Lo and behold, the Dodgers finally beat a team with a winning record. LHSP Blake Snell who has been struggling big time this season, came in with a 5.28 ERA. But the LAD bats made Snell look like a viable CY candidate. In 6.0 IP, Snell gave up just 1 hit…a 2-run HR by CT3. He did let 3 walks, 2 to Will Smith and 1 to Max Muncy.
Chris Taylor knows what wRC+ is pic.twitter.com/5l4iYGZRtW
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) May 7, 2023
Dustin May was just electric Saturday. He had yet another potential viral pitch. He struck out Brett Sullivan on a swing and miss slider, on a ball that ended up hitting Sullivan in the knee. May just has a way of making a batter look foolish, especially Padres batters. Right Manny Machado?
Dustin May just got a dude to swing at a pitch that hit him pic.twitter.com/aDVpSRub2i
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) May 7, 2023
Caleb Ferguson entered in the 7th for Dustin, and walked Jake Cronenworth with 1 out. He got the next two batters without incident. Ferguson is almost automatic thus far this year. He has not been scored on in 10 consecutive outings, and 13 out of 14. His ERA is now at 1.35, and his WHIP is 0.90.
In the 8th, Brusdar Graterol did not fool the first two batters he faced. Sullivan singled on the 1st pitch thrown that LF Trayce Thompson misplayed allowing Sullivan to take 2nd. He had Fernando Tatis, Jr. 1-2 but left a slider out over the plate that Tatis banged down the 3B line for a double. Tatis is just too good of a hitter to leave a pitch with that much plate. He moved to 3rd on a 5-3 ground out by Machado. With the infield playing in, Juan Soto hit a ground ball right to Miguel Vargas and Tatis decided to stay at 3B, and Soto was retired at 1st. Brusdar got Xander Bogaerts on a come-backer to end the threat.
In the 9th, in a save situation, Evan Phillips got Matt Carpenter looking at strike 3 that Carpenter blew up at. The pitch review showed it was a strike, and that Carpenter had nothing to get upset about, except maybe himself for not going after it. Jake Cronenworth walked for the 3rd time to match LAD’s Will Smith. Evan came back to strike out Ha-Seong Kim and Trent Grisham to get his 4th save.
The Dodgers have now beat 3 LHP in a row. However, two of them was more a result of great Dodger starting pitching. Clayton Kershaw beat Jordan Montgomery 1-0, and now Dustin May beat Blake Snell 2-1.
Julio Urías faces off against Joe Musgrove for the series win today.
Are AA Players Being Blocked by Organizational Depth?
With Miguel Vargas, James Outman, and Michael Busch on the current 26 man roster, IMO there are no other AAA player capable of becoming a regular for a contending team. Sure Yonny Hernandez and Luke Williams could become MLB reserves and Hunter Feduccia could become a backup catcher.
IMO, the remaining position players are at best AAAA players or more likely Organizational Depth.
- Bradley Zimmer (OF) – 30 – OPS .627
- Patrick Mazeika (C) – 29 – OPS .726
- Steven Duggar (OF) – 29 – OPS .709
- Ben DeLuzio (OF) – 28 – OPS .439
- Bryson Brigman (INF) – 28 – OPS .573
- Drew Avans (OF) – 27 – OPS .755
- Devin Mann (INF) – 26 – OPS .730
- Jahmai Jones (INF) – OPS .809
- Ryan Ward (OF) – OPS .755
That is not as apparent as the starting pitching depth at OKC. OKC has 2 legit prospect starting pitchers: Gavin Stone (24) and Bobby Miller (24). The other OKC SP are AAAA or Organizational Depth:
- Matt Andriese – 31 – 28.1 IP, 6.99 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 7 BB, 24 K
- Robbie Erlin – 32 – 23.0 IP, 6.83 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 12 BB, 26 K
- Dylan Covey – 31 – 23.0 IP, 4.30 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 12 BB, 22 K
- William Cuevas – 32 – 18.0 IP, 4.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 5 BB, 16 K
I am getting used to how the Dodgers under AF build their AAA team. I would not normally have any REAL issues as long as there were not players at AA who could use a bump in competition. I am not sure that is the case this year.
The Tulsa Drillers starting pitching is loaded. There are multiple AA starters who might benefit from a step up to AAA. Below are the Tulsa starting pitchers thus far. While none of the pitchers are on the 40 man roster, the first five are all ranked in the top 20 prospects. They are all of an age they should be pushed if they are considered legitimate MLB starting pitchers.
- Landon Knack – 25 – 6 GS, 24.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 6 BB, 26 K (#19 Prospect)
- Nick Frasso – 24 – 6 GS, 26.2 IP, 1.01 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 36 K, 5 BB, (#10 Prospect)
- Emmet Sheehan – 23 – 5 GS, 24.1 IP, 2.59 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 8 BB, 43 K (#14 Prospect)
- River Ryan – 24 – 4 GS, 16.1 IP, 1.65 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 7 BB, 19 K (#13 Prospect)
- Nick Nastrini – 23 – 3 GS, 12.0 IP, 2.25 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 4 BB, 11 K (#9 Prospect)
- Kyle Hurt – 25 – 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 4 BB, 21 K
Nastrini got a late start, and River Ryan’s starts were more as an opener. Hurt is probably more of a reliever, but OKC could use another reliever with a strikeout pitch. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see any or all of Knack, Frasso, and Sheehan get moved to AAA?
There are also a plethora of Tulsa position players who are probably being blocked by OKC players. Six AA position players are included on the top 22 prospects, while five of those are on the 40 man roster.
Outfielders:
- Andy Pages (22) – 40 man – (#6) – .274/.434/.488/.922, 26 K, 21 BB
- Jonny DeLuca (24) – 40 man – (#21) – 296/.389/.622/1.011, 21 K, 9BB
- José Ramos (22) – #22 – .253/.359/.494/.853, 26 K,10 BB
Infielders:
- Jorbit Vivas (22) – 40 man – (#18) – .347/.448/.611/1.059, 17 K, 13 BB
- Eddys Leonard (22) – 40 man – (#17) – .198/.303/.279/.582, 22 K, 11 BB
Catchers
- Diego Cartaya (21) – 40 man – (#1)
Ramos is the only player eligible to be on the 40 man who is not.
All three of the OF are RH hitting. Maybe Pages and DeLuca should get a chance at AAA. Is Ben DeLuzio really a better choice? Aren’t Duggar and Zimmer basically the same player? Maybe they both are not needed to block a younger prospect.
Vivas is having a great start to the season. Younger players have been brought up directly from AA. I would certainly not advocate that. But if he is still hitting thru May, perhaps a AAA promotion would not be out of line.
Diego Cartaya may be the #1 prospect, but he is struggling out the gate at AA.
- Batting line – In 70 PA, .190/.257/.333/.590 – 22 K, 4BB, 2 HR and 3 double.
Cartaya is not yet ready for AAA. He has only caught 14 games, 119.2 innings. I have not seen enough of his catching this season to make any comment.
Depending as to where the Dodgers sit at the All Star Break, some of the above players/pitchers could be used in a significant trade at the August 1 deadline. CWS could have a couple of players that the Dodgers might be able to put together a package for…RHP Lucas Giolito and SS Tim Anderson.
Nice win.
Any news on why Frasso was removed?
He was at 60 pitches and nobody on base. I have since learned that he was visited by the trainer and manger and then removed. What that portends??? I will wait until there is official word on Nick.
Interesting perspective on our prospects. I have questions about the relationship between organizational depth and Major League prospects. I get it that AAA rosters must be filled, but by what level of talent. How much better is AAA pitching than AA? At what age do prospects start losing their luster? I’ve always felt 25 is that age, but I don’t know that.
Looking at our top 10 prospects, who will be playing here and who will be here, and who can be used to bring superior talent for a post season push. I trust Jeff’s judgment on this. He certainly knows more about our system than I do. I do like the trade ideas just offered.
Read this in the Times. It’s regarding the gondola plan:
”I’m a life-long Dodger fan and I’d rather set my hair on fire and root for the giants than do anything related to Frank McCourt. It’s bad enough that current owners let him keep part of the parking lots. As far as I’m concerned if McCourt touches it I’m out.”
No gray area there. There were a few other letters about the plan, most of which were against it. I’m not familiar with Union Square but apparently it’s jammed enough without adding more traffic at rush hour.
I want to see a lot more of Betts at short before trading for Anderson.
Lakers are looking strong.
Giants are going to be in the Division race this year.
Hope CT3 can keep it going. He needs to start in LF against lefties. Trayce is not getting it done. I don’t think he will be around much longer.
I would still give Thompson 100 plate appearances before axing him, but that’s me.
Betts at short permanently. Interesting idea. I do wonder what he and the Dodgers think about that. I don’t much care for moving him around.
Good article Jeff. Great insight into the minor league prospects that can help this year and in the future.
Nice win by Dodgers last night. They were fortunate to split the first two games despite only 4 runs, 7 hits and 0-11 RISP over both contests. Hopefully the bats come alive and Julio can get a W today.
The CWS are off to a terrible start and I guess they had more problems than just LaRussa as manager last year. A trade for Anderson and Giolito could make sense down the road. However, Friedman not only traded for Rojas, he also extended him in spring training for some reason. Dodgers have committed $11 million to Rojas for the next two years. And while Mookie has filled in great at SS in spots, I highly doubt he is an everyday solution at SS this year. Rojas has made some plays in the last week that I don’t think Betts can make consistently. It is extremely difficult to be a good defensive SS in the MLB especially with limited experience. I wanted Dodgers to bring in José Iglesias for SS depth when he opted out with Marlins a few weeks ago but he is with Padres AAA team now. He is hitting 324 so far in AAA. Crazy that Padres have 4 legitimate options in MLB at SS and still brought in Iglesias while Dodgers passed on him. Friedman probably has a good reason for not acquiring Iglesias but seems like a missed option.
Great points RC.
I saw it mentioned that Iglesias was with the Chihuahuas and realized I didn’t know that had happened. With our SS situation, we passed on him? Or did SD get him before we could?
The Rojas signing, and extension, remains an enigma to me. Utility for a year, ok. But he’s playing even less than what I expected. Iglesias makes sense to me, and it also makes sense the Padres would get him so we couldn’t.
I agree with you totally on Iglesias. I have wanted to see Iglesias in an LAD uni for a couple of years now. But there is more to discern. He could not make the Marlins roster? Miami must have told him that there was little chance of him making the roster, thus the opt out of the MiLB contract. He will obviously not be a SS candidate in SD. So what did they offer him? The conspiratorial part of my brain says that SD is paying him MLB minimum on a MiLB contract just to keep him away from LAD. I do not believe they can give that level of a contract, but that does not stop my brain from conjuring these things up. I too would like to know the reason why AF passed on Iglesias. It is more likely that AF believes Luke Williams and Yonny Fernandez are better choices than Iglesias.
Aren’t last year’s standings used to determine waiver claim order?
Iglesias opted out of his MiLB contract. He was a free agent.
That clears it up. Thanks
Another bad umpire. But the Dodgers managed to survive his bad calls. Great pitching, but not good for those of us who are aged and could have heart attacks. On a sad note, former A’s pitcher, Vida Blue passed away at age 73. RIP.
Batters and pitchers will tell you that what they want is consistency. Wide on one side but not the other, or up or down but not both. And they do not want them changing. The same pitch Phillips struck Carpenter looking on (it was a strike), was called a ball to Jake Cronenworth.
There really does need to be some accountability to poor umpiring. If a player is not performing they are benched, optioned, released…Why shouldn’t MLB penalize continual poor umpiring. The umpires are scored every night. Why won’t they do it? Because the Umpires Association will not allow it. ABS cannot come fast enough. They will have no choice but to accept that.
One thing for consideration, is the pitch clock management creating an issue? Maybe someone should look at last year’s Umpire scorecards and compare them to this years.
If you go back thru the past posts, I was of the opinion that the Dodgers should sign Iglesias before they signed Rojas. AF missed the boat again. I still don’t get why they signed Rojas to an extension.
Was that before or after Lux bad lucks.
After. I was OK with Lux getting a shot a SS.
Shall we debate earned runs again?
Our defense leaves much to be desired.
And a lost challenge in the second.
Lost a lot of battles, but won the war. Mookie and The Kids at a Baseball Stadium near you.
Lost a lot of battles, but won the war. Mookie and The Kids at a Baseball Stadium near you.
By the way, one of the battles won by LAD…the bullpen.