to play MLB. We have players on the team that have proved they don’t belong for a number of years now. Have you had that cataract surgery yet?
If the Dodgers really thought Rushing was a star, then they wouldn’t have signed Conforto to play LF. I think they are a better judge of talent than you. The Dodgers are loyal to their veterans, which is why so many players want to play here. No one’s winning a WS in April. If Muncy can’t put it together, Freeland will get a shot in the 2nd half of season. I don’t see him anything more than an average mlb bat at best.
The biggest reason I see to not wait till the 2nd half of the season is because the Dodgers have real competition in the West for the #1 spot. Plus, the wild card may even be something that is not achievable for us this year. Our pitching has been atrocious.
Dodgers don’t think Rushing can play LF is probably an important data point, no?
Apparently you are correct. Rushing has started 15 games in 2025. 10 at catcher, 2 at 1B, and 3 at DH. He has all of one inning in LF this year.
We signed two of everything and still have come up short.
Rojas, CT3, Kike, Barnes `,Muncy. really good veteran players ?
Really?
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only Muncy is starting and he’s starting to hit the ball hard. Just hitting into some bad luck lately. Do you want to bring up minor leaguers and sit them on the bench?
Max may be beginning to hit the ball hard but with an all-or-nothing swing. I’d rather have Outman’s defense in CF if I am going to have to stomach a lot of swing and miss and put Freeland at third to avoid doubling up the K’s with Max and Outman in the lineup.
Conforto is a fixed cost whether he plays or not so right now Pages is the better choice for LF and Outman in CF.
I did not say DFA all those veteran players. Just bring up a couple of the young guys and give them at bats instead.This roster can use some young blood and energy.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In order to bring up the kids, you have to make roster space. And to do that, some vets would have to go unless you put the vet on the IL. Conforto is hitting under .200, but he is going nowhere. Muncy also under the Mendoza line, but he is getting on base. Who do you cut? Kike? Fan favorite is hitting worse than Muncy, he does have 4 homers from when he was subbing for Freddie, but he isn’t hitting a lick and he is striking out a lot. Taylor? Chris is probably the prime release candidate because his contract is no longer an issue. But he is being used mainly as a defensive replacement for Conforto and is seeing very limited at bats. Barnes certainly isn’t going anywhere. Unless someone gets hurt, Rushing and Freeland are not coming to the majors anytime soon.
Rojas is a steadying influence in the clubhouse, their best defensive infielder by a bunch, and his bat seems to be coming around.
I would DFA CT3 and Rojas while bringing up Kim and Freeland.
Even better: Try to include CT3 in a potential Robert jun. trade to offset the salaries.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
But u r fine with Kike?
Kike gets the notch over the others because of his postseason history.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not to me Ram. Kike is amazingly popular and overrated. He is living off his past postseason numbers for many. Not me.
His post season numbers are really not that impressive at .273 / .874 but contrasted with this season numbers of .130 / .557.
I can’t keep the guy around waiting for some vague hope he will perhaps do something in October.
We can’t hide this many poor hitters. The fact that Kike is practically an everyday player, somewhere in the lineup and field, because of his postseason history doesn’t work for me.
Don’t forget Rojas can still play elite defense and hit .283 / .748 just last season. I have higher hopes for him than Kike and CT3, who’s a lost cause to me as an expensive 9th inning defensive replacement in left.
This is all speculation as nothing is going to change for awhile. But this is the poorest bench I can imagine for a defending World Championship team.
But it’s early.
Now that is the only way I would trade for Robert. Taylor and a low to mid level prospect straight up for Robert.
LOL
why exactly would CWS do this?
They’re Dodger fans?
They wouldn’t.
I am still on the Robert jun. bandwagon. At the very least you get a GG caliber CF.
And he is still young with enormous offensive abilities if he can rediscover them.
Trade them Outman plus a midtier prospect and if necessary another prospect.
Bring up Freeland and see what he can do at ss and 2b or 3b. Kid is destroying AAA pitching and playing solid to good defense.
I have had enough of Rojas , Kike , Taylor at bats.Dead wood. Literally.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is exactly the kind of move that we don’t need to make. We’ve got a farm that we can use to replace position players who are not performing well. I’d rather we go with Edman in CF and Kim at 2B. You even suggest Freeland as I have. Why would you pay for a player like Robert jr who is struggling. This would be a typical Gallo and Heyward move which cost us time in developing other players. This is old thinking that has backfired a time or two. Let’s not repeat it.
I approve of this message.
Exactly Jeff. Good take. Why would we want Roberts who is just another sub Mendoza hitter. We have enough of those already. Bring up the kids.
As I mentioned last night 5 hitters in the box score have batting averages below .200. I’ve been reading box scores since 1959 and I’ve never seen that. Yes they lead the league in home runs but the team stats say the Dodgers are 9th in runs scored. Those stats also say they are 16th in team ERA. The bullpen is 16th in WHIP.
It is of course way early in the season and there is plenty of time for improvement. It’s always how you finish and Dodger management constructed this team to finish strong. That said, if this continues for another month there will be moves.
Pages is showing some signs of improvement at the plate, but he still appears to have his head up his ass too often in the outfield. He’s a left fielder or he’s trade bait.
And one more thing, I have no problem with anyone in here expressing their baseball opinions. There are no morons here, just people with varying judgements expressing their views. There will be differences of opinions of course, that is to be expected in a diverse group of minds such as ours. I encourage it. I look forward to it every day.
Spot on!!!!
Does not get any easier for LA this weekend. Skenes will most likely start on Friday. He is 2-2 with a sub 3 ERA. He has only allowed 1 homer. LA is going to have to string together hits to beat him. Pittsburgh as a team is 10-15. Andrew Heaney has an ERA of 1.72 and is 2-1. He most likely will also get a start. Their other three starters are not as good. Heller and Falter both have ERA’s above 4. Pirates as a team hitting just .222. They have hit just 18 homers. Cruz leads the team with 6.
For all the members of the Luis Robert Jr. Fan Club, you might notice that he is currently hitting .145 / .517 with a 36% K-rate. I can’t see how that’s an improvement over what we already have.
But I know it’s early.
After today’s game, Robert Jr. is hitting .138/.255/.238/.493. At what point do the members of the Luis Robert Jr. fan club say, maybe he is not the answer.
Swapping Pages for LJR right now doesn’t seem like it would dramatically improve the club.
It would not. CF is not a major problem right now. Bigger problems are Muncy and Conforto not producing. Betts and Ohtani slumping by their standards. An incredibly weak bottom of the order. Bullpen inconsistency.
I almost want to see a player come up from AAA just for the new energy.
The improvement is GG caliber defense with MVP offensive potential IF he figures it out at the plate again.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Before you say that, check out his defensive metrics this year. They are not as good as Pages.
Pages – OAA (0), Fangraphs Def (- 0.3), Statcast FRV (0)
Robert Jr. – OAA (0), Fangraphs Def (-0.5), Statcast FRV (0)
This year there is no discenable difference between Pages and Robert Jr. defensively in CF. Robert Jr.’s GG was in the 60 game 2020 season. Who knows if he makes it through a full 2020 season. He has only been a finalist one other time. How much have the injuries taken out of him since 2020? He is not the same player he was in 2020.
And Pages is better defensively than either Conforto or Teoscar. This year.
I prefer to let Pages work himself out his problems. What is the urgency to replace him before the end of May? Let’s say May 28. That is the last game they play before a weekend series against NYY at home. That would be 56 games. Who knows, Outman is showing life at OKC, and he might be a different hitter by the end of May himself.
BTW, Outman has hit safely in each of his last 7 games. During that time Outman is slashing .296/.321/.593/.914. He is 8-27 with 16 total bases, including 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 HR. And playing superb CF defense. Yes he is going to strike out…a lot. But so does Luis Robert Jr.
Outman is also, and it’s worth remembering, still in the process of changing his swing.
If is the longest two letter word in the English language. So far, he has not shown any of that. He is injury prone and a lot worse than anyone they have playing right now. Hell, Pages is playing better than Robert Jr, and he is younger. His defense is his only plus right now. But it is the Dodger offense that is sputtering. The defense has been okay. Not great, but okay.
The Dodgers will only do that trade if they believe they can help Jr improve his OPS.
Muncy is not yet getting on base Bear. He’s at .282 OBP. Ohtani is slumping. Mookie’s 3 hits last night helped but he’s still way below his career averages. As is Freddie. The top of the order, and middle with Smith and Muncy, have to hit, especially with the pitching in flux. The bottom of the order can’t be counted on.
The topic of today’s post – Gonsolin. Take those same 79 pitches he just threw against minor leaguers and throw them against the Cubs. Does he get 5 innings with them?
I too would like to see the best minor league players against MLB competition. I assumed we would later in the season, but certainly not this early. The roster, as it is currently constructed, has no room for any of them. We can use them in trade this summer or wait for circumstances to change. In the meantime, the veterans have stay out there and work it til it works.
Or not works. 3 years in a row, we have the same problem with the same players. That’s not long enough for you?
I have no idea if Gonsolin could have pitched 5.0 innings or 79 pitches against the Cubs. Then again, outside of Casparius, which Dodger pitcher did pitch well against the Cubs?
Gonsolin needed to pitch 5.0 innings and 80-ish pitches so he could be recalled to the rotation. He is a one time All Star, something only Tyler Glasnow can say from those in the current LAD rotation. Will he pitch like an All Star? I think we need to find out, and now after his 5.0 IP we might just do that.
Well until late May all we can do is ride the storm out and hope for the best.
& chew bubblegum
News from Internet:
Jay Jaffe had a chat:
Mr. Burrito: I’m not whining, I swear. I get that any Dodgers problems, this year, are first-world issues. But I’m getting worried about Muncy and Pages increasingly looks like a 4th outfielder. Do they need another bat? And, if so, should it be Luis Robert Jr.
Jay Jaffe: I’ve been a little skeptical about Pages given his contact issues, and boy howdy have those resurfaced. He may very well be a 4th outfielder.Not sure yet what’s going on with Muncy but we’ve seen him go through funks before and he always seems to find his way out. Maybe the other Max Muncy is stealing his mojo.
Robert has been so bad for the past year-plus, I wouldn’t touch him with a 40-foot pole
md: What are your thoughts on the (mostly unhinged fan) scuttlebutt of trying to get Muncy outta there for Arenado?Friedman has kind of been on record saying he doesn’t like big midseason trades like that, right?
Jay Jaffe: I’m pretty lukewarm on Arenado at this stage, at least in terms of giving up significant talent for him. By all evidence he’s a league-average bat with a glove that’s still above average but no longer elite. That’s useful but not somebody I wanna pay $25–30M per year for
Allison: Is Luis Robert overrated or just mentally done on a terrible team?
Jay Jaffe: That’s a very good question. I wouldn’t discount the effect of being surrounded by a miserable situation but… even if that’s the case it doesn’t speak well of the player because there are plenty who can block that out and still perform well. What I do think is more likely is that White Sox are so behind the times that he’s not getting the proper intel for how he’s being pitched and how to adjust.
Per Geoff Pontes:
3B Jake Gelof hasn’t played this year he’s on the IL, with a bad right wrist tendon.
Josh Norris at Baseball America takes a look at Sean Linan’s new change ($$$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/dodgers-rhp-sean-linan-riding-high-spin-changeup-to-huge-k-whiff-numbers/
“On April 18, three pitchers finished their outings with 20 swings and misses. The first was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Dodgers phenom who two years ago signed the biggest contract of any pitcher in history. The second was Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, a two-time runner-up for the Cy Young award.
The third? That would be Sean Linan, a 20-year-old Dodgers righthander who signed out of Colombia in 2022…””
per Dodgers Daily:
Still in swing school, James Outman had 2 hits last night for AAA OKC & has hits in 7 games in a row. He hit his 6th double of 2024 & has raised his Batting Average 46 points since April 11th.
He played some pretty rangy D out in Center Field in a VERY rangy ballpark in Salt Lake, so that part of his game has stayed intact on the ++ side of things.
Hopefully, he can continue to take step-by-step in creating swing mechanisms that create consistency in contact.
Ben Clemens Had a Chat
Ryan: Tatis is playing out of his mind right now. When he’s right is he the best overall player in baseball outside of Ohtani?
Ben Clemens: Gotta have Judge ahead of him, I think. Not that Tatis isn’t great, I’m a huge fan… but Judge has been the best-performing baseball player for years now. Ohtani might have more raw talent but c’mon, these hitting numbers, absurd
Robbie Boyfred: Nolan Arenado and Lara Nootbar for a package built around Bobby Miller and Andy Pages. Who says no?
Ben Clemens: oh man, getting the SoCal kids back to SoCal. I think the Dodgers would probably say no, depending on how Arenado’s contract gets handled, but I could see the Cardinals being unwilling to move Nootbaar given that he’s one of their best few players and they want to compete again soon. I think the value is at least in the ballpark of right, and probably I’d prefer the Miller/Pages side in a vacuum, so it’d just be about the contract and whether St. Louis is okay trading away more outfielders with huge potential. Their previous outfielder trades have gone mostly badly
Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes on Jakob Wright ($$$)
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/could-jakob-wright-be-the-dodgers-next-sleeper-pitching-prospect/#:~:text=It's%20still%20extremely%20early%2C%20but,by%20the%20reigning%20world%20champions.&text=Definitely%20some%20work%20to%20do,the%20ball%20comes%20out%20great.
“This new version of Wright is in stark contrast to his amateur career, when he mostly worked off a cut-fastball and the aforementioned slurvy breaking ball. Now, Wright is showing more power and a collection of pitches that all move in different directions. His new sinker, in particular, looks like it could be a welcomed addition to his arsenal. He threw it seven times in his first start, and it showed the ability to create sink and armside run with good velocity. ”
Per Morosi:
The Dodgers have played 25 games this season.
They’ve yet to have a pitcher start on “standard” rest, which is 4 days.
They are the only MLB team for whom that is true.
Dan Szymborski Had a Chat
Guest Are the Dodgers mediocre? A run differential of a barely over 500 team and a lot of their wins came against cellar dwellers like the Braves and Rockies.
Dan Szymborski No. I think people were too crazy about them — they didn’t have an over/under of 105 or something crazy — but they’re still an excellent team
Lord Thunder What’s longer odds … Luis Robert Jr. staying healthy enough to play in 120 games this season or hitting .250?
Dan Szymborski .250, just eyeballing it, I think he has to hit .like .270 now to finish at .250 And he’s played in 22/24 games, so he only needs to play 98 of 138, which is more liely I think
5 whole innings….wow , he did it!
Congrats Catman.
Got to start someplace, no?
I really do not know how to take this comment. Are you being sarcastic. You were up in arms because the Dodgers did not bring up Wrobleski or Knack or Frasso, but an All Star MLB pitcher gets a wow he pitched five innings comment? Seems harsh, unless you are truly congratulating Gonsolin for being ready to be recalled, but I do not think you are.
I was mostly up in arms over minor league retreads like Davis, and relcamation geezer Garcia wasting roster spots. I still think anyone would be better than those guys, including Knack, Frasso, or Wrobleski, and that was the point.
I’m joking. I actually like Gonsolin. He’s a good pitcher when healthy, but my point is, they need to stop obsessing over chase rates, stop going 3-ball counts on almost every hitter and change the pitch sequencing a bit so the starters can go a little deeper into games.
If 5-innings and 79 pitches is the best Gonsolin and any starter is going to do this year, the same issues will resurface.
Gonsolin isn’t the issue. He’s a good pitcher. The philosophy of chase rates and three-true outcomes is the problem. The 3-ball counts are the reason why every starter in MLB is at 75-80- pitches by the fifth inning.
I wonder if the poor guy would get a little more respect if he had dogs and not cats? Go Dogman! When healthy he has been a top pitcher and can’t wait till he’s back and solidifies the starting pitching.
Bulldog, I like it.
We’re going to need him.
I’m not sure the Dodgers can improve their offense by bringing up Outman and Freeland, but they can certainly improve their defense and do it with at least the current level of offense.
SS Betts
1B Freeman
DH Ohtani
RF Hernandez
2B Edman
C Smith
3B Freeland
CF Outman
LF Pages
Bench: Barnes, Muncy, Conforto, Kike’
I kept Kike’ over Rojas because he can play both infield and outfield and because Rojas might have trade value. The Orioles probably need his presence.
I kept Kike’ over Taylor because he supposedly has been inspirational in the clubhouse, and I think his defense is better.
I kept Muncy because fans still like him, and he may be insurance for both first and third base.
Defense is important, Fred. Swap out Muncy and Pages for Freeland and Ruiz. Put Muncy on IL and Pages back to Milb. It’s a start with little risk.
Ruiz is a horrible defensive OF.
Can’t find any defensive stats for E. Ruiz. Do you have something?
Essentially swapping Outman & Freeland for Conforto & Muncy.
Not sure I see the utility in that move.
Not Conforto, Pages and Muncy, out 2 defensive liabilities and slumping sluggers.
Utility. An interesting choice of words. You are right. That proposal has less utility given that two utility players were swapped out for potential regulars. Freeland adds another switch hitter which has some utility.
Kim could keep pressure on Kike’
Next year Rushing could replace Barnes and Feducia could replace Muncy.
Watching the Red Sox attempt a 9th inning rally off the M’s excellent reliever Andres Munoz right now.
One out for Trevor Story, who has looked excellent this season so far.
The much-maligned Tristan Casas is up next.
Munoz hitting 100mph
Casas looks so much like Scott Peterson it’s eerie.
Scott Peterson? Who he???
Double-murderer
MLB Pipeline just did a review of the AAA Statcast leaders for some of their top 100 prospects. The Dodgers did have someone make the list.
Alex Freeland: 63.9 percent hard-hit rate
It certainly appears that Freeland is MLB ready. His defense is already MLB ready. I acknowledge that for the Dodgers this is not an imminent promotion.
Others identified:
Roman Anthony (Boston CF): 31.9 percent barrel rate (barrel per batted-ball event)
Harry Ford (Seattle Catcher): 10.2 percent chase rate
Bubba Chandler (Pittsburgh RHSP): Four-seam fastball metrics
Caden Dana (LAA RHSP): 56.0 percent slider whiff rate
Owen Caissie (Cubs OF): .611 xSLG
I think the Dodgers might have a long reliever in OKC not part of the chosen group. We all know about Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack, and Nick Frasso, but tonight OKC is sending out RHP Justin Jarvis to start for the Comets. He has pitched well so far this year.
Jared Karros will try to get back on track with his 4th start for Tulsa.
Patrick Copen will get his 4th start for Great Lakes.
Sean Paul Linan to get his 3rd start (and 4th game) for RC. Linan is absolutely dominating at low A. How long before he gets moved to Great Lakes? Could he reach AA by the end of the year at 20 years old?
Could be some good pitching to follow tonight.
There’s a piece in Linan in the wordy post of mine above.
not to be self-referential or self-serving
Holy moly. I just saw the Rancho stats.
Thru 5ip, Linan has allowed 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 bb, and 11k