Well, down to the nitty gritty now. 7 more games and the regular season is over. Dodgers win the division again by double figures. Yet, they could face a familiar foe as the playoffs go on. The Diamondbacks are making a push and are currently the second wild card. The Cubs hold the third spot
San Diego’s loss in extra’s on Saturday night all but knocked them out of a spot. After their win on Sunday, they are 2 games under .500, 5 games out of a wild card slot, and can, if they win out, have an 83-79 record. But they have to have a ton of help. They are now tied with SF and both teams are 2 games away from Wild Card elimination. San Diego plays 3 games with San Francisco, starting Monday night. They also have 3 with the White Sox.
I will say it now, Pads are toast. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys. ( SMIRK ). So, where do the Dodgers stand at this point? The main thing is keeping all of their players healthy headed into the playoffs. They don’t want another Max Muncy type injury the last day.
There was a little scare Saturday night when JD fouled a ball off of his shin. But he stayed in and doubled. JD is two RBIs away from 100. Freeman is four. If they both reach the century mark, it would be the first time in franchise history that four players had 100 or more RBIs. Mookie is still looking for HR #40 which would set the record for a leadoff man.
The starting pitching still remains the #1 question. Miller is probably the only starter at this point they could expect 6 or more innings from. Losing Julio stung. Kersh had a nice game, 5 innings, no runs, 5 K’s and 2 walks. He got help from his defense.
The rest of the rotation will probably be from Lynn, Pepiot, Sheehan, and Grove. Stone was sent down. The bullpen pitchers are jockeying for a spot also. Phillips, Miller, Graterol, Ferguson, Kelly are the sure things. Yarbrough will be down there too as a long man if needed. The first round they will need only three starters. So I could see an overloaded pen.
Miller and Kersh should be pitching games one and two. On the road, they will probably use an opener in game three. Hopefully they are up 2-0.
Catcher Will Smith has not been the same hitter for quite some time. Smitty was well on his way to matching last year’s offensive output until his rib was broken. It looks like he has acquired some bad habits since. He is not hitting fastballs like he normally does. A little rest pre-postseason would probably be a good idea. Barnes is not his match offensively, but if the rest of the offense does their job, he doesn’t have to be.
The infield all the way around is solid. Rosario has proven to be a very good defensive second baseman. Mookie plays there against RHP. Muncy’s defense has been ok. The main thing is that he is hitting very well now, and not just homers. Rojas is a defensive whiz with occasional pop. He has been much better the last month. Hernandez and Taylor are more than capable backups.
Freddie is steady. Hitting over .330 and driving in runs and moving people over. His bat is the most consistent in the lineup.
Mix and match in the outfield. Against lefties, it is Peralta, Outman and Heyward. Peralta has been mired in a bad stretch, but got a solid double last night. Heyward is hitting over .270 and providing solid defense and occasional pop. Outman has been getting on base, but not hitting much of late. But he can be dangerous if he runs into a mistake.
Against lefties, the outfield mix changes with Taylor usually in left and Mookie in right. Hernandez will occasionally replace Outman in center.
All in all, the offense is solid. They have the best average with runners in scoring position in the league. And they lead the majors in two out runs.
Are they ready? I believe they will hit. Depends on how the opposition’s starter is doing that particular game. One thing they must do is be better situationally. That has been an Achilles heel all year long. You get runners at second and third with less than two outs, you need to hit the ball somewhere and give yourself a chance. Cut down on the K’s in critical situations.
Use the next 7 games to work on those things when the opportunity arises. We all know the playoffs are a crapshoot. Just play good baseball, and take advantage of the other team’s mistakes.
09-24-2023 – MiLB Game Summary Report
Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 2 – OKC Dodgers 1
OKC went down to defeat in their final regular season game of 2023. The lone run for OKC was delivered by a Michael Busch HR (27) in the top of the 6th to give OKC the lead.
With the score tied 1-1 in the 7th, Hunter Feduccia hit a one out triple (2). Bryson Brigman drew a BB. Justin Yurchak hit into a DP. That would be the final threat of the game for OKC.
Albuquerque got a triple and single in the bottom of the 7th for the eventual winning run.
OKC had 4 hits: Jonny Deluca – single, Ryan Ward – double (27), Hunter Feduccia – triple (2), and Michael Busch – HR (27).
Future LAD Performances:
- Miguel Vargas – 3B – 0-3 with a BB, throwing error
- Michael Busch – 1B – 1-3 with a HBP (11) – HR (27)
- Jonny Deluca – RF – 1-3 with a BB
Some end of the season notes for OKC.
- The Dodgers finished the regular season with 90-58 record overall and with the most wins for an Oklahoma City team in a single season during the Bricktown era (since 1998). Their 90 wins are the second-most wins in OKC’s Triple-A history (since 1962) behind only the 1965 Oklahoma City 89ers, who finished 91-54.
- OKC’s 90 wins are tied for the most in the Minors this season with Triple-A Norfolk (90-59) and the Dodgers are just the second Pacific Coast League team since 2006 to notch at least 90 wins, joining the 2017 Memphis Redbirds (91-50).
- The Dodgers finished in first place in the overall PCL standings, marking the fourth time that has happened during the team’s Bricktown era (also 2005, 2013 and 2015). The Dodgers held at least a share of first place in the league standings for all but seven days this season.
- The Dodgers finished with a 48-27 record on the road this season. The team set a single-season Bricktown-era record for road wins and the Dodgers compiled the most road wins in the Minors this season. Their 48 road wins are the most by any PCL team since 2005 and the 2023 Dodgers are the first team in all of the Minors to win at least 48 road games in one season since High-A Lake Elsinore in 2010 (48-22).
- Michael Busch hit his third home run in the last four games as well as his team-leading 27th home run of the season, going 1-for-3. With the home run, he tied his longest hitting streak of the season with OKC at nine games and is 12-for-32 (.375) during the streak with six extra-base hits, eight RBI and nine runs scored. His 27 home runs this season are the eighth-most homers hit by an OKC player in a single season during the team’s Bricktown era.
Michael Busch goes deep in OKC’s regular season finale! Busch is up to 27 homers this season pic.twitter.com/8SSUVtMiZs
— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 24, 2023
OKC will begin the PCL Championship Series at OKC on Tuesday facing the Round Rock Express (Texas). It is best 2 out of 3, with the winner heading to Las Vegas to face the International League Champion for the overall AAA Championship.
Badger, remember way back in April when JDM was vacillating around .800 OPS and we were discussing whether he would stay there? I took the over and you took the under. I do not remember whether we made a pushup bet on that or not, but don’t look now but JDM has his OPS over .900. JDM has been fantastic for the Dodgers.
And so has Max. Both will have an OPS north of .800 which is outstanding. Going into the final week, the Dodgers have one player at 1.000 (Mookie), 2 north of .900 (Freddie and JDM), and 2 north of .800 (J-Hey and Max). Will Smith and James Outman could make it 2 more north of .800 with good weeks.
In contrast, Atlanta has one north of 1.000 (Acuña), one north of .900 (Matt Olson), and 3 north of .800 (Ozuna, Riley, and Albies). Harris is just south at .799.
One other discussion in ST some had was Jarred Kelenic or James Outman. Outman has won that battle.
It has been a fun season so far, and I look forward to the NLDS. I really do believe the Dodgers will come up with the pitching to win this year. It will not be traditional, but it does not have to be.
During the season, many of us were so down on the bullpen (including me, big time), and they have managed to move their way back from #29 in ERA to #2, behind NYY. Thank you Ryan Brasier. That is going to be the way to the Championship. They have a lot of pitchers who can get 6-9-12-15 batters out. And many of those guys can be just as good in 1 inning.
Let ‘er rip
JD had two doubles yesterday and they win without any offensive contributions from Betts or Freeman. But their glovework was exceptional. Especially Mookie’s two great plays, one on a ball to his left, and the other to his right, and the great dig Freddie made on Taylor’s DP throw in the 9th. Best event of the evening, Miggy Ro being miked up and excusing himself while he made a play on a batted ball. Classic. Also Kersh being miked up when Lynn caught the bunt popup. ESPN announcer said: pitchers are athletes, Kersh replied, I don’t know about that, but that was sick.
4 games in Denver, if the weather allows, should help boost the offensive numbers of certain guys to hit those milestones.
Should be a fun last week to see how the rest of the playoff field shakes out.
Weather Tues through Thurs in Denver, mid to high 80’s. No rain in the forecast. You forget, I live in Colorado.
“Badger, remember way back…”
No, I don’t.
I will say JD has surprised me. What doesn’t surprise me is he has only played 107 games.
Are the Dodgers ready for postseason? I don’t know. Maybe. What I have seen lately tells me good starting pitching can corral them. I know in August they were 24-5 and in September they are 13-9. I know they’ve played only a few good teams and other than Seattle have had trouble with them, losing series to Atlanta, Miami and San Diego.
I still worry those guys at the top of the lineup who have played a lot, Mookie and Freddie, and those who have been beat up, Smith, might be fatigued. And of course I still worry about starting pitching. Remember way back when I said starting pitching….
The five or six days off prior to the NLDS should help.
Yeah I said starting pitching too.
Of course I remember about the starting pitching concerns you had. I am not sure there was any disagreement here, certainly not by me. But you were consistent.
107 games by JDM and still 3rd on the team in HR (31). 3rd on the team in RBI (98). 3rd on the team in doubles (27). 3rd on the team in OPS (.902). 3rd on the team in OPS+ 138. 3rd on the team in total bases (235). 2nd on the team in SLG%. 2nd on the team in Sac Fly (9).
AF did good with this FA signing.
Yep, good numbers for missing a third of the season. If he doesn’t miss a third of the playoffs he should help.
It sure appears that those injuries are behind him, but one never knows.
No question he did well there. Great signing, JDM has been great.
Some good prospect content on Dodger Digest this morning.
They highlight:
Busch–Crushing man-sized bombs all year long
Hurt–Ready next spring to gain a full-time role on the team
Feduccia–Back-up catcher next year if we move on from Barnes
Ryan–AAA to begin next year, LA at some point
Ramos–Potential Rule 5 guy due to ceiling
Rushing–Just a hitting stud; came up big in playoffs
Wrobleski–Routinely hitting 97 is impressive
Gelof–Pure power potential
What’s incredible to me is a lot of these aren’t even our traditional top prospects, but players with skills and work ethics that have allowed them to stand out in a loaded system.
I quite like that site.
I don’t care for the comments but I love the prospect content. At his best, Jeff here can rival it.
I like Dustin’s writing, especially about the prospects. I consider myself to be legitimately knowledgeable on most of the prospects, elite and not so much. But he does provide me with additional information on some of the more lesser known prospects that I was not aware of. It is a good site.
Chad is a little too potty mouthed for me. I am not sure why he feels the need to include f*** in almost every one of his posts. But it works for him.
I prefer Eric Stephen. I think you know him.
Jeff, Mark posted the other day that our farm has now dropped to 14. Granted we graduated a lot of guys this year, so it totally makes sense.
But with what looks like a stacked Rancho team, how soon before we’re top 10 again?
I cannot argue with #14. The Dodgers will lose 2 of their top 100 early next season to graduation: Michael Busch and Gavin Stone. Unless Diego Cartaya can turn it around, he will drop out of the top 100. Dalton Rushing and Nick Frasso are the final two top 100 prospects.
River Ryan and Landon Knack could sneak in next season. But they are probably the only other AA/AAA prospects who can.
Josue De Paula could be a top 100 at mid season. The same with Payton Martin. Some really like Justin Wrobleski, but I am not sure he is at that elite level yet. Joendry Vargas (DSL) will be on the watch list. I am not sure that Kendall George has enough slug to make it to top 100, but he sure has made evaluators take a long look. Jake Gelof is someone who will get a good look. If he starts 2024 as he finished 2023, he could be a mid season top 100.
I like Thayron Liranzo, but as well as he played this year, he was not named a California League All Star. That does not bode well for top 100 distinction. But if he continues to slug next year at A+ and get promoted to AA, he could find his way. I do not think many evaluators consider him a 55 FV prospect. He is a longshot.
RHP Jesus Tillero (DSL) will also be on the watch list. He is currently a 40 FV, so moving to 55 will be a significant leap. There are others in DSL that could make it there in the future.
I will look forward to following Hyun-Seok Jang and see how he develops. Top 100? Way too early to tell.
I know that some believe that Maddux Bruns is a potential top 100 prospect. I am not in that group.
The Dodgers have 5 with a FV of 50 who are on the watch list, and 12 with a 45. Moving up 10 is a lot, but not out of the question. Look at how many pitchers came out of nowhere this past season. Too early to tell when they will get back to top 10.
Nice list. Add Hurt.
I think that ranking matters not with half the pitching staff rookies
We have graduated a lot of guys recently
Eric is one of the nicest guys I have ever met.